Insect Infestation Help: Valencia Orange Tree

[joshwakefield]

It isn't a spiderweb was just the lighting, I looked again and didn't see any insects on any side of the leaf. Should I remove the leaf in picture #1?

Removed the leaf in picture 3 and any like it (there were 3)

I've included some pics of the white spots in the background you reference as well as my current fruit load. The fruit looks great in my opinion. Valencia oranges take forever to ripen.

 

[Chuck]

It isn't a spiderweb was just the lighting, I looked again and didn't see any insects on any side of the leaf. Should I remove the leaf in picture #1?

Removed the leaf in picture 3 and any like it (there were 3)

I've included some pics of the white spots in the background you reference as well as my current fruit load. The fruit looks great in my opinion. Valencia oranges take forever to ripen.

View attachment 93452View attachment 93453View attachment 93454View attachment 93455

I would remove that leaf as well. Your fruit looks good as I see no evidence of mites on them. That last picture of the white spots is old damage and the offending insect was killed when you sprayed with spinosad. I still see white web-looking stuff on quite a few leaves, especially in the last picture. Here is what I would do if the plant were mine. I would spray with Neem on every inch of the plant. I would spray LATE LATE in the afternoon to ensure that the plant would not burn. Neem Oil is an insecticide, fungicide and a miticide but Neem Oil is limited by its shelf life. Once opened, a bottle of Neem will lose its effectiveness in about 6 weeks. It is still effective against eggs, however. I don't know for sure but I think you are in the early stages of a citrus mite infestation. It is much easier to take precautions now than it is to wait until the mites start their reproductive process.

 

[joshwakefield]

Thanks Chuck will do a neem spray tomorrow late afternoon and report back.

 

[joshwakefield]

Chuck,

Sorry I forgot to follow up but the small bug problem DID drop off and we had none from mid-november until now. Just today I saw some pop up which seemed odd in December to me. So I started thinking....what's different? And I realized I forgot to provide you with now what I realize is a critical piece to this puzzle. I had/have been using EcoScraps Citrus Fertilizer on the tree.

EcoScraps Citrus Fertilizer

I now realize that fertilizer is causing these bugs for sure. Because I had not added any (was instructed to only use once ever 1-2 months). since Early October (when initial problem started).

Is this expected with all fertilizers? Any suggestions on others I should use instead and/or do I even need to be fertilizing?

Thanks as always for all your help and advice.

Josh

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Sorry I forgot to follow up but the small bug problem DID drop off and we had none from mid-november until now. Just today I saw some pop up which seemed odd in December to me. So I started thinking....what's different? And I realized I forgot to provide you with now what I realize is a critical piece to this puzzle. I had/have been using EcoScraps Citrus Fertilizer on the tree.

EcoScraps Citrus Fertilizer

I now realize that fertilizer is causing these bugs for sure. Because I had not added any (was instructed to only use once ever 1-2 months). since Early October (when initial problem started).

Is this expected with all fertilizers? Any suggestions on others I should use instead and/or do I even need to be fertilizing?

Thanks as always for all your help and advice.

Josh

I looked at the ingredients label and there is nothing that the fertilizer is made from to cause insects to be attracted to the plant. Everything is basic organic materials. This is good fertilizer, a tad expensive, but good stuff. All citrus needs to be fertilized and this fertilizer is a slow release, fairly inclusive product.
Are these new insects the same as when you first posted. If so all you have to do is give the soil a good drench with Neem Oil to kill them and the eggs. It is also a good practice to lightly prophylactically spray about twice per month even if you don't see any insects. Fungus gnats breed in moist soil. If you adjust your watering schedule and let the top couple of inches dry out more you will not have these annoying bugs.

 

[joshwakefield]

They are the same insects.

I can't imagine the fertilizer is attracting them from somewhere else as I haven't seen these things AT ALL in weeks. I put up those sticky papers (in photo above) just to make sure there are none (these have been empty for week). I fertilized maybe 3 days ago and today they are back. I guess I'm suggesting something in the fertilizer is spawning these bugs in some way (shrug)?

Anyways before I fertilized the plant was BONE dry (especially top couple of inches).

I can continue to soak or perhaps I just soak with a Neem mixture every time I fertilize (shrug).

It's just odd to me there have been literally 0 for 4-7 weeks and then all of a sudden I fertilize and they pop back up.

I'll continue to treat as you suggest.

Thanks again,

Josh

 

[Chuck]

They are the same insects.

I can't imagine the fertilizer is attracting them from somewhere else as I haven't seen these things AT ALL in weeks. I put up those sticky papers (in photo above) just to make sure there are none (these have been empty for week). I fertilized maybe 3 days ago and today they are back. I guess I'm suggesting something in the fertilizer is spawning these bugs in some way (shrug)?

Anyways before I fertilized the plant was BONE dry (especially top couple of inches).

I can continue to soak or perhaps I just soak with a Neem mixture every time I fertilize (shrug).

It's just odd to me there have been literally 0 for 4-7 weeks and then all of a sudden I fertilize and they pop back up.

I'll continue to treat as you suggest.

Thanks again,

Josh

I sometimes get fungus gnats in my house and I don't have any household plants. They seem to like the kitchen more than anywhere else and the only possible thing that they could feed on is kitchen garbage. All I really know about them is that they feed on dead decaying organic matter and are completely harmless to plants.