Early Pest Control

Dormant Spray

Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to get out into your yard to get ahead on some spring cleanup during the warm days we’ve recently experienced. If you did not do a good job of getting the leaves off your lawn areas last fall, get them cleared off as soon as you can to prevent further deterioration of turf. Damaged areas of grass provide good homes for pests. Since there is a great deal of emphasis these days about protecting the honey bees, we need to take a look at ways to control insect pests without hurting our bees. These pollinators are required for our food supply and we need to protect them anyway we can.

One way to protect bees is to avoid using harsh chemicals as much as possible. Dormant spraying is a way to do that but our timing must be correct. Dormant Oil sprays are not toxic. When dormant oil is applied in early March, before leaves and flowers begin to develop, it can suffocate insects in the egg stage or very immature stage of development. It is not necessary to use other chemicals if we use an insect control product like this. There are some catchy things we need to remember, though, when we apply a spray that suffocates bad critters like aphids, mites and scales primarily.

• It makes sense to spray when the insects are most vulnerable. These insects require the most oxygen just before they are ready to hatch and begin feeding on our plants. If we can cover their egg masses with a coat of very thin, highly refined oil, this will exclude the oxygen they need to survive and develop. The time period these pests are most vulnerable to suffocation occurs about the first or second week in March.
• Temperatures must remain above freezing for 48 hours after plants are sprayed.
• We absolutely do NOT want to spray any evergreens that have blue foliage, like a blue spruce, because it will take the blue color away for that season. There is a list of other plants that should not be sprayed; check the label.

This is the most economical spray we can do all year, the least toxic to the environment and most effective in killing some of the most detrimental insects in the yard. Be sure to read the label thoroughly so you apply it correctly. A dormant spray is particularly good for any scale insects. Bonide’s oil spray is organic and can be used throughout the year. Though it is called All Season, an early dormant spray is most effective. For more information about this “soft” product go to Bonide’s website.

If you have any euonymus or mugho pines in the landscape these plants are susceptible to Oyster Shell Scale so be on the alert and be sure that all of your fruit trees and these particular plant varieties mentioned receive a dormant oil spray.

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