Azalea Lace Bug

[Rissie]

Hi everyone,

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on.

I’m wondering if I can defoliate a severely lace bug infested Azalea? I’m in South Coast NSW.

I have Contendor to spray it with but would prefer a more natural method before I do this.

Any and all advice would be appreciated

Thanks in advance.

[Akamatsu]

Yes you can. If you defoliate and include a light prune that will remove them. Keep in mind however that as it is late in the season, it will regrow fine, however there may not be enough time for it to produce any flower buds before winter dormancy.

[Rissie]

Thanks so much for the info Akamatsu.
It’s much appreciated

[Phil Rabl]

Remember too, that lace bugs are tricky to eliminate. They have three life stages (egg, nymph, and adult) and have multiple generations throughout the growing season. So, one defoliation or spraying is unlikely to get rid of them. They can overwinter as eggs.

[Akhi]

I have found spraying water regular 2-3 times a day beneficial

[kcpoole]

Now is the last time to do a hard prune before flower buds set for the year.
Give them a good trim and get rid of affected leaves

Ken

[Akamatsu]

Remember too, that lace bugs are tricky to eliminate. They have three life stages (egg, nymph, and adult) and have multiple generations throughout the growing season. So, one defoliation or spraying is unlikely to get rid of them. They can overwinter as eggs.

Lace bug normally lay their eggs along the midrib or around the edges of the underside of the leaves. So if all of the leaves are removed reinfection is most likely to occur from adults coming from other infected plants. Also azaleas growing in the shade seems to have lower infection rates.
In any case, to really eliminate them you need to defoliate all of your azalea plants at the same time. The best time for this I found is in early December after most azaleas have finished flowering. This coincides nicely with regular azalea maintenance like pruning, wiring and repotting for both Satsuki and Kurume varieties.