The Scale Insect War

I have found gardening challenging in Sydney.  It feels like something is always against you, whether it be nutrient poor soil or clay, variety of turf or weeds, birds or extreme heat.  Grubs and insects also pose a problem that can go unnoticed until damage is done to roots or leaves.  The most recurring problem I have in our area is scale insects that attach themselves like barnacles to the top and underside of leaves as well as digging into the branches.  I don't know how long scale insects were on our lime tree until I noticed them by looking closely, and only then did I begin to realise the extent of the infestation and the damage they were doing.

From what I have read, the scale insects draw nutrients from the tree and then excrete honeydew which attracts ants and causes sooty black mould.  The mould doesn't directly harm the tree, but when it builds up on the leaves it can inhibit photosynthesis and cause leaves to drop off.  Quiet and sedentary, scale ignored will drain a tree of life.  Suffice it to say, it would not do much good to wash the leaves with water and mild soap unless treatment is applied to the root cause:  scale insects.  At first I started occasionally removing the scale insects by hand and washing off the black mould.  But it was only a matter of time before the sedentary scale was almost magically back on nearly every leaf in great numbers (thankfully the tree is small).

The only way to rid the tree of scale was by making the treatment of scale the first priority, for half-hearted measures only provided temporary benefits.  I looked online and bought Neem oil to spray on the tree every 3 - 4 days after removing the scale by hand.  Every day as I look into the yard through a window, the light passing through the leaves reveals small black dots of scale that sneakily hug the underside of leaves and dodge the spray.  As of now I am still in the thick of battle with scale that has required daily attention for weeks.  The pests were hardly hindered when I waited weeks before cleaning and treating the leaves, and my experience shows that my desire to have a tree free of scale will not and cannot happen unless I do something drastic about it.

This is a good object lesson concerning our need to declare war on sin and folly in our lives--without holding anything back.  Half measures will accomplish no lasting benefit and only provide opportunity for infestation to persist and wreak havoc.  It is a great shame when sinful thoughts, desires and actions begin to have a place in our minds and hearts.  Like the scale that drain vitality from a tree, so sin saps our spiritual strength and hinders our growth and fruitfulness.  A tree planted by rivers of water that brings fruit in season can be infested with scale insects, and thus there must be close, regular inspection of our hearts.  The fruit of our lips can be indicators all is not well in our hearts, and it is the Holy Spirit who does this inspection and brings conviction of sin.  God will use His word, others and our own conscience to expose sin inside us, and He gives us the ability to repent of sin and do what pleases God.

One recurring problem with sin that hinders our fellowship with God and fruitfulness as Christians is not always seen as deadly or troublesome as sin that damns the unregenerate to hell.  Some do not see sin that is not leading to death as a "salvation issue."  However, in one sense it is a salvation issue, for having been saved by grace through faith we are called to abound more and more in living in the way that pleases God!  Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches.  If God calls us to bear fruit and prunes us so that we would bear more fruit, then sin needs to be dealt with immediately and most severely.  Our problem may not be sins in themselves but hindrances or habits that prevent us from being spiritually healthy.

David sang in Psalm 139:23-24:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  He also penned in Psalm 51:6-7:  "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. ⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."  Jesus compared the Pharisees with whitewashed tombs that were clean in appearance but inside were unclean and polluted by dead corpses who defiled others.  Unless we make renewed effort to put off sin in the fear God and walk in humble obedience before Jesus our LORD and Saviour, any Christian can end up resembling them.