Safari Insecticide labeled for control of HWA in 8 states
10 Aug, 2009 By: Landscape Management Staff Athletic Turf NewsGERMANTOWN, TN — Safari Insecticide has received a Section 24(c) Special Local Need (SLN) label in multiple states for use against the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), a highly devastating, invasive pest that is killing hemlock trees in huge numbers along the US Eastern seaboard. Previously available for use in ornamental landscapes, this label expands the approved use of Safari to include hemlocks growing on public and private lands, including national parks.
Under the SLN label, Safari may be applied as a soil injection, soil drench or basal trunk spray to hemlock trees on private and public lands in Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. It features dinotefuran as its active ingredient, a new-generation, super-systemic neonicotinoid that provides rapid control of HWA and a broad spectrum of other major landscape and ornamental pests. In addition to HWA, Safari also controls elongate hemlock scale, another common pest to hemlock trees.
“We’re seeing the twilight of the hemlock except in areas where you can treat them," notes Sam Adams, an ISA-certified arborist and general manager of Cortese Tree Specialists, Knoxville, TN. "A systemic like Safari is a real godsend because it moves very rapidly into trees that you would normally write off because they’re almost dead — especially if you use the trunk-spray application. Most people really love the trunk spray because it’s non-invasive and you don’t have to drill holes in the tree. It’s also very quick and efficient. Instead of waiting six weeks to two months, you’re getting control in a week to 10 days. When you’ve got trees that still haven’t been treated this deep into a period of infestation, we feel Safari is the product to choose.”
Joe Chamberlin, regional development manager of Safari's manufacturer, Valent USA, agrees. “HWA is ravaging hemlocks on private properties, businesses and major forests in the eastern US," he says. "With this SLN, arborists and lawn care professionals can apply Safari on hemlocks in private and public lands, and can expect rapid control of HWA on even the most heavily infested trees.”
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