I am a Mainlander who has only been up here Auckland. Northshore 2 yrs We have inherited, seven citrus trees, They have not been looked after, I am spraying them with conqueror oil, It is an old bottle without directions. Some of the trees have tiny white sticky insects under the leaves. Also have some leaves with large bumps. and holes in . Any advice welome
lythande1,
Nov 26, 7:45pm
Scale insects. Common. Conqueror is OK, just might be a bit expired.
Or maverick. I try not to spray when the trees are flowering though - cause you'll kill the bees too. Bees need all the help we can give them.
Scale causes sap oozing, which causes mould and ants.
But if the tree is old enough it won't do it much damage.
dottyone1,
Nov 26, 9:42pm
would neem oil be O.K for bees
maclad,
Nov 26, 9:51pm
Only if you spray early evening or late pm when the bees have gone home as the oil will stick up their wings and block all the breathing pores in their skin. I would be spraying with a combination of any spraying oil you choose to use with copper added to help with the lumpy leaves. the white things under the leaves maybe scale or they could be whitefly, either way spraying oil will help.
korban,
Nov 26, 10:21pm
Make sure you spray the underside of the leaves, that is where the bugs live.
bugalugs,
Nov 26, 10:57pm
Pyrethrum is a bee friendly insecticide I think.
harm_less,
Nov 26, 11:08pm
NO! Pyrethrum is broad spectrum so lethal to all insects including bees.
harm_less,
Nov 26, 11:16pm
This sounds like the results of verrucosis and/or botrytis which are both fungal diseases. Verrucosis will cause corky scabs on leaves and fruit. Botrytis will cause smooth wart like bumps on fruit. Symptoms are largely cosmetic but will limit crop if severe. Timely spraying with copper will get rid of both.
maclad,
Jul 20, 5:51am
Meant early morning or late PM when bees are too tired to fly anymore.
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