Bugs in My Peaches - Part 2

For the past three seasons, bugs have ruined our entire peach crop. I still don't know exactly what the bugs are...so many people have told me different things, I don't know what to believe.


Photo above: April 2011.  UF Sun Peach Tree in Zone 10 East Coast FL

Everything I've read says I need to prevent infestation versus treat bugs once they arrive. I feel like I've done everything. So, short of ripping out the tree and starting fresh, here's what I resorted to...

I mixed 2 teaspoons of malathion liquid concentrate into a gallon sprayer. I added 2 tablespoons of sevin concentrate from Home Depot. I waited until dusk, and I sprayed the foliage and trunk of the tree with about a half gallon of the mixture. I'm going to wait a week and possibly spray the tree again with the spray after I dilute it a bit more.

I have a feeling, the mixture is going to burn the leaves. I also have a feeling, I'm going to harm and possibly kill bees...which is BAD for all the other garden items I want the bees to pollinate. I tried very hard not to let the spray get onto anything else or to travel very far. I hate putting this stuff on my plants, but this is the last resort for this peach tree. As the Smiths would say, "We'll see."

Want to see the bugs? Check out this video.


Here's the excerpt of the article I found on EDIS which gave me the recipe for the concoction.

Insect Control in Dooryard Peaches

For dooryard peaches (also see 2006 Southeastern Peach, Nectarine and Plum Pest Management and Culture Guide (http://entomology. ent.uga.edu/peach/peach_guide/title.htm)), use a mixture of Malathion plus Sevin or Methoxychlor. Mix 4 tablespoons of 25% malathion wettable powder or 2 teaspoons of 57% malathion liquid concentrate per gal of water. Then add 3 tablespoons of 50% methoxychlor wettable powder or 2 tablespoons of 50% Sevin wettable powder. Do not apply malathion within 7 days or methoxychlor within 21 days or Sevin within 1 day of harvest.