|Dormant Spraying The Easy, Low-Cost, Effective Pest Control|
Prevention is always your best bet when it comes to pest control. For over 100 years Dormant Spraying has proven to be an effective preventative measure to control insects and diseases in the home garden. The term "Dormant Spraying" means spraying while your trees are dormant as their leaves are falling and before their new leaves appear. Dormant Spraying is one of the easiest; lowest cost and effective means of pest control available.
Dormant Spraying controls a broad spectrum of pests and is considered safer and more environmentally friendly compared to synthetic pesticides. Dormant Spraying works by suffocating the eggs or over wintering stage of insects. Dormant Spraying is considered a "contact insecticide", which means that only the insects present at the time of application will be killed. Dormant Spraying will not affect insects, which migrate to the treated plant. This is good news for beneficial insects such as ladybugs, which generally over winter as adults in clusters, in leaf litter or other sheltered areas.
Dormant Spraying should be done on a clear day when there is little or no breeze. The ideal temperature for application is between 40 and 70 degrees F. Complete coverage is required for effective control of all over wintering pests – a good practice is to put two-thirds of the spray on the top half of the tree.
For general dormant spraying, Alden Lane recommends LILY MILLER POLYSUL in combination with LILY MILLER SUPERIOR TYPE SPRAY OIL on at least the following 3 occasions during the winter:
Be sure to pick your application times with the weather in mind because if it rains within 24 hours you will need to reapply your treatment. Always be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions in applying any chemical to your plants and landscaping.
As always, if you have any special questions
or problems drop by the Nursery for expert help