Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

[Dutchman]

I've got some property on a fairly large stream in the mountains of NC. Within the past year or two the adelgids have started moving in. Along the stream there are 15-20 100ft+ hemlocks growing and all are infested. I have looked into some of the poisons, I think one is called Merit, unfortunately they all seem to say not for use around bodies of water. I was wondering what kind of options are available out there. It would be tragic to lose these trees and I would appreciate any help I could get.

Thanks,
Kevin Williams

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

How far from the streams edge are they? there is a set boundry where it can be used, I'm not sure.

If too close, try to find a company that can do basal injections. One MFG of a proprietary system clains that have a mixture that will move in conifers, which is problematic with other products.

Guy Meilluer is a consulting arborist and Board Cerified Master Arborist out of Apex NC, his screenname here is Treeseer

 

[alanarbor]

There is no specific boundry that I can see on the label. The one of the reasons Merit has a long residual is it tends to bond to soil particles, and does not move very far from the application site. I would not trust that if they are 10' or less from the stream edge. I would look for someone who can perform trunk injections.

 

[Dutchman]

It looks like I'll have to find someone to do the injections. I was hoping there was something out there that I could do myself, but I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and pay someone to do it. Does anyone know a reputable arborist in Brevard, NC? There are a lot of companies but I got the impression that a goodly portion were hacks.

Cheers
Kevin

 

[Eric Bristol]

For trunk injections, one of the most competitive systems is the Arborjet Tree IV System. You need a certified arborist licensed for regulated pesticide use to treat the trees, but It's easy to use, and puts a large volume of researched trunk injectable formulation called Ima-jet in the transport system of the tree. Ima-jet is formulated as and injectable imidacloprid, since Merit (wettable powder) cannot be injected into the hemlock.

Check out Arborjet systems here:
www.arborjet.com
Also Check out Certified Arborjet Users from Asheville. Tracy and Ryan Franks own Appalacian Tree Care and they will hook you up personally, or with a good local arborist:
http://www.appalachiantreecare.com/index.htm

Good Luck, and keep saving trees.

 

[treeseer]

There's a seminar at the NC Arb in Asheville April 27th:

http://www.ncufc.org/2005 Hemlock seminar.pdf

You'll note that the program looks like an infomercial for Arborjet; no mention of Plant Health Care techniques, or sprays with hort oil (which you can do yourself).

Pinnacle Tree Svc. has a branch near you and they are pretty good.

If you want your trees in Raleigh managed to grow in value and reduced in risk, email me.

Other links: www.saveourhemlocks.org

www.ces.ncsu.edu/counties/

www.bugwood.org

www.fs.fed.us/na/morgantown/fhp/hwa

Mr. Sonbarn, thanks for the props, but you get a B- in spelling.