Laurels, privets, euonymus, and hollies are the main plants targeted by scale insects in the Southeast. They are often misidentified as some sort of white powdery fungus because of the way they coat the leaves, limbs and branches of their host plants. They suck nutrients from the leaves and stems of the host plant. The damage is seen as broad spread browning and curling of leaves.

Scale insects secrete a protective covering over their bodies. This covering protects the scale and makes control difficult. Scales insects are most easily controlled when insecticide applications are timed during their early development stages.

Scale insects reproduce very quickly, and severe infestations can kill host plants in a very short time period.