White caterpillar thing on my orange tree (forum)

Janae starts with ...
I'm pretty new to this gardening thing but about 6 months ago I bought a small orange tree from the hardware store. It's growing between a lemon tree and a mandarin tree which both have lime trees on their other sides. The mandarin is looking pretty sad and has lost its leaves but everything else seems pretty happy. Today I noticed two of these little bug things on the orange tree. None of the other trees appear to have any and in the 15 minutes I've been watching them they haven't appeared to have moved. Does anyone know what they are and what I should do about them?
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Time: 17th April 2014 2:49pm

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About the Author Janae
Doreen
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sternus1 says...
Whatever it is, the ants are farming it. Some kind of scale-like pest. White oil will fix this problem for you.

Time: 17th April 2014 2:58pm

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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Julie says...
Looks like some type of mealy bug. Dab it with methylated spirits on a cotton bud and keep an eye out for more. They can be hard to get rid of once established.

Time: 17th April 2014 7:25pm

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About the Author Julie
Roleystone WA
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jakfruit etiquette says...
Looks like adult cotton cushion scale, with 2 ants collecting secretions.
Check underside of leaves for orange juvenile scale.
Best to get rid of it, as they can build up quickly once the adult lays all its eggs. Looks like your tree is small, just remove the big white ones + destroy, O'wise the ants will refarm them elsewhere. Check under the leaves and wash off any few juveniles. If heavily infested
may need other treatment.

Time: 19th April 2014 9:46am

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vic
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Austinve says...
I think you should call any pest control expert and get that think out as soon as possible. Because these when they reproduce they gets multiplied in hundreds. I've used the services of http://www.positivepest.net if you wish you can check them.


Time: 16th June 2014 8:14pm

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About the Author Austinve
NSW
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Anthony says...
Must have cost a fortune to get them out from the US.

Time: 16th June 2014 8:49pm

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About the Author Anthony
Queensland
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