What's eating my lime tree?

Lime Trees (Key lime / West Indian lime) are susceptible to citrus leafminer on all new growth flushes, citrus mealybug and brown soft scale on stems and fruit, and aphids on shoot tips. Slugs and snails damage low-hanging fruit. In warm regions, citrus gall wasp is a growing problem. Leafminer causes the most consistent season-long damage.

Serpentine silver trails in curled, distorted young leaves on every new flush; stunts growth of young trees. Coat new flush growth with horticultural oil spray; prune affected shoots; encourage parasitic wasps (Cirrospilus, Pnigalio species).

White cottony masses in stem joints, leaf axils, and around developing fruit; cause fruit drop and sooty mould. Neem oil or insecticidal soap spray targeting waxy colonies; introduce Cryptolaemus montrouzieri predatory ladybirds; remove ant access.

Flat brown scales under leaves and on twigs produce copious honeydew leading to heavy sooty mould deposits on fruit. Horticultural oil spray in winter and again in summer; wipe stems; biological control preferred near harvest.

Chew through skin of low-hanging fruit; rasp seedling bark at ground level; leave slimy mucus trails. Remove mulch from immediate trunk base; use copper tape barriers on containers; iron phosphate pellets around the base.