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From YouTube: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid with Linda Blue
Description
If you've ever noticed white, cotton-like spots all over your Hemlock trees, they're aren't a fungus or another plant, they're actually bugs. Known as Woolly Adelgids, they infect and spread from Hemlock to Hemlock until they've had their fill. However with the help of the Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Office and Linda Blue, you can combat these pests.
Learn all the tricks to protect your Hemlocks from the Woolly Adelgid. For more information you can call the Extension Office at 828.255.5522 or check out their web site at buncombe.ces.ncsu.edu.
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For more information about Buncombe County Government, visit http://www.buncombecounty.org/.
A
A
By
now,
most
people
in
Western,
North
Carolina
are
probably
aware
that
our
hemlock
trees
are
threatened
by
a
tiny
insect
called
the
hemlock
woolly
adelgid.
This
is
not
a
native
insect,
so,
unfortunately,
our
native
hemlock
trees
do
not
have
any
resistance
to
it.
Since
the
insect
can
build
up
a
population
very
quickly,
it
has
the
potential
to
kill
even
a
large
hemlock
tree
in
just
a
few
years,
especially
if
the
tree
is
stressed
by
other
factors
such
as
drought.
The
insect
does
not
attack
any
other
species
of
trees.
A
If
you
have
hemlock
trees
in
your
yard
that
you
would
like
to
protect
from
the
insect,
it's
a
good
idea
to
inspect
your
trees
as
much
as
twice
a
year.
What
you'll
be
looking
for
is
these
white
woolly
masses
all
along
the
twigs
are
the
stems
of
the
trees
right
at
the
base
of
all
of
these
needles.
In
each
of
these
little
white
woolly
masses,
there
is
actually
a
little
tiny,
insect
or
eggs
depending
on
the
time
of
year,
underneath
of
that
little
protective
layer,
and
that
insect
is
sucking
the
SAP
out
of
the
tree.
A
You
do
have
the
ability
to
protect
many
of
the
hemlock
trees
if
you
catch
an
infestation
in
time.
So
for
that
reason
it
is
important
that
you
be
keeping
an
eye
on
your
trees
so
that
you
can
catch
an
infestation
early
while
there
is
still
time
to
save
the
tree.
So
what
do
you
do
if
you
find
that
your
trees
are
infested?
If
you
have
smaller
trees,
such
as
perhaps
a
screening
hedge
that
you're
keeping
sheered
to
a
size
that
you
can
spray,
usually
no
more
than
about
eight
feet
in
size?
A
There
are
some
organic
materials
that
you
can
use,
for
example,
the
insecticidal
soap
materials
or
also
the
various
products
of
the
horticultural
oil.
Now
you
need
to
spray
these
at
the
right
time
of
year.
This
insect
has
two
generations
life
cycles
per
year,
the
most
effective
time
to
treat
with
the
oil
or
the
soap
is
going
to
be
in
the
fall
in
August,
September
or
October.
A
This
is
the
time
when
the
second
generation
has
hatched
out
and
the
little
tiny
baby
adelgid
to
which
we
call
nymphs
or
crawlers,
are
crawling
on
the
needles
and
are
easily
killed
by
the
insecticide.
If
you
don't
get
them
at
that
time,
a
second
best
time
is
going
to
be
in
the
spring,
from
February
or
March
into
April.
Up
until
the
time
the
new
growth
has
come
out
on
the
trees.
Once
you've
got
that
tender
green
new
growth,
the
material
can
actually
burn
of
those
young
needles.
A
So
you
don't
want
to
apply
it
at
that
point.
It's
also
going
to
be
very
important
with
these
sprays
that
you
get
a
very
good
coverage
on
both
tops
and
bottoms
of
the
needles,
because
the
soaps
and
oils
do
not
have
any
residual
activity
so
you're,
relying
on
actually
contacting
the
insect
with
that
material.
If
you
have
a
hedge
that
you're
going
to
keep
to
a
small
enough
size,
you
probably
will
want
to
plan
to
just
treat
that
hedge
spray,
it
every
fall
to
keep
the
adelgid
under
control,
okay.
A
But
what
about
those
large
trees
that
are
going
to
be
too
big
to
spray?
Well,
here
you
do
have
a
few
options.
