Trapping insects, stopping thrips take different tactics
Question: Do you know where I can get pheromone traps for insects that cause damage in our area and also for thrips that damage nectarines?
Try Peaceful Valley at tinyurl.com/morrispestcontrol.
Pheromone traps can be used to identify which insect problems you have in your backyard orchard and when to spray. Commonly, we use them for peaches, nectarines, apples and pears. You will want a trap for each insect and about three or four lures for each trap because they have to be replaced regularly. You will replace the lures about every four to five weeks until harvest, and then you can stop.
There are no traps for thrips. For thrips, you will need spinosad biological insecticide, which you can get from local nurseries. The label may not say spinosad but may say something like borer or bagworm control. You may have to look at the ingredients to find spinosad.
Bob Morris is a professor emeritus in horticulture with the University of Nevada and can be reached at extremehort@aol.com. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com.