Japanese Black Pine White Fluff

[peterk1278]

Hi guys,
My Jbp has recently started growing white fluff at the base of its needles.
Is there any treatment I should use for it?

[Marie Hewartson]

Just come home from a demonstration on JBP by a major demonstrator, and this very bug was mentioned.
Get rid of it as it will kill eventually your tree.
Treatment was, Winter treatment Lime Sulphur diluted 20%, summer treatment diluted 10%.
Saturate the tree including the base 2 weeks apart.
Cheers Marie

[shibui]

This is called pine bark adelgid. I think it is a type of aphid but can do serious damage to pines when the numbers are high. They are notoriously difficult to get rid of because they are protected under the cotton wool cloaks.
Quickest and most effective treatment is a systemic insecticide.
I have had some success with spraying metho.
I have not tried the lime sulphur treatment.
Hard to tell if you have been successful because the cotton wool stays long after the bugs are dead. Try squashing a few to see if there are any still alive under the coverings.
You may need to repeat treatments a few weeks later to catch any that hatch after the first spray.

[bonsaisensation]

My treatment is mixing 20 ml of white oil to one litre of water in a spray bottle. Turn the nozzle to jet, a few squirts will see the targeted area blasted clean. One treatment usually keeps the tree clean for the season.
I have heard of concerns about the use of white oil, but it works for me.


Tien

[tgward]

is this the same as woolly aphid?-- I would try squirting them of , then using a spray when most are gone

[Daluke]

Get a high pressured hose and spray it off. Overside, underside, front and back.

Place into full sun.

I’ve had it when placed in a shaded area - the jet method every few days will get you on top of it.

My experience isn’t as damning as the others in this post.

[shibui]

Pine bark adelgid is not woolly aphid. Both are sucking insects and both use the cotton wool protection racket and both are detrimental to the trees they live on but my experience is that adelgid is much more damaging.

[Rolf]

Just come home from a demonstration on JBP by a major demonstrator, and this very bug was mentioned.
Get rid of it as it will kill eventually your tree.
Treatment was, Winter treatment Lime Sulphur diluted 20%, summer treatment diluted 10%.
Saturate the tree including the base 2 weeks apart.
Cheers Marie

Hi there,
I was wondering, will Lime Sulfur affect or kill the mycorrhiza in the soil/substrate of your JBP????

Cheers
Rolf