Here Are Your Big-Time Citrus Pests...

When compared to other fruit trees, citrus are basically carefree. You do not have to spray nearly as often as you do for say, peaches or apples. They tolerate an amazing amount of neglect and still fruit reliably. However, keeping citrus in optimal health will require some vigilance though as they are prone to a myriad of pests. Scale, spider mites, aphids, citrus leaf miners, and whitefly are just some of the things that prey on citrus. If you want to look at the bright side, more times than not, you will not have to fight all of these critters at the same time. One year may be bad with aphids, the next year will be bad with whitefly. Doesn’t that make you feel better?

Here, a rundown of some of citrus' common feeders; plus, I've got solutions for each, photos in the scroll-through gallery above, plus my general advice for warding them off long-term.

SCALE & MEALYBUGS are white, brown, or orange stationary insects that suck plant juices. Though you'll mostly find them on the undersides of leaves, they will attack the fruit if the infestation is severe enough. What to do: Scale can be controlled with horticultural oil and/or a non-systemic insecticide; mealybugs with the oil or Insecticidal soap. There is now a systemic insecticide that can be used on citrus trees in the ground, but it is NOT labeled for container-grown citrus. Please follow all label directions. The label is the law!

SPIDER MITES also feed on plant juices, and these tiny red or orange arachnids can reproduce very quickly. Their giveaway is yellow or orange speckles on the leaves. What to do: They can be controlled with horticultural oil and insecticidal soaps. Because they are arachnids, spider mites are not affected by certain insecticides so if you use a type of pesticide, make sure the label reads "For Use on Spider Mites" or says clearly that it is a miticide.

APHIDS are another type of sucking insects. They like young, new growth and can severely damage emerging growth in the spring. You'll usually find these where there are ants—they get along with each other in a loving way. Ants feed on the sticky honeydew that aphids produce, so ants protect and help move them around. What to do:  Introducing or attracting ladybugs to the area will go along way in controlling aphids. Insecticidal soap will also help.

CITRUS LEAF MINERS (CLM) are a recent introduction to the United States. CLMs are nocturnal moths that lay their eggs on young flushes of growth. After hatching in four to five days, the larvae begin tunneling just underneath the leaf surface, creating a squiggly pattern on the leaf. Once inside the leaf, the miner is impossible to control, though horticultural oil seems to help in discouraging the moth from laying her eggs. This insect is mostly a cosmetic damage problem, but the hole it leaves when leaving the leaf can be an entrance for citrus diseases. Very young plants can be stunted due to the leaf being contorted and not being able to produce as much food. Larger trees are not affected as much.

WHITEFLY are particularly bothersome because the damage they cause shows up long after they are gone. They live and breed on the undersides of leaves and feed on their juices. What to do: Insecticidal soap seems to be the best defense.

ORANGE DOGS AND GRASSHOPPERS are leaf-chewing pests. Both of these pests can defoliate a young citrus tree in a matter of days, if not hours. Orange dogs are the larvae of the Swallowtail Butterfly. Their camouflage is that they look like bird poop. What to do: Any insecticide labeled for grasshoppers and citrus can be used for them. Attracting birds will help, also. Orange dogs are caterpillars so you can use BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) to control them. BT is a naturally occurring bacterial disease of insects. It is considered safe to people and non-target species, such as wildlife, and can be used on essentially all food crops.

BIRDS can be of assistance or they can be a pest. When they are eating other pests, great. But there are times—and I have no idea why—they like to peck at the fruit. It causes the fruit to look scarred as you can see in the picture. Maybe they want to see if they can get up a good game of volleyball, who knows. What to do: Nothing—the fruit is still edible.

MY BIG-PICTURE ADVICE: The best line of defense to control any these annoying pests is too keep your plant as healthy as possible. They will look for plants in declining health. Also, scout your plants at least once a week. Early detection will go a long way in saving yourself headaches later on.

As always, if you have any questions regarding whether or not you have one or more of these pests, what you need to do about it, or any other questions, please feel free to e-mail me at:

TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com

Happy Growing!

Darren