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I'm looking to control cherry tree slug in an orchard and have found a Spinetoram based product to be effective. In terms of toxicity, there's limited information out there.

In particular, I'm interested in impact on bees (spraying on trees after flowering) as well as recommended distance from hives and residue in fruit.

For residue in fruit I've only come across this article so far, which says that there is an 'acceptable' level of residue after 10 days for tomatoes.

Simon
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I've no experience if any spinosins, none have been approved for use in the EU or the UK, but I did find this

http://sitem.herts.ac.uk/aeru/ppdb/en/Reports/1144.htm#none

which suggests (near the end, under Ecotoxicology) that bees will be affected, both by oral and contact routes. Its just technical data really and not dissimilar from your first link, but may be of some use. I note that honeybees are listed as suffering both acute and chronic effects even in the link you provided, and there's likely no way of avoiding its effects on bees, even if the hives are a mile away. If the trees are sprayed when the bees aren't working to avoid spraying them directly, it looks like subsequent contact with the flowers is likely to cause problems, though they may be chronic rather than acute, hard to say for sure from the small amount of information available.

Bamboo
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Is this the first time you've noticed pear slug (cherry slug), the larvae of sawfly? How many trees do you have? This is a 'seasonal' thing where some years are worse than others. Great water pressure and/or the addition of a biological soap is really all that is necessary THIS YEAR. NEEM would be even more effective but this should be done by a professional AT NIGHT when bees and other beneficials aren't present. Any other pesticide is overkill. These larvae are only damaging for 2 weeks. I remember having them on my plum trees...no big deal once I got over these tiny slimy little slugs hanging from slime from the canopy. The best preventative is a dormant oil spray. Most of us never get to notice these little larvae because they are only around a short time. The adult sawfly overwinter in the soil in little cocoons, in late spring as adult sawflies emerge they lay eggs under the epidermis of the leaves the larvae hatch and the new adults fly away to eventually make their cocoons in the soil to survive the coming winter. There are only 2 weeks or a bit more they will be harming or skeletonizing the leaves of your tree. The timing is interesting to note as this is happening late summer, early fall as your tree is beginning to consider abscission, getting rid of the leaves for the winter. If you had an orchard there would be many more steps to take and those orchard dudes already know how to deal with this little larvae. However commercial application is usually at the dire end of the spectrum because time is money and money rules. Most commercial growers will be overdoing the pesticide thing and then WE eat the fruit. Just saying. Echnerwal is an orchard specialist. Waiting for his advice on this site!!

Using any pesticide stronger than Neem is not indicated. A professional would have high pressurized water with biological soap or Neem and do the best job of spraying. Just do not let them talk you into using anything stronger than Neem, the pressure of the water can't be so powerful it ruins the live tissue of the leaves. Do not use Neem during the daytime so the important insects like bees are in bed. Remember this only lasts a few weeks so preventative is far better than spraying anything after the fact. Best investment is dormant oil. Otherwise this little larvae is a cosmetic hindrance at best. Trying to control would mean SPRAYING very noxious pesticide and killing bees, spiders and other major beneficial insects that normally keep this kind of soft bodied sucking insect under control. When we try to control with a heavy or uninformed hand we always screw things up making a problem even worse.

stormy
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