How do I get rid of wooly aphids from my apple tree?

Question

I have an apple tree which is infested with wooly aphids and affecting it badly. I've tried spraying it with pesticides and pruning it heavily, however I can not get rid of them. This year they seem to have come back as badly as last year. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to deal with this pest. Ideally I would like an organic solution, but all suggestions are welcome if it will remove this pest.

Answer 1

The Hackberry Wooly Aphid is a difficult pest to control but it can be done.

There are two possible methods;

1) Spraying with a summer oil or insecticidal soap. Any aphids that come in contact with the spray will be killed BUT the problem is that you need to get adequate/thorough spray coverage throughout the entire canopy. High pressure sprayers are excellent since they move the leaves and allow better coverage.

2) The better method is to use any product that contains "Imidacloprid" since it is a systemic insecticide that kills most sucking insects (except mites). Imidacloprid can be found in "Bayer Advanced Garden Tree & Shrub Insect Control" and you'll need to read the label to determine how much to use. It is a liquid product and mixed with water which is then drenched around the trunk of the tree where the roots will pick it up and then translocated up to the leaves. Once the insect ingests it, they die. It's safe and is used on many agricultural crops today.

I've used it on my fruit trees and it controls the insects through the entire growing season. GREAT PRODUCT!!! Also can be used on ornamental plants, trees and shrubs.

Hope this helps solve your problem. GOOD LUCK!

-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a Degree in Plant Science

Answer 2

Wooly Apple Aphid

Answer 3

I like the first answer!

Actually wooly aphids are very hard to eradicate since they do far more damage underground. While you are seeing their fuzzy bodies at the base of the tree and on root suckers, the real damage is occuring to the root system. They feed on the roots causing nodules to form that inhibit water and food uptake. Nearly impossible to get any pesticide down to the roots. Try Diazinon drenches around the tree base and then on the ground under the tree.........good luck.

Wooly aphids' life cycle alternates between apples/crabs and elm trees. So if you could eliminate all the elm trees, then you wouldn't have the wooly aphid. (yeah right)

Answer 4

get some spiders for the tree. do not prune the tree as it is already stressed. neem oil/insecticidol soap in the spring helps but spiders will eat them all up.

Answer 5

Get a very small border collie to round them up and shepherd them into a pen.

(You may then want to shear them and make a nice little sweater)

Or...


maybe this will help:
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/pc10.php

Answer 6

They would eat the bark and the surrounding tree's I reckon. =)

Answer 7

We use a fairy liquid solution, it seems to work for us ...good luck