hemlock and the wooly adelgid

[pshea1]

I recently saw information on This Old House about a new systemic product to treat the wooly adelgid pest. Spraying is out of the question because of the location of this 80' foot tall Hemlock. Does anybody know the name of the product? Thanks

Peter Shea West Chester, PA

 

[Stumper]

Imidacloprid for soil injections. Several products are "suitable" for direct insertion in the trunk-a procedure which I don't approve of due to the wounding it causes. Here is a web site .

http://www.urban-forestry.com/citytrees/v33n6a14.html

 

[Tom Dunlap]

The tree guy that TOH used recommended Mauget Bidrin injections.

A friend of mine in PA wrote to TOH magazine expressing concern that they are using such a "hot" chemical to control something that could be controlled with a less toxic or dangerous chemical. His letter did get published in the magazine but it was edited of course.

If you want to talk with my friend, drop me a note off line and I'll put you in touch with him.

Tom

 

[Paul O'Neill]

I use MERIT Imidacloprid systemic either via soil injection or soil drench depending on the situation. This is the best way to go. The only down side is it cannot be applied via the above method with in 50 ft. of a water source (lake, river, etc). For trees in that area, I will use a Mauget imicide injection. This is the same Imidacloprid chemical. Imidacloprid is very safe except for aquatic life and is far less toxic than bidrin.

Paul.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

What's worse a 50 gallon soil drench of merit, or a few ounces of bidrin trunk injected?
I'm not being a wise guy, just wondering.
It seems even though bidrin is hot, it's such tidy use of a chemical, it all goes in the tree and stays there, doesn't it?

 

[Eric E.]

Peter,
I'm not sure about what TOH is recommending but I would be cautious about their recommendations. Do a search at TR**buzz for " another TOH groaner". My original letter to them is there as well as others comments about TOH and arboriculture.

My preferred method of treatment is Merit soil injection. It is very effective and causes no damages like the injections do.

Mike,
I'm not sure about the quantities used in soil drenches but the injections with a Kioritz injector are only 1 oz per inch of DBH. If someone insisted on trunk injections for HWA, I feel imidacloprid will do just fine. I see no need to use a class B poison with a "danger" label when a "caution" label material will do the job. For those wondering, the ratings for labels are

"Danger" - most toxic (skull & cross bones included),
"Warning" - intermediate,
"Caution" - least toxic.

Besides, who wants all the extra PPE needed for Bidrin? Of course if your picture is in a magazine of a major TV program you can use shorts and short sleeves when doing Bidrin.

Paul,
Unless there is a new label in the last few months, there is no distance listed on the Merit label, just vague talk about being close to water and intertidal areas. If you call Bayer they will tell you not to apply directly to water and not in intertidal areas. You can go much closer but I will not say here, call Bayer for further information.

I'm not trying to criticize anyone, sorry if sounds that way, just trying to clarify some things.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

For most applications the persistance of Merit bothers me, but with problems like HWA where there is no natural resistance I think the 2-3 years of coverage is better the regular Bidren, or sprays of carbaryl.

If it is an isolated ifestation I would rather release a few boxes of ladybugs through out the canopy.

 

[lawnaggie]

drought effectiveness of merit?

i would recommend they water well before doing the merit treatment to help with translocation of the material given the drought in pa the last couple of years it may not be quite as effective as a chemical application to the foliage. John Paul's lady bug idea would be idealgiven that you dont want to spray.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Is JPS talking about releasing those awful Asian ladybugs that have taken over our part of the state and making life inside and out so unpleasant?
Darn invasive species, I was wondering who brought them here...

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Not those, ladies don't bite. Them orange ones do.

Actualy I've picked up 2 swarms and relocated them to adelgid infested spruce trees. I met a guy who will come out and vac them up, for a fee, and then sell them

 

[Eric E.]

Aggie,
Yes, soil moisture is needed for proper uptake of soil applications. If natural soil moisture is not available then the trees should be watered. It is usually not difficult, in the landscape, to provide supplemental watering. Foiliar applications do not have the same systemic properties that the soil applications do.

Here is a link to the ladybird beetle that is needed to control HWA.

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/pseudoscymnus_tsugae.html

JPS,

I have only heard of 9-12 months (according to Bayer), and that is for soil applications and possibly trunk injections. The residual is inside the tree and not in the soil as far as I know.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

To me a halflife of one year is rather long, but then I'm of the bent where pesticides are a choice of last resort. Well except for oils and soaps that is.