Oak tree insect invasion

[Sawdust7]

Haven't posted in quite awhile and of course I have a crisis. It's with my big Oak shade tree and I am concerned if I don't find a solution, I am going to lose it. Some type of insect has more or less invaded it and is covering the leaves with an oily/sticky residue and seems to be laying larvae on them. The leaves are curling up around them. I am in Humble, Texas and of course we had the drought in which I imported three truck loads of hay from all over and hope I didn't import these critters because I have never seen anything like it before. I have Chinese Tallows all over the place and they are not affected. Haven't checked the oaks out in the back pastures yet but will do it tomorrow. I sprayed the base of the tree with some of my coddled Diazinon up as high as the sprayer would reach (about 9ft.). Also sprayed the surrounding ground and grass. These things are blowing with the wind and have gotten all over the porch and concrete steps leaving their oily spots all over. I think they are originating up the base of the tree since I saw them climbing the base but I could be wrong. Haven't seen them fly yet, only crawl around on the porch railing and tree base. I hope somebody here can ID these critters and know what I need to do to eradicate them. Thanks for taking the time to read this novel, Frank in Humble


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[Jace]

Im on a iphone with small photos, but I thinj your "invasion" is white aphids.(ateast the last 2 photos look that way to me, not sure tho.)

Aphids—How to Control Aphids

 

[Ed Roland]

I see aphid. I do not see oak. :msp_mellow:

 

[sweetjetskier]

Lots of aphids you have there, but that is not an Oak, at least not what we have in the northeast.

 

[Sawdust7]

Thank you for all the quick replys. That "whatever" tree is at least 50ft tall and I am thinking that it has to be treated at the leaves. If so then I will have to make some modifications to my boom sprayer so I can shoot a stream as high as I can to reach as close to the top as possible. Am I correct in assuming that if I don't eliminate them the tree will die or if I don't look at them anymore :msp_sleep: maybe they will just go away? Thanks again for the ID and I ain't tellin' the Waf it ain't an Oak tree, she still thinks I'm a smart feller after all these years. :msp_cool:

 

[dingeryote]

Sawdust,

Ya gotta have an agricultural supply shop nearby.

Head over and tell them you are looking for Generic Provado. "Pasada" is the name we get here.
Active ingedient is Imadaclorpid. Should cost about 90 bucks a gallon.

While there, snag a jug of spreader/sticker/surficant and follow the label as an adjuvant with the Imadaclorpid.

Follow the label and hammer the little bastards.

The stuff goes systemic from foliar contact, and will kill anything chewing on the tree.
It also has pretty good knockdown on initial spray, so those you can reach will get murdered, as well as any in the near future.
The spreader/sticker helps the imadaclorpid get into the leaves and stay on despite rain..to a point.

Bonide has a RUP root drench but it will take several weeks to work and I'm not sure if Bonide is avail in Texas.
Bonide

I'm not sure what kind of tree that is...darn sure dosn't look like our Oaks.
Whatever it is and whatever those bugs are, Imadaclorpid will ruin thier day.
Just follow the label!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Sagetown]

The tree is being hammered with a virus from the aphid infestation.
Aphids succomb to a weak solution of mineral oil, cheap dish soap, or murphys soap, and water. Sprayed once a week. Too strong a solution may burn the leaves in direct sunlight.

 

[Sawdust7]

Had to dig deep to find my private applicators license. It sounds like I'm gonna need it to get what I need to kill these little suckers. I haven't needed it since I haven't done any spraying in a few years. The tractor w/loader I had set up for the boom, decided to crater on me and didn't get it going again for quite awhile. It expires this September and not sure if I will re-apply. I like the Bonide idea since it is root uptake. I don't know if I can get far enough up the tree to treat the leaves (foliar right?) Sagetown, you said that "Aphids succomb to a weak solution of mineral oil, cheap dish soap, or murphys soap, and water". Do you mean mineral oil "with" soap as a surfactant or use just mineral oil or just dish soap or murphys soap? I have tons of Sur-fac out in the barn that I can use. I plan on mixing in my 55 gal tank but don't know how much to mix of your solution Sagetown. Any suggestions? Most of my experience in ag spraying is in herbicides to maintain my pastures and hay crops and I am getting rusty on that. I'll check on the bonide and if not available, I'll try the soap first then go from there. I'll post a pic of the tree to give ya'll an idea of how tall it is. You can see the old farmhouse roof in the lower portion. It's a fine shade tree even if ya'll popped my oak tree bubble LOL.

My wannabe oak:
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[Sagetown]

At least 2/3rds water. But for starters try 8 gal mineral oil; 4/10ths gal of soap; and top it off with water to fill the 55gal drum.

 

[Sawdust7]

Thanks Sagetown. I figure this would be my most economic way of doing it since that tree is so big and I think it will take every bit of 55 gals to cover the thing good. I've been wanting an excuse to buy a pressure washer and I think I can get on up there with one. Now I gotta locate a mineral oil supply down here. If that doesn't work then I will try dingerote's method but with some reservation because of the house proximity.

 

[Ed Roland]

Sawdust7, i reckon you got you a nasty case o the whooly aphid on yo ash. :msp_scared:

Prociphilus fraxinifolii populations can be knocked back with a as little as a hard spray from a high pressure knozzle. Jet these suckers (literally) off the leaf and they have no internal navigation or musculature to get back.
Look into soaps next and then oils if you want to use the least toxic chemicals to achieve control. Something to consider is that all three of the above options disrupt/kill every arthropod on the tree. If you want systemic control look @ an imidacloprid drench. Saving most of the arthropods while putting bees @ risk. No real control this season with that method but, perhaps, 2 years control going forward after AI builds in tissues.

