Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Home Horticulture:
Environmentally Responsible
Gardening & Landscaping in the Low Desert
Pearl Scale in Low Desert Gardens

DESCRIPTION:
Immature pearl scales are covered with white, hard, globular shells that cause them to resemble tiny pearls. They are less than 1/8 inch in diameter, about the size of a pin head. They are found under the soil around grass roots.
DAMAGE:
Pearl Scales cause serious damage by sucking fluids out of Bermuda grass. The grass turns yellow-brown in the summer, and then dies in patches.
MANAGEMENT:
Currently little can be done to control pearl scales. Prevent spread by cleaning equipment between uses and examine any sod for pearl scales before laying.

To Gardening and Landscaping in Maricopa County, AZ
Pearl Scale in Low Desert Gardens

visitors since June 10, 1998
Last UpdatedJune 10, 1998
Author: Lucy K. Bradley, Extension Agent Urban Horticulture, Maricopa County
© 1997 The University of Arizona,
College of Agriculture,
Cooperative Extension,
in Maricopa County.
Comments to Lucy Bradley, BradleyL@ag.arizona.edu
4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85040, (602) 470-8086 ext. 323
http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/t-tips/bugs/pearl-sc.htm