{"id":2724,"date":"2019-05-09T00:04:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T07:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-515\/"},"modified":"2024-11-13T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T23:50:19","slug":"control-of-cypress-tip-moth-on-cypress-trees","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/control-of-cypress-tip-moth-on-cypress-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"control of cypress tip moth on cypress trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

I haven’t been able to find much about control of cypress tip moth on true cypress (Cupressus). I’m looking for a non-toxic control instead of the WSU recommendation of Orthene. Would Neem possibly work? Spinosad? Both are registered for leaf miners (fly larvae), but this is a moth larvae. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) won’t work because the larvae are inside of the foliage. What’s the best timing for a non-toxic? WSU recommends controlling the adults in July-August.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

University of
\nBritish Columbia Botanical Garden’s forum<\/a> has this to say:<\/p>\n

“In the west, cypress tip moth sometimes infests cypress (Cupressus and
\nCupressocyparis) and false cypress (Chamaecyparis); those are also
\nsometimes called cedars. In the east, cedar often refers to Juniperus
\n(red cedar), Thuja or Chamaecyparis (white cedar); all are subject to
\nbagworm infestations and various tip-miners. In the west, timely shearing
\nis the most effective way to control cypress tip moth, and this may also
\nbe a tactic in other parts of North America.<\/p>\n

“In many cases, infestations occur because there are few natural enemies
\nabout to reduce pest levels. Sometimes, pests are attracted to plants
\nthat are already weakened by stress. Healthy plants and diverse
\nplantings, together with a reduction in pesticide use, will over time,
\nincrease beneficial organisms which will in turn reduce pest levels.
\nSpraying to reduce pests generally affects beneficials to a greater
\ndegree than the actual target pest. This is because pest species often
\nhave a greater capacity to rebound — they often reproduce faster, have a
\ngreater tolerance for pesticide residues and have a greater capacity to
\nbecome resistant to pesticides.”<\/p>\n

Oregon State University’s IPM site<\/a> only mentions chemical controls.<\/p>\n

From an online forum, ‘Horticulture Guy:’<\/p>\n

Q. I have a row of 16 – three year old “Emerald Green” arborvitaes. I
\nsuspect they have arborvitae leafminer (cypress tip moth). I have
\nnoticed the moths before, but now there are more and I just recently
\nnoticed brownish-yellow tips on a couple of the trees. All of them have
\nlots of needles falling from the interior. My problem is that I have
\nreceived conflicting reports about the proper time to spray for them, and
\nis there anything I can do in the meantime to lesson the damage? Thank
\nyou! Linda Brieger – Tacoma, WA<\/p>\n

A. The way to gain control over any pest population is to know its life
\ncycle. Spraying is geared toward eliminating the adult form of the
\ninsect, which is a moth as the second of the two common names indicates.
\nThe most likely reason you may see conflicting reports on when to spray
\nthe moths is because of varying times the moth may emerge in different
\nregions where they are present. They are generally active in our area
\nfrom April to June with a peak of activity in May. The moths lay their
\neggs during this period and the eggs hatch and then burrow into the
\nneedles of the host plant. According to the WSU extension the adult
\nmoths are silver-tan and approximately 1\/4″ in length. External sprays
\nwon’t have an effect on the larvae once they burrow so you need to spray
\nweekly during this period to catch the larvae as they hatch. Systemic
\ninsecticides are able to kill the larvae once they are in the host. You
\ncan limit systemic insecticide spraying to one application near the
\nbeginning of the activity since they generally remain effective for some
\ntime (see labels for instructions). As far as “in the meantime” a
\nsprayless solution is to prune out and destroy infected parts of the host
\nnow so that there are less moths in the spring. You can also keep an eye
\nout in the spring for the white cocoons that form after the larvae exit
\nthe host to become adult moths. You can remove these as well.<\/p>\n

University of California Integrated Pest Management<\/a> suggests that proper
\ncultural care and removal of susceptible plants is the answer. Excerpt:<\/p>\n

Provide proper cultural care to keep plants vigorous. Prune out and
\ndispose of foliage infested with immature leafminers to restore the
\nplant’s aesthetic appearance and provide some control. Consider replacing
\nplants especially susceptible to the cypress tip miner. High populations
\nand damage can be reduced on established plantings by applying a
\nbroad-spectrum, persistent insecticide such as acephate on susceptible
\nvarieties when adult moths are active. Beginning in early spring, examine
\nfoliage tips for the cocoons. When these appear, vigorously shake foliage
\nand watch to see if silvery tan, tiny moths fly up then settle back on
\nthe foliage. One application to foliage can be made when a large number
\nof tip moths appear, between March and May in California. This reduces
\nbrowning next season.<\/p>\n

You could try using the Neem oil (instead of the more toxic alternatives)
\nalthough I did not find any information specifically suggesting this as a
\ncontrol for cypress tip moth. The WSU book, Pacific Northwest Landscape
\nIPM Manual (2002) suggests natural parasites which attack this species of
\ninsect, but they do not specify the identity of these predators. They
\nstate that there are no “biorational pesticide management options” for
\nthis pest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I haven’t been able to find much about control of cypress tip moth on true cypress (Cupressus). I’m looking for a non-toxic control instead of the WSU recommendation of Orthene. Would Neem possibly work? Spinosad? Both are registered for leaf miners (fly larvae), but this is a moth larvae. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) won’t work because the larvae are inside of the foliage. What’s the best timing for a non-toxic? WSU recommends controlling the adults in July-August.   University of British…<\/p>\n

Continue reading control of cypress tip moth on cypress trees<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[671,146,205],"class_list":["post-2724","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-cupressus","keyword-moths","keyword-trees-diseases-and-pests"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}