Pine shoot beetles and pine spittlebugs

Jill O'Donnell, Christmas Tree ICM educator -

Editor’s note: This article is from the archives of the MSU Crop Advisory Team Alerts. Check the label of any pesticide referenced to ensure your use is included.

Pine soot beetles

If you are in the Pine Shoot Beetle Compliance Program and need to apply a cover spray for pine shoot beetle, get ready, especially if you are in southern Michigan. The best time to spray will be right around 450-500 growing degree days base 50. At this point, the beetles are more or less starting to tunnel into shoots. Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban 4 E, Whirlwind, Warhawk), cyfluthrin (Baythroid), are labeled.

Pine spittlebugs

These are feeding on Scotch and other pines. This species of spittlebug really causes little damage to the tree. Don't worry about trying to control them unless you have huge numbers.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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