Late Season Treatments for Insects and Mites
Friday, 30 April 2010 12:56
It is not unusual to discover outbreaks of pests such as spider mites, thrips, whiteflies and aphids in greenhouses full of flowering bedding plants scheduled to be sold in the next week or two. If you discover an insect problem now, we suggest using a safe, effective contact spray that will knock down the infestation to provide good protection for a couple weeks. If infestations are localized, spot treating may be best. Once plants are planted outdoors in a garden, aphids, mites, whiteflies and thrips are not usually a problem. Some good choices for out-the-door treatments are:
- Thrips, aphids, whiteflies: abamectin (Avid), imadacloprid (Marathon II), dinotefuran (Safari), pyridaben (Sanmite), acetamiprid (Tristar), thiamethoxam (Flagship), and bifenthrin (Talstar).
- Aphids and whiteflies: pymetrozine (Endeavor)
- Mites: abamectin (Avid), bifenazate (Floramite), hexythiazox (Hexygon), pyridaben (Sanmite).
You will want to use the safest products available with everything in bloom. None of the products listed above are known to cause a phytotoxicity problem when used at the rate on the label. Usually wettable powder and flowable formulations are the least likely to be phytotoxic. However, wettable powders may cause visible residue. Make sure wettable powders are completely dissolved in the spray tank and the tank is agitated. This will prevent slurry from forming at the bottom of the spray tank, which could be phytotoxic if sprayed on plants. The re-entry time-period following application of the products listed above is 12 hours with the exceptions of Tristar (24 hours). Note that Endeavor works by interfering with the insect’s ability to feed and may take 5 – 10 days or longer to see results.
Tina Smith,
Leanne Pundt,
