This has put pest activity on hold and gives growers an extra week or two to plan for the spring flurry of activity. If you are planning to use a registered dormant oil formulation to control populations of adelgids, aphids, mites or scale insects then you should be making those applications at this time. Spray dormant oil only when temperatures are above 40 F and there is no danger of freezing before the oil dries. Likewise follow all label directions prior to making any application of a dormant oil or any other registered control measure. This is an excellent time of year to be doing some scouting for insect and disease problems.
Many pests are easier to spot before the new growth starts.
Cultural and mechanical control can also be used to eliminate pests at this time of year. Scotch pines infected with pine-pine gall or harboring initial infestations of striped pine scale can safely be cut out and destroyed now. Rhabdocline needlecast symptoms are very apparent at this time of year. Scouting your Douglas fir fields is easy before new growth starts. Look for red-brown blotches on both sides of the needles.