The pine needle scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch)) is a common pest of pine ornamental trees and Scotch pine grown for Christmas trees in Michigan.  The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 may affect the availability of many insecticides commonly used to control pine needle scale in Christmas tree production.  Our goal is to develop alternative control methods for pine needle scale that will reduce the need for chemical insecticides.  Our objectives were to:  1) determine the best time to apply controls for pine needle scale—reducing the likelihood of ineffective or unnecessary insecticide sprays; 2)  characterize the natural enemy complex of pine needle scale in Michigan, and determine its effect on unsprayed pine needle scale infestations; and 3)  evaluate the effectiveness of using horticultural or dormant oils as nontoxic alternatives to chemical insecticides.  In 1999-2001, we monitored pine needle scale infestations in three Christmas tree plantations in central and southern Lower Michigan.  We recorded the phenology of the second-generation crawler hatch, identified natural enemies and monitored the rates of predation and parasitism.  Preliminary results indicate that natural enemies can decimate scale populations in unsprayed fields.  Two coccinellids, Chilocorus stigma (Say) and Microweisea misella (LeConte) were the most common predators.  A parasitic wasp, Encarsia sp., and a hyperparasitoid, Marietta sp., were also found in the field.  In 2000-2001, we conducted trials comparing the effectiveness of horticultural oil vs. two commonly used insecticides.  Horticultural oil performed as well as the conventional insecticides when applied at the proper development stage of the scale.  We expect our results to reduce the amount and frequency of insecticide applications on Scotch pine grown for Christmas trees in Michigan, and increase growers’ ability to control this pest.