One
would
be
soil
drenches,
which
in
many
case
you
can
do
yourself
with
a
systemic
insecticide
or
perhaps
a
trunk
injection,
for
which
you
would
need
to
hire
a
professional.
Now
you
can
do
a
soil
drench
yourself
with
a
systemic.
A
A
You
can
go
to
a
garden
center
and
find
this
home
owned
owner
version
of
the
a
Bayer
Advanced
tree
and
shrub
insect
control.
If
you
have
several
large
trees,
however,
you
may
want
to
look
for
a
more
professional
strength
product
some
of
the
garden
centers
will
sell
this
version
that
it
says
landscape
formula.
This
is
a
more
concentrated
version
for
which
you
use
about
half
the
amount
that
you
use
with
the
other
product.
A
There
are
also
now
some
generic
brands
of
imidacloprid
you'll
have
to
go
to
agricultural
supply
type,
warehouse
type
stores
to
look
for
other
brand
names
of
the
EMA
to
cooperate,
but
those
two
you
can
use
a
smaller
amount
of
so
you'll
need
to
kind
of
make
that
determination
based
on
the
size
of
the
trees
and
how
much
of
the
product
you're
going
to
need.
There's
a
couple
of
key
factors
here
before
you
decide
to
do
a
soil
drench
that
you
need
to
know.
A
First,
it's
really
critical
that
you
catch
the
tree
while
it's
healthy
enough
to
be
able
to
take
up
the
systemic
material
if
the
tree
has
been
infested
long
enough
to
where
it's
already
dropping
some
needles
or
it's
lost
its
good
green
color
and
has
turned
a
very
gray
color.
That
tree
probably
is
not
going
to
be
healthy
enough
to
be
able
to
absorb
that
systemic
material
through
its
root
system
and
translocated
all
the
way
up
through
the
top
of
the
tree.
A
In
that
case,
the
only
other
option
you
have
is
to
hire
a
professional
to
do
a
spray
application
of
other
systemic
products
which
are
restricted
use,
materials
they're,
not
something
that
you
could
apply
yourself.
So
you
would
need
to
hire
somebody
to
do
that.
The
other
critical
factor
is
the
timing
on.
When
you
apply
your
systemic
material,
it's
usually
advised
that
spring
or
fall
are
the
most
desired
times,
because
the
tree
is
taking
up
a
lot
of
water
and
moving
a
lot
through
the
system
of
the
tree.
A
So
you
can
apply
the
EMA
decloak
red
products,
even
through
the
summer
months,
as
long
as
we're
having
adequate
rainfall
at
the
time
now,
you're
going
to
need
to
figure
out
how
much
of
this
material
you
need
to
purchase.
So
before
you
go
to
the
store.
I
do
recommend
that
you
take
your
tape
measure
and
you
go
out,
and
you
measure
the
circumference
of
the
tree.
Your
homeowner
products
are
going
to
give
you
instruction
per
inch
of
circumference.
That
is
the
measurement
around
the
tree.
A
B
Did
you
know
that
one
in
five
Americans
will
be
diagnosed
with
skin
cancer
in
their
lifetime?
Now
is
the
time
to
again
protecting
yourself
and
your
family
sunscreen
should
be
applied,
year-round,
30
minutes
before
going
outside.
If
using
sunscreen
as
a
habit,
you
don't
want
to
get
into
then
dress
to
protect
yourself.
The
right
clothing
can
block
out
the
sun's
harmful
rays.
B
It
should
be
one
of
the
first
lines
of
defense,
long-sleeve
shirts,
with
collars
and
long
pants
provide
the
most
protection
because
it
leaves
less
skin
exposed
darker
colors
absorb
ultraviolet
lights
better
than
light
colors
and
provide
more
protection
for
your
skin.
Shoes
will
also
protect
your
feet.
More
than
sandals
wearing
a
hat
with
a
three-inch
groom
will
help
in
protecting
you
face
neck
and
ears.
Don't
forget
to
sunglasses
the
block
95
to
100
percent
of
the
UV
rays.
Protecting
your
eyes
may
save
you
from
developing
cataracts
later
in
life.
Remember.
A
Okay,
when
you
are
ready
to
apply
your
soil
drench,
what
you
want
to
do
is
to
go
up
under
your
tree
and
about
a
foot
or
so
out
from
the
tree.
