In late winter, your trees may be dormant but, chores in the yard are not. Late winter and early spring when the temperatures are barely above freezing is the time to apply the best preventative for scale and mites: dormant oil. Dormant oil sprays are used on trees before the buds begin to swell and suffocate insects and their eggs nesting in branches. Fall is also a great time to apply dormant oils to minimize insect eggs before they hatch. Using dormant oil on trees doesn’t completely eliminate the problem with these pests but it is the best way to cut off most of the population, leaving a simpler problem later in the season. It penetrates into the surface of the insect’s hard outer shell and suffocates it by not allowing any oxygen to get through.

CONSULTATION

My Arborist can inspect the symptoms, identify likely stressors, and recommend the right next step.