What is Dormant Oil?

What is Dormant Oil?

Sometimes also referred to as horticultural oil, dormant oil is a mix of petroleum oil and water. It is applied directly to the plant or tree to prevent and eliminate any soft-bodied insects, such as aphids, mealy worms, thrips, whiteflies, mites, and scales, from infesting your trees and shrubs over the winter. It is not poisonous or harmful to humans or outdoor pets. It will not hurt any fruit that may grow on fruit trees and is safe for both the environment and wildlife. Instead of poisoning the targeted pests, it creates a layer of thin film, which covers their breathing tubes and eventually kills them.

Specific Pests Dormant Oil Targets Here New York

There are many different species of insects that attack our Long Island  trees and shrubs. Some of these insects are so tiny that you may not know they are there. They often live on the underside of leaves. Dormant oil typically targets two types of insects, sucking pests and chewing pests.

Sucking Pests

One such group of pests is what we call the sucking pests. This is because they use their piercing mouthparts to suck the sap from your trees which distorts plant growth. In sucking out the sap, they leave behind a sticky substance that looks like a black fungal growth on the upper leaf’s surface. Common insects that fall into this category include aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, lace bugs, whiteflies, and spider mites. Symptoms of sucking pest infestation include:

• Wilting of plant tissue
• Stunting, curling, or distortion of new growth
• Yellow, withering leaves
• Damaged twigs and branches
• Black sooty mold on your patio furniture or other landscape surfaces

Chewing Pests

These types of pests cause damage to your beloved lawn ornaments in multiple ways. They like to feast on your plant’s leaves and stems and borrow in the plant’s tissues. Pests in this category include tent caterpillars, fall webworms, bagworms, and beetles. Symptoms that your plants suffer from the damage of chewing pests include:

• Holes in leaves
• Silvering of leaf tissue
• A rusty red color on leaves
• Complete skeletonization of leaves altogether