I like this product (although I buy the concentrate and mix it for a pump sprayer) and use it myself to control codling moth on apples; there is some question just how effective it is, and whether the current Spectracide is the same as in the past. It worked for me in the past.

When using any insecticide or herbicide it is essential to read the label completely and carefully. In this case the important issues are applicability to your use (is it listed for use on pecans and is it effective against the pest in question?) and the number of times it may be used in one season (relevant if you need it more than once) and the pre-harvest interval (the period of time you must wait after applying it before it is deemed safe to eat.) You also need to have some idea of how much to use for a given area, but that won't be an issue right now.

The tent caterpillars are not very important, and are not easy to deal with once the tents have formed. You're right that they are not preventing ripening. Next year you can deal with those preemptively. If you have codling moth Spectracide should work, if sprayed at the right time. Use a codling moth pheromone trap (commonly available) to determine when they're active. At this time of year you don't have to worry about the pre-harvest interval, but as you get closer to the ripening date you'll need to figure that out if more sprays are needed. With codling moth there may be three or four generations per season, each requiring separate sprays.

I wear gloves, coveralls and goggles when spraying and am careful not to let spray drift into my face. I like to scrub up after using. I only spray a few times a year, so it's probably not a big issue, but I still like to be careful.

I hope you get to enjoy your new house and trees for years to come.

This post was edited by marknmt on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 16:32

Demandî
Karateî
Warriorî
Its in those products what percentage in Spectracide

.16% in this particular spectracide product. There is no mention of days before harvest or pecan trees or even fruit/nut trees on the label. On the lowes website, it does say it is harmful to fruits and vegetables.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes link

.16% in this particular spectracide product. There is no mention of days before harvest or pecan trees or even fruit/nut trees on the label. On the lowes website, it does say it is harmful to fruits and vegetables.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes link

I use Bt with some spreader-sticker to help it penetrate the web tents. I have also used spinosad. Both are rated as safe for use on food crops. Spinosad can hurt bees if sprayed while they are active. Bt is not deemed harmful to anything except worms and caterpillars that ingest it with the leaves they eat. Last year we had an excellent pecan yield with no worms on the tree or inside the nut husks. Best to spray either in the evening when there is still some light but no direct sun, so no bees are around, and the less windy the day the more spray will go where you want it. Spinosad comes in a bottle you can attach to a hose for hose-end spraying like the product you mentioned. I'm not sure if Bt does but you could do an Internet search. If not available to you locally (mine wasn't), you can order from that big online retailer whose name starts with A (I did). The thing about pecan nuts is that they are high in fats and I don't know if that makes certain insecticides, particularly those with a petrochemical base, more likely to be "dissolved" in (ie, taken up by and remain in) the nut meats, which could pose a problem for future consumption. Fruits don't have quite the same composition so I imagine residuals are of less concern there.

Amy, I would not use it if it were not perfectly clear. It's a matter of a few dollars to get the properly labelled version and to add the equipment needed to spray it. Although a hose-end sprayer works it uses much more chemical than needed and doesn't distribute well. A fine mist from a pump spray works better, even though it's more work.

From the information provided on Spectracide's website (www.spectracide.com) I found several labels. Please go to that website and sort out the different varieties and make sure that the variety you use is labelled for your use. It appears to me that the extended reach product is not labelled for use on edibles, and I wouldn't use it on pecans, even to kill the tent caterpillars on a pecan tree. I don't pretend to understand the chemistry behind these products nor the regulatory thinking, and I wouldn't encourage second-guessing what modifications might be made in the formula that we don't know about. For example, a product designed to be used on edibles might be known to break down at one rate, yet the same product might be modified to break down more slowly if limited to non-edibles. There's just too many variables at play.

I hope we're not confusing you. It's just that it takes a little time to sort it all out, I think.

Here link I use to check for a chemical to use on Pecans it changes from time to time mostly just new name product.
http://www.ent.uga.edu/pmh/Com_Fruit&Nuts.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia pest disease and weed control