Quite a bit to weight when performing chemical remediation.

Either way, good on you for the proactive care.

 

[Jace]

Or....purchase a couple hundred hungry lady bugs, set back and watch the slaughter.
(Of course...ya may have to clip their wings )

ladybird feed on aphid.mpg - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmASv1yQW-w&feature=fvwrel

 

[dingeryote]

Sawdust,

Imadaclorpid goes systemic througout the tree from foliar application. So even if you can only reach the bottom 1/2 of the trees foliage, you will get a good effect overall. Then, just as a preventative long term you can use the imdaclorpid as a root drench.
The stuff is one of the new Reduced risk insecticides and is about as risky for Mammals as carbaryl(Sevin).
http://www.cdms.net/LDat/ld77F015.pdf

If you have any Malthion around, it will work short term but it also knocks down the Aphid predators and when they come back, they come back HARD..so if you get really cranky and choose the nuclear option, be ready to hit them again.


Dish soap/detergent works because the little bastards have an oily film for a "Skin", and once stripped off, bacteria and other environmental gunk kills them. You got a Pressure washer? LOL!! Sounds goofy, but plain old simple green/purple power etc. and the pressure washer will ruin thier day, but the ones you miss will multiply within a couple weeks and be back unless you innoculate with a systemic.

If you go that route, do it at night though...dadgum neighbors see you pressure washing a tree, they will think your cheese slid off your cracker completely.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Sagetown]

You're welcome sawdust: It's an old time remedy. The soap allows the mineral oil to penetrate and break down the insects soft bodies. A weaker solution for corn ear worms is sprayed on the corn tassels as soon as they appear, killing the larvae trying to enter. Also used on Aphid infested tomato plants by spraying the underside of the leaves where they hide using an old WINDEX spray bottle with the solution.

 

[ATH]

1) Imidacloprid will be taken into the tree for systemic control even if applied as a soil drench at the base of the tree. If you are aiming for systemic control, no need to go higher than that...

2) If you plan to help this tree in the long-term, you better eat your tree ID crow now. Emerald Ash Borer is probably not too many years away, and you'll have to admit your mistake at some point if you are going to help treat it for that.

 

[Sawdust7]

OK dingerote,"If you go that route, do it at night though...dadgum neighbors see you pressure washing a tree, they will think your cheese slid off your cracker completely" That one put me on the floor gasping for air after visualizing a nosy neighbor staring with their mouth hanging open in disbelief. Fortunately, I don't have any close enough to even see me pee off the front porch.
I called my local supplier today, Crop Protection Services (formerly United Agri Products) They now focus on industrial herbicides. The guy told me that the closest thing they have to mineral oil is what they call MSO (mentholated seed oil)so I guess I need to do some more searching for a supply around here plus I'm convinced on the systemic treatment.
While talking to the rep, he asked me if I earned any credits on my license and I told him I had forgotten all about earning credits in order to renew my license to avoid re-taking the test. Time to go back to school. An eight hour class earns you five credits which is the requirement to not have to re-test.
You guys are the greatest and I'm feeling real guilty for not coming around for so long. Time to find a source on this stuff and I'll update.
"I may not know what I'm doing, but I'm an expert at it!" :msp_confused:

 

[Sagetown]

If you're trying to find 5gal or 10gal containers of mineral oil, try a paint store, or auto paint supplier. I know Wal-Mart sells it by the 1 gallon containers in their paint isles, but that could be costly.

 

[Sawdust7]

I just looked at Home Depot and Wally World online and their description is "Mineral Spirit". Are they one in the same? You'd think I would know since I'm a wood butcher (carpenter) by trade. Out at the Big Airport, Bush IAH we don't really use either one so I'm clueless. But then we don't do the painting either. That's the paint shop dept. "Not my yob"

 

[Sagetown]

I just looked at Home Depot and Wally World online and their description is "Mineral Spirit". Are they one in the same? You'd think I would know since I'm a wood butcher (carpenter) by trade. Out at the Big Airport, Bush IAH we don't really use either one so I'm clueless. But then we don't do the painting either. That's the paint shop dept. "Not my yob"

No. After you mentioned mineral spirits, it joggled my memory. Mineral Spirits may have a small amount of oil mixed in it, but it's not exactly the same. Kind of a cheaper way around the real stuff. I went ahead and got it because a quart of Mineral Oil was outrageous. I'll check mine out tomorrow and see if it's safe to use.

 

[Ed Roland]

Sawdust7, i reckon you got you a nasty case o the whooly aphid on yo ash. :msp_scared:

Prociphilus fraxinifolii populations can be knocked back with a as little as a hard spray from a high pressure knozzle. Jet these suckers (literally) off the leaf and they have no internal navigation or musculature to get back.
Look into soaps next and then oils if you want to use the least toxic chemicals to achieve control. Something to consider is that all three of the above options disrupt/kill every arthropod on the tree. If you want systemic control look @ an imidacloprid drench. Saving most of the arthropods while putting bees @ risk. No real control this season with that method but, perhaps, 2 years control going forward after AI builds in tissues.

Quite a bit to weight when performing chemical remediation.

Either way, good on you for the proactive care.

Sawdust7, you could call the nearest IPM/PHC certified arborist to come out and drench this Fraxinus with imidacloprid and have them apply oil to knock back current populations for under $200. Maybe well under.

That would free up more time to picnic with the wife under the shade of her old "oak". :rolleyes2: