Satsuki azalea lacebug

[jamesocallaghan]

Hi, living in Melbourne i have found many of my satsuki azaleas have lacebug, I have sprayed Mavrick insecticide 3 times now, but worried about the eggs left and effected leaves. Is it better to remove and disguard leaves so they are reduced? I also have been reading up about a systemic product called RIchgro Bug killa which I haven't used yet, not sure if this is a better way of control than spraying . any thoughts or solutions on a better way of control would be greatly appreciated .

James

[Trimmy]

I too would like advice on this. Half of my azaleas were smashed by lacebug this year. Some have few unaffected leaves. I beleatedly sprayed the underside of the leaves with pyrethrin. Am I right that this is a summer thing?

[shibui]

Mavrik is a contact insecticide containing synthetic pyrethroid. It will hill any bugs it touches but can't kill any bugs that the spray does not touch when you apply. Eggs will hatch and the new generation is not affected by the original application. To be effective you need to spray 2 or 3 times a few weeks apart.

Bug killa is a systemic with Imacloprid. Systemic means it moves through the entire plant - leaves, stems, roots and flowers. Any bugs that bite any part of a treated plant will die. This means you don't need to spray every surface to be effective. Imacloprid lasts up to 3 months in the plant so will kill any new hatched bugs or incoming bugs. Imacloprid products can be granules to sprinkle on the soil or as a spray to apply to the leaves.
NOTE that Imacloprid has been implicated in bee deaths. Bees visiting flowers on treated plants can take the insecticide back to the hive where it may kill all the baby bees and therefore the entire hive. Do not spray flowering plants within 3 months of expected flowering.
Bunnings have stopped selling any Imacloprid products. You may be able to find some at independent nurseries or online sources.

Mavrik is effective on azalea lace bug when used properly as above.
Imacloprid is quick and easy - only one application - but may have negative effects on non target good insects. Several brands available - Bug Killa (granules), Spectrum 200 (spray), Conguard (spray)

[KIRKY]

Bug killa is a systemic with Imacloprid. It will not only kill bees visiting flowers it also kills an insect in summer trying to cool down or extract moisture from the moss on top of pots. Basically deadly to all insects good or bad.
Cheers
Kirky