You
need
to
be
able
to
get
good
contact
with
the
soil,
so
if
there
is
mulch
or
leaf
litter
under
the
tree,
you
may
want
to
use
your
rake
to
just
pull
that
back
so
that
you
can
get
right
up
under
the
tree.
A
A
It
doesn't
have
to
be
real,
deep,
just
an
inch
or
two
enough
so
that
you
can
gently
pour
your
chemical
solution
into
that
trench
and
have
it
soak
right
in
around
the
base
of
the
tree
so
that
you
don't
have
any
runoff.
If
you
prefer,
you
can
use
a
bar
to
make
holes
around
the
base
of
the
tree
into
the
ground,
but
don't
go
any
deeper
than
about
three
or
four
inches,
because
you
do
not
want
to
get
the
material
down
too
deep
and
miss
the
root
zone.
A
Once
you've
got
your
trench,
ready,
you're
now
ready
to
mix
your
product,
we
measured
the
circumference
of
this
tree
about
four
feet
off
the
ground
as
being
43
inches.
Now
this
product
contains
32
ounces
in
this
bottle,
since
we
need
to
apply
one
ounce
of
the
material
for
every
inch
of
circumference
of
the
tree,
that
means
we're
going
to
need
one
bottle,
plus
another
11
ounces
or
about
another
cup
and
a
third
now
the
amount
of
water
that
you
mix
this
in,
isn't
all
that
critical.
A
Generally,
you
can
figure
it's
going
to
take
about
two
or
three
gallons
of
water
to
go
all
the
way
around
the
base
of
your
tree,
so
mix
up
the
right
amount
of
chemical
for
the
size
of
the
tree
into
a
couple
of
gallons
of
water
and
then
gently
go
around
and
pour
this
all
around
your
trench.
Now
you
can
come
back
with
another
bucket
of
just
plain
water,
to
kind
of
soak
that
in
and
now
you're
done,
you
can
fill
that
trench
back
in
or
covered
up
with
mulch.
A
If
you
want
again,
the
most
in
critical
factor
here
is
that
you
do
this
at
a
time
when
there's
plenty
of
moisture
in
the
soil,
so
that
the
tree
can
actually
take
up
this
material
rapidly.
Even
then
do
be
aware
that
it's
a
slow
process
for
a
large
tree
to
absorb
this
chemical
and
transfer
it
all
the
way
up
to
the
top
of
the
tree.
A
It
may
take
a
few
months,
or
even
as
much
as
a
year
before
the
material
actually
works
throughout
the
tree,
also
keep
in
mind
that
even
once
the
material
has
worked,
the
little
white
woolly
masses
are
going
to
stay
there
for
a
while.
So
it's
often
difficult
to
tell
for
sure
that
the
chemical
has
actually
done
its
work,
so
you
may
have
to
wait
until
next
spring.
After
new
growth
comes
out
on
the
tree
before
you
check
the
tree
and
determine
that
there
is
no
new
infestation
occurring.
A
Just
a
couple
of
other
important
factors
on
treating
trees
with
hemlock,
woolly
adelgid
one
is
that
people
are
often
inclined
to
want
to
feel
like
they're
helping
the
tree
by
fertilizing.
It
actually
is
not
recommended
to
apply
nitrogen
fertilizer
to
hemlock
trees
that
are
infested
with
hemlock,
woolly
adelgid.
It's
found
that
the
extra
nitrogen
actually
boosts
the
reproductive
rate
of
the
insect,
so
it
actually
helps
the
insect
more
than
it
does
the
tree,
so
wait
until
you've
gotten
an
infestation
under
control
before
giving
any
fertilizer
treatments
to
your
tree.
A
A
In
your
yard
is
not
going
to
be
productive
because
they
will
quickly
move
on
to
other
areas,
so
that
type
of
procedure
needs
to
be
done
on
either
a
community-wide
basis
or
in
in
areas
like
natural
forests,
where
we
hope
the
insects
will
gradually
take
control
of
this
pest.
If
you
would
like
this,
information
in
the
form
of
a
leaflet
on
controlling
hemlock,
woolly
adelgid
feel
free
to
contact
the
Buncombe
County
office
of
Cooperative
Extension
and
we'll
be
glad
to
mail
one
out
to
you
or
tell
you
where
to
find
it
on
our
website.