Gill, G.S.C. 2005 Spray programme effective against Florida red scale.. Biosecurity 61: 17.

Notes: In early 2004, the citrus pest Florida red scale, Chrysomphalus aonidum, was detected at Auckland City Council's Domain Nursery (New Zealand) following a chance discovery by a Landcare Research scientist. Subsequent investigations also uncovered the scale in both the tropical and temperate houses in the Auckland Domain. The infestation was linked to recent importations of Dracaena marginata, a popular indoor plant. Biosecurity New Zealand instituted containment procedures to prevent further spread of this scale, and conducted further surveys in the areas surrounding the infected site. These measures included a spray programme using chemicals with different modes of action and targeting both the mobile crawler and the immobile stages of the scale. Subsequent examinations showed that these treatments were effective with no live scale being detected. The affected site was placed under a Restricted Place Notice, preventing the removal of risk material without appropriate measures being taken. In conjunction with the containment procedures, Biosecurity New Zealand prepared and distributed a fact sheet to members of the Nursery and Garden Industry Association. This initiative resulted in the detection of Florida red scale on several Dracaena plants in retail nurseries. These plants were treated with insecticide to kill any scale that were present and then destroyed. In light of the risk posed by Florida red scale on imported Dracaena, Biosecurity New Zealand amended the Nursery Stock Import Health Standard to prevent further incursions of this pest. The management of the scale infestation was then transferred to the Auckland City Council which has continued the application of systemic insecticides to target any scale that may be living in areas not readily accessible by conventional sprays. To date, Biosecurity New Zealand's on-going surveillance at the site has not detected any live scales.