Psyllid Control: How to Get Rid of Psyllids

This page is a general psyllid control guide. Using the products and methods suggested, you will get control of psyllids infesting your property. Follow this DIY guide and use the recommended products; we guarantee complete control of present and future infestations of psyllids.

A tiny insect homeowners may encounter in their outdoor foliage is the psyllid, more commonly referred to as jumping plant lice. As suggested by its name, this pest uses its powerful hind legs to jump and fly across short distances. To travel great distances, the psyllid normally latches itself into the cracks and crevices of plant bark, leaves of field-grown container plants, or food such as pears.

Though this pest infestation is uncommon, it is not unnoticed throughout the United States due to the export of fruits and other plants from foreign countries. While there are 160 types of species, the psyllid can range between two feeding types: monophagous, meaning psyllids feast on one type of plants, or oligophagous, feeding on two or more related plant species. Regardless of their feeding style, the psyllid should be regarded as a serious pest since these pests possess toxic saliva and can form large groups to suck the nutrients out of desired plant tissue.

In small numbers, the psyllid does not pose much of a threat to gardens and foliage. However, in as little as three weeks, this pest completes its life cycle and reproduces up to 800 eggs once per generation during the spring and summer months. Follow our DIY treatment guide to learn more about this sap-sucking pest and how to best remove it from your yard using the recommended steps and products.

Identification

Before you can proceed with a treatment program, you must be certain that the pest infesting your property is a psyllid species. Due to the numerous species, this section will focus on the general characteristics of psyllids. Refer to the following characteristics to identify psyllids.

• Psyllids have short, segmented antennae and elongated oval-shaped bodies.
• Psyllids are similar to cicadas, with the exception that they range between 0.05 and 0.2 inches in length, whereas cicadas measure 1 inch or greater in size.
• During their adult stage, the wings are held in a roofline position. Young psyllids are more prone to jumping, whereas older psyllids fly.
• They normally tan in color but can darken to reddish brown as they mature. In the nymph stage, they are pink, green, and yellow.
• Psyllids possess a tubular-shaped sucking mouthpart to penetrant plant tissue.
• Eggs are orange to yellow, 0.3 mm long, and appear football-shaped.

Use the image and description above to identify psyllids on your property properly. If unsure, contact us with a photo or sample of your pest by phone, email, or in person at one of our store locations.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed that you are facing an infestation of psyllids, you will need to locate the areas and plant types they are infesting. Conducting an inspection will help you determine where to focus insecticide applications and the type of product to use. Careless identification can lead to using the wrong treatment approach and product, which can cost you time and money.

Where to Inspect

Begin by examining aesthetic damages on the leaves, stems, and bark of crops (pears, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers), ornamental plants, trees (acacia, eucalyptus, citrus), and shrubs (Grecian laurel) within your garden and landscape.

What to Look For

As a warm-dependent pest, the psyllid absorbs the juices out of plant leaves with their piercing mouthparts, then leaves honeydew on which sooty black mold usually grows throughout the spring and summer seasons. Depending on the species, they can also leave behind pale or white wax masses, pellets, strands, or coverings called lerps (made from wax and honeydew). From their feeding activity, this causes leaves to turn yellow, burn at the top of leaves, and holes to develop, curl, and die.

In the first half of spring and summer, psyllids deposit their eggs in the cracks and crevices of plant buds, between plant leaves, tips of new shoot growth, or horizontally along the leaf's axis to the surface. During winter, psyllids overwinter in the cracks and crevices of tree bark and trunks, causing slight discoloration or loss of leaves around the area.

Treatment

Once you have confirmed where psyllids are active, you can continue with insecticide applications. Remember to read the application sites on the product label and the plant species to treat, and stay safe before handling or applying any pesticide material by wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

We recommend using a long-lasting liquid insecticide with a residual effect to get rid of psyllid infestations. For example, Supreme IT is a liquid-repellent insecticide labeled to control over 70 types of insects, including Psyllids and the pests that may be attracted to their honeydew excrements, such as ants. 

Apply Supreme IT only to non-bearing fruit and nut trees, shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, foliage plants, and lawns. Once applied, this product will last on treated areas for up to 90 days to continue fighting against psyllids and other pests.

For citrus tree infestations, insecticide products labeled for use on these plant species, such as ImidaPro 4SC, should be applied. This product is a liquid systemic insecticide that travels throughout the plant's stem and leaves for complete protection against psyllids, potato psyllids, and Asian citrus psyllids. 

Apply only to potatoes and containerized citrus crops, including calamondin, citrus citron, citrus hybrids (including chironja, tangelo, and tangor), grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, mandarin (tangerine), pummelo, orange (sweet and sour), satsuma mandarin, tangelo, white sapote (casimiroa spp.), and other cultivars and/or hybrids of these.

Step 1: Apply Supreme IT to Non-Bearing Fruit and Nut Trees and Ornamental Foliage

Only apply Supreme IT to the leaves, stems, and trunks of non-bearing fruit and nut trees, shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, foliage plants, and lawns. Do not treat crops and plants with fruit or nuts.

Use a spray volume of 0.25 to 0.5 oz. of Supreme IT per gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.

Determine how much Supreme IT to use by calculating the square footage of the treatment site. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment site in feet and multiply them together (length X width = square footage). You will need to use a hose-end sprayer to reach tree canopy heights.

Ensure that your water hose pump and the control valve on the hose-end sprayer are turned off. Attach the empty hose-end sprayer to the end of your garden hose. Remove the reservoir from the nozzle to pour the required amount of Supreme IT. Fill the hose-end sprayer with enough water to treat the entire treatment site. Reattach the nozzle to the filled hose-end sprayer, and then turn the water hose on. Push forward the control valve switch on the hose-end sprayer until the material is released.

Spray the top and bottom of leaves until wet but not to the point of excessive run-off. Retreat these sites 90 days after the first application.

Keep children and pets off the treatment area until 24 hours or until dry.

Step 2: Treat Containerized or Field Citrus Crops with ImidaPro 4SC

Apply ImidaPro 4SC to potatoes and containerized and field-grown citrus crops, including calamondin, citrus citron, citrus hybrids (including chironja, tangelo, and tangor), grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, mandarin (tangerine), pummelo, orange (sweet and sour), satsuma mandarin, tangelo, white sapote (casimiroa spp.), and other cultivars and/or hybrids of these.

Determine how much ImidaPro 4SC is to use by measuring the square footage of the treatment site.

To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment site in feet and follow the formula (length X width = square footage).

The application rate for potato psyllid as a foliar spray is 1.52 oz. of ImidaPro 4SC per 10 gallons of water per acre.

Do not exceed 6