On 3/21/2015 1:17 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 3/21/2015 9:21 AM, Jenn wrote:
On 3/19/2015 2:29 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 3/19/2015 9:32 AM, Don Wiss wrote:
On Sun, 15 Mar 2015, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 3/15/2015 11:24 AM, Jenn wrote:
My husband has a couple of citrus trees in his green house, and they are
covered with scale insect. How does he get rid of the nasty things?
Long-term protection can be obtained with a soil drench containing
Imidacloprid. Although it is not approved for use on edibles, research
indicates it is harmless to mammals and birds. However, do not use it
during or prior to blooming since it is quite toxic to bees. If
blooming is expected within the next two months, I would wait.
I doubt Jenn's husband has bees in his green house, but possibly he has a
hive in there.
Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).
In some areas, greenhouses are opened to the outside as the weather
becomes mild. Bees would then visit the citrus in the greenhouse.
Pollination, however, is not required for citrus to form fruit. Seeds
in such fruit are even viable. This characteristic is called
"apomixis". Thus, my caution is to protect bees, not to promote fruiting.
We don't have a bee hive, but we do want to protect the bees and not
kill any. I mentioned to him the idea about the oil spray, though.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Right now the citrus trees have dropped all of their leaves, I guess
from being in a cooler green house and the light cycle being the winter
cycle. Does it matter if he sprays with the oil spray as it begins to
leaf out, or should he try to get that done before it leafs out?
Definitely apply oil before new growth begins. The oil will damage new
growth.
I would be very concerned if my citrus became leafless. Citrus is a
subtropical, broad-leaf evergreen. It should have leaves year-round.
Last winter when they dropped all their leaves I thought they were dead
for sure, but come spring when the daylight cycle changed and it warmed
up they all leafed out again just like the rest of deciduous trees do.
I was pleasantly surprised about that ... I'll let my husband know to
get with it using that oil spray before they start to leaf out again.
--
Jenn