Viburnum Beetle

Hi, I just moved to a new house and have 10 12' tall Viburnums. They are being destroyed by the viburnum beetle.

Obviously, there are too many and too highh to spray, they are multi-stemmed so I don't see how I can apply sticky stuff to kill the beetles as they go down the tree.

Is there anything I can do or are they "gonners"?

Viking, I don't know about this critter, but doesn't your sprayer have an extendable wand?

We don't have beetles on viburnum here, mainly aphids and borer. I do spray those professionally and I'm sure you could find someone to do it if you can't and need to. For next year the systemic insecticide Merit might work to prevent them from enjoying the taste so much.

Al

I lost one viburnham to the viburnahm leaf beetle and have saved the other one by spraying it with malathion, using a wand and hose connected to an Ortho brand jar for sprayers. The beetle defoliates the bush very rapidly so it has to be done as soon as you see damage. I think next year I will spray that vibunham in mid May as a preventative measure. Another viburnham on my property (a different variety) has not been hit with this problem.

Malathion must be used very judiciously as it is harmful to bees, only do what is necessary and prevent overspraying..

I just want to add, the bugs had pretty much completely defoliated my virburham and I thought it must be dead. (We were on vacation when the mischief started) But after consulting some gardening references, I sprayed and waited for the second set of leaves and was rewarded. So don't lose heart if the damage is extensive. It came back beautifully. I doubbt that it could survive an attack like that every year, however.