After discovering scale on my Phal. Brother Sara Gold Friday night, I spent the weekend scrutinizing and scouring my entire collection. The final infestation count was 1 paph, 11 phals and my Psh. Green Hornet.

I am shocked and relieved (perhaps prematurely?) to discover that it had NOT spread further. The green hornet was on a completely different shelf from the phals. Maybe it is a coincidence that it had them or maybe that just confirms my speculation that the Cygon I sprayed on everything outside last fall has protected them? I got the Green Hornet last spring and it sent up consecutive blooms all summer, so it never made it outside and hence was not sprayed.

Frankly, I am mortified that I didn't notice the scale sooner. Three of the phals had obvious problems with limp leaves and stunted new growth, that couldn't be explained away by my root-killer history. These have been unpotted. I'm not sure if I should unpot the others--they all appear to be in good shape and 5 of them are in spike. I have scrubbed off every visible scale with alcohol, sprayed the media with alcohol/dish soap/cinnamon oil mix, and isolated the victims in another room.

I did not see a single crawler stage scale, they were all the dots in various sizes. I'm not sure what my next strategy should be. Is it worth spraying a pesticide now, or do I have to wait until the eggs hatch? I have some Bayer 3-in-1, or I could get more Cygon from the farm, but I am not jazzed about using it inside the house.

I intend a take-no-prisoners war and I would love advice on how to stage the next offensive.