Horticultural oil is commonly used to control insects and provide year-round plant protection. With many plants starting to flower, you might wonder when you should take measures to beat the pests.
Spring is one of the best times of the year for tree and shrub insect control with horticultural oil. Here are a few reasons to schedule a Spring horticultural oil treatment:
1. The Temperature Is Perfect
Late winter and early spring are two of the most effective times for insect treatments on your trees and shrubs. As temperatures have begun to warm and spring is in the air, we are beginning to make our early spring application of horticultural oil to help control insects on our clients’ trees and shrubs. Although most people probably aren’t thinking of pests when the trees don’t even have any leaves, a well timed application of horticultural oil when trees and shrubs are still dormant can prove very effective in controlling insect pests.
2. Kill Insects Before They’re Active
Dormant horticultural oil applications kill overwintering insects before they become active and start to damage your trees and shrubs. While horticultural oil can be used almost any time of year, when used in the dormant season it can kill many overwintering insects and their eggs before these populations have started to grow. This helps to control or stop the problem before it ever even starts. In addition, many beneficial insects and mites, which actually help to control harmful insects, are less likely to be harmed.
3. Safe Around Pets
As the weather warms up and all family members are spending more time outside, there’s no need to worry if pets will be harmed by what’s being used on your plants. Horticultural oil is a highly refined oil that is very safe around people and pets but is toxic to many insects and their eggs. It works by smothering pests and interfering with their cell metabolism. It has been used in the horticultural and agriculture industries for decades due to both its effectiveness and safety.
4. Types of Pests it Controls
Horticultural oil sprays are effective against a number of soft-bodied insects, mites, and their eggs. These include aphids, adelgids, a number of different mite species, honey locust plant bugs, lace bugs, leaf miners, psyllids, some scale species, and spider mites, to name some of the more common uses.
We would be happy to walk your property and identify any trees and shrubs that could benefit from fertilization or insect control treatments. We keep up to date on all of the latest insect and disease control research to ensure that we can help your trees and shrubs look their best. Please feel free to call or fill out an estimate request to get a free property assessment on the health of your trees and shrubs.