Part IV - Living Walls - Borders & Hedges: Yews and Hemlocks: Re: Re: Imidacloprid for woolly adelgids was:Hemlock in these ti

» anewleaf - Re: Re: Imidacloprid for woolly adelgids was:Hemlock in these ti

For use as a soil drench on woodys, the wettable or soluable powders would be preferred. A very small container (Aspirin bottle size) of merit which is a highly concentrated nursery formulation is very expensive but will go a very long way. The average homeowner should purchase Bayer Tree and Shrub Insect Control. Even then you are looking at somewheres around 20 to 25 bucks a container. It is dilute, I believe something on the order of .18% active....but don't quote me on that. A single container will do a large tree to several shrubs. It is applied by mixing it in a watercan and sprinkling in the root zone.

Using this method should afford little hazzard to bees, (unless one has a yellow jacket nesst in the ground where it is applied) and i would suspect the hazzard to birds would be minimal. The studies cited at Cornell adress feeding on treated seed, which most likely would provide a high dose and apparently when not force fed, birds are inclined to leave treated seed alone due to gastointestonal stress, which must occur rapidly for the birds to assocoiate the retching with the seed.

Any chemical needs to be used with eye towards off target effects and with reason. This one looks to be safe when used according to label direction. Again, with a product such as this one application is active for a season, and likely won't be needed every season, thus reducing the propensity for over exposure in the environment.

There is nothing more noble in the east than a grove of mature hemlocks....It is a unique experience to walk into one.... a feeling of forest primeval. It will be a shame to effectively lose yet another of our native eastern forest denizens. While it will require effort to maintain them in the landscape...even as shorn hedges...it will be well worthwhile if they do no more than elicit memories of what once was, just as a few olde timers share with us today memories of what a noble tree the American chestnut was.... often stimulated to do so by a struggling chestnut sprout emerging from an anchient root.

-- posted by anewleaf