How Should I Deal With The Insects Attacking My Persimmon Tree?

Are the leaves covered with small bumps?

Are there holes in the trunk?

Are there any silky caterpillar tents in the branches in late summer?

Are the leaf margins notched?

Are there any irregular galls on undersides of leaves, or buds?

Do the leaves and stems have white, cottony clusters on them?

Do the leaves appear crinkled and malformed?

Leaves covered by small bumps are caused by scales. Scrape off minor infestations with your fingernail. Prune out badly infested growth, or use a soft brush and soapy water to gently scrub the scales off the stems. Control scales by spraying insecticidal oil during the growing season.

Adult flathead borers are beetles, flat-looking, and colored metallic brown to a dull gray. They emerge in the spring and females lay eggs in crevices in the tree bark. If the host tree is vigorous and healthy, these burrowing worms may be drowned by the sap. Weak trees fall victim to the borers' activity as they tunnel in the trunk, producing sawdust-like material and eventually girdling the tree. Young trees are particularly vulnerable. If the tunnels are fairly straight, kill the borer larva by probing the tunnel with a flexible wire.

Fall webworm is a caterpillar that makes silky tents during Fall. Fall webworms are usually held in check by songbirds, yellow jackets, wasps, and rodents. You can easily remove the webs when they occur in trees. Insecticides are seldom necessary for fall webworm, especially in trees, and should be considered only if the infestation is heavy. Bacillus thuriengensis (BT) can be used when the caterpillars are small, but it will not provide satisfactory control once the webs are large.

Notched edges on leaves are usually caused by insects - Fuller rose beetles. This small, grayish-brown beetle has a cream-colored stripe on each side of its body. It feeds on foliage usually at night time. Larvae usually feed on roots. You can handpick the adults as they hide in foliage during the day. The application of sticky substance at the base of the plant should prevent adults from climbing up the plant. Introduce parasitic nematodes to the surrounding soil to control larvae.

Brown lace collar or persimmon bud mites are known pests of persimmon. Monitor for the presence of gall mites by regularly checking the undersides of leaves. In large trees, the damage is often limited and does not require control. Miticides need to be applied protectively as once the mites have entered the leaves, chemical control is ineffective.

White, cottony clusters on leaves and stems are caused by mealybugs. These tiny insects are covered with a fluffy white coating. They feed by sucking plants sap. They produce sticky substance honeydew which makes leaves sticky. You can control them by washing them off the plant with water spray. Insecticidal soap should be used with severe infestations.

Persimmon psylla is the primary leaf pest and is found attacking newly forming leaves in spring. The white powdery covered nymphs and black-bodied adults are found feeding inside the misshapen leaves which makes control difficult. Psylla infestations stunt the growth of shoots on young trees. Control with conventional pesticides should be timed to the bloom stage.

Twig girdlers attack persimmon and a variety of tree species most notably hickory and pecan. During September and October, the adult female deposits her eggs by piercing the bark below the buds on terminal twigs. Pick up and dispose of all of the twigs on the ground beneath trees and destroy them. Many of the twigs you destroy will contain eggs or larva.