White pine weevil has already started working; have you?

This is one of the first insect pests of spring and needs your attention now.

White pine weevil is an early spring insect. The females hop to it as soon as the snow melts. If you have had “shepherds crook” damage to white pine leaders in the recent past, now is the time to spray white pines with permethrin, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin (pyrethroid insecticides) or dimilin (insect growth regulator) to prevent it from happening again this year.

Dimilin 25W is a nice alternative to the pyrethroid insecticides because it is relatively non-toxic, and easier on natural enemies. For more information, see previous article by Jill O’Donnell.

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