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[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Oil doesn't stop my aphids- they just fly in from elsewhere when they're good and ready.  If I don't poison them the lady bugs will get to them except the ones that roll up in my cherry leaves.  Also the ants sometimes interfere.

 

Out here in southeastern NY we use oil to help control mites and scale.   For these pests the best thing to do is a delayed spray sometime during the time of half inch green to tight cluster.  For scale a 2% application at HIG is supposed to be best- for mites 1% at TC.  At least that's what my tired brain is spitting out at the moment.  I actually usually just use 1% whenever the weather is cooperating in that framework unless I'm targeting one or the other (mites or scale) specifically.

 

I don't believe in arbitrarily spraying any substance- even oil.  It will suficate lots of insects that are doing no harm so you should always be targeting something you know you need to control.

 

I always have some customers who are seeking to keep the sprays down to the absolute minimum and I have found that I can get about the same control of mites and scale by adding some kind of sun oil on one of the 2 post petal fall sprays I use to control insect and fungus damage.  Watch out for Captan residue!