Question
I am new to gardening and have started growing a cauliflower plant and cilantro in containers since end of February.  Everything is going well until one day I checked under the leaves of the cauliflower plant and found hundreds of small oval things that can easily be removed.  They only appear on the undersides of the leaves.  They don't look like bugs because I really don't see them moving.  They also appear on the undersides of my cilantro leaves.  It's everywhere and runs on the stems of the leaves as well.  The leaves don't look infected or anything.  The leaves still have a consistent green color throughout. No spots, or patches.  I have been removing as much as I can, but wanted to know what it is. Thanks for any information.

Answer
Hi Teresa, what you are seeing is indeed an insect, its called "Scale" and it is sucking the juices from your plants; you need to get a "Horticultural Oil" and apply it at dusk and then the next morning wash it off, along with the insects (which may need to be scraped , even though they will be dead) ,. The oil will suffocate the Scale, which is an insect that is protected with a shell like substance that makes normal insecticides ineffective against it. Make sure that after you control them with the oil, that you wash the residual oil off real well before consuming it. The oil , like any insecticide, needs to be handled carefuly . I am making an assumption here, by your description, but just to make sure, are they shell like? if so, it is Scale. Make sure you read the directions on the label of the oil, and follow them explicitly, as is the case for any insecticide.