Help....Viburnum Leaf Beetle.

 


This pest has been on the rise the last two years in my area South east
UK
/south coast.  In fact two years ago I don't think I even saw a
mulched Viburnum
tinus in the area.

The situation is this: One of my contracts is for a private housing
estate circa
2 acres.  About 75% of the communal and private hedges are
viburnum tinus.  They
are getting decimated with about a patchy 5% dead.
No one is keen on pesticides,
least of all me, as it is only a short
term solution in my view with too many
harmful side effects. Anyway many
residents, and it is a comittee decision, are
dead set against them and
pesticides in my view are not really viable on this
scale.  Is there any
honeypot I can use to limit these critters? (I was thinking
an old
fashioned beetle trap in the ground under the hedge with a content they
can't resist - maybe if I laced it with their stinky beetle poo or fox
urine?).
At the moment they are mating and will be egg laying soon
enough.

What is worse is the poor shrubs are trying to live, putting out basal
growth
but they are all getting skeletonised and a few more years of
this and they'll
all be dead.

If I can't get them under wraps I'm looking at £25k+ for new hedging,
probably
Griselinia.

Please help.




--
Sambo

 


Sambo;898438 Wrote:

area South east

circa 2 acres.  About 75% of the communal and private hedges are

> viburnum

tinus.  They are getting decimated with about a patchy 5% dead.

> No one is keen

on pesticides, least of all me, as it is only a short

> term solution in my view

with too many harmful side effects. Anyway many

> residents, and it is a

comittee decision, are dead set against them and

> pesticides in my view are not

really viable on this scale.  Is there any

> honeypot I can use to limit these

critters? (I was thinking an old

> fashioned beetle trap in the ground under the

hedge with a content they

> can't resist - maybe if I laced it with their stinky

beetle poo or fox

> urine?).  At the moment they are mating and will be egg

laying soon

growth but they are all getting skeletonised and a few more years of

> this and

they'll all be dead.

probably Griselinia.

Google "Viburnum leaf beetle organic control" and you get quite alot of
useful
info.




--
Owdboggy