Preventive Intervention: Insect Control

When a pest called the hemlock woolly adelgid began devastating hemlock trees in Northeast states a few years ago, Bob Kandratavich stepped up efforts to sell preventive maintenance to his tree and shrub customers. Kandratavich, sales manager for Tomlinson-Bomberger Lawn Care & Landscape, Lancaster, Pa., tells his customers protecting their landscape plantings is far less expensive than replacing them.

"A 60-foot-tall hemlock tree is something you actually cannot replace," Kandratavich said. "Putting in a 20-foot hemlock might cost you $3,000. Knowing that, are you going to spend $100 to $150 to treat the tree? Sure you are. All hemlock trees [in our area] are susceptible to this pest, and if you don’t start treating them now, the trees will die within the next five years."

In his area, borers attack birch and redbud trees, Japanese beetles plague purple leaf plums, lace bugs ravage azaleas and oak trees suffer from an iron deficiency. All require preventive intervention. "We look at the individual plants that make up a landscape and create a program based on them," Kandratavich added. "Preventive treatments start in March and continue on a monthly basis through November."

After Tomlinson-Bomberger completes a landscape installation, the company automatically proposes a preventive maintenance plan. For existing lawn care customers, the company periodically sends flyers offering various landscape maintenance services. "When they respond to the flyer, we like to make an appointment to go out and evaluate their property," commented Kandratavich. "Our closure rate is much higher with an appointment. But, either way, we go out to evaluate the property and leave an appropriate estimate."

PREVENTIVE GRUB CONTROL. Though preventive maintenance for lawn care customers is fairly standard in terms of preemergence weed-control applications, not all customers sign up for preventive insect control. In central Illinois, Jack Robertson emphasizes preventive grub control as a major part of his turf management program. "We have very high populations of annual white grubs in this area," said the owner of Robertson Lawn Care, Springfield. "It’s our primary pest on lawns."

Robertson’s standard program includes five visits each year, with an optional grub control application. He recommends the treatment to customers with turf susceptible to grub infestation – especially those on the outer edges of town, adjacent to agricultural land. Other than thin lawns or those under dense shade, Robertson said most turf in the area is susceptible to grubs.

"The vast majority of our customers choose to take preventive grub control," noted Robertson, whose company services 95 percent residential and 5 percent commercial accounts. "Grubs are our No. 1 reason for an angry customer. A lawn may go through the whole summer with disease and drought stress, but as soon as they see those grubs in September, everything gets blamed on the insects. A preventive application of a residual grub control product keeps everybody happy."

To promote the grub control treatment, Robertson sends out flyers in the spring and fall, attempting to educate customers about grub damage. He doesn’t advise clients to adopt a curative approach for grubs. "We cannot inspect every lawn on peak grub-damage day," he explained. "If we did go out and show customers the big, ugly grubs, we’d create a negative situation. Most of our customers are very much aware of the damage grubs can do. We have much better insecticides to use today than we’ve ever had before. With that in mind, the customers approve of a preventive application."

VALUE OF EDUCATION. Munie Outdoor Services, Caseyville, Ill., sells preventive maintenance through newsletters, door hangers and spot evaluations. "Most people will grasp the value of preventive treatments if you can get the information to them," observed Rich Moffitt, vice president of operations. "The idea is to educate them."

By tailoring preventive applications to specific lawns and plants, Munie keeps treatments to a minimum. "We’re in the transition zone where weather conditions change on a daily basis," said Moffitt, adding that the company focuses on selling preventive treatments to customers with a history of damage. "We have different levels of programs and our deluxe lawn care program includes preventive grub control."

Mites and scale are a problem on many landscape plants and trees in the St. Louis area. In their preventive applications for scale, Munie sprays most plants, with the exception of maples, depending on the product label. "We try to keep insects in check because they can really do damage when conditions are hot and plants are stressed," Moffitt added. "We use an early dormant oil treatment and follow up with combinations of insecticides, fungicides and miticides on trees and shrubs."

FASTEST-GROWING PROGRAM. According to Kandratavich, his company’s tree and shrub maintenance program is its fastest growing area. Recent innovations in pesticide chemistry and changes in application technology simplify fall preventive treatment applications that will protect the tree throughout the growing season. For his company, soil injection is quickly becoming the new standard for preventive maintenance, Kandratavich added.

"Now, instead of having to work within a narrow application window, we can treat the tree at our convenience," Kandratavich related. "This creates new opportunities for us. We’re not bothering people during the season, and we can make the treatment when it fits our schedule. That’s a big benefit for us. Take the hemlock woolly adelgid problem, for example. Previously, we would have had to carry a lot of pesticide because we are treating very large trees. Now, we can treat the pest with soil injection. This gives us two advantages – we don’t have to worry about pesticide drift, and we don’t have to carry as much material."

Preventive maintenance is becoming increasingly common in more temperate areas of the country, as well as eastern and midwestern states. In Florida, Joe Williams observed that more than 50 percent of his customers opt for ornamental and turf maintenance. His company, Lawn Master, based in Pensacola, offers a standard program of three ornamental applications each year. "We don’t apply a pesticide unless there’s a pest to be managed," he said. "But we know when and where those pests will be a problem, so we treat on a preventive basis."

PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE MEASURES. Williams has encountered numerous lace bugs on azaleas lately, which are becoming a key problem in north Florida ornamental plantings. He tries to control them before they hatch. "Preventive treatments help us with our scheduling," he explained. "We know what problems to expect and when we’ll be spraying. I think offering preventive applications makes you a better company. You become proactive rather than reactive."

Jim Wanland agrees. As pest control manager at Western Arborists in Pasadena, Calif., Wanland tells his customers he can control their insect problems with two preventive applications each year. The alternative is multiple visits and higher costs. "If the insect is allowed to run rampant for a few years, it takes a while to get it in check," noted Wanland.

Red gum lerp psyllid on red gum eucalyptus trees is a major problem in California. Western Arborists offers a soil injection treatment that protects trees throughout the season. "This is a big enough problem that people can see the damage and know they need help," added Wanland. "With a preventive program, customers see a minimum amount of damage. That way, everybody’s happy. The guy paying the bill is happy, and we’re happy because we have a repeat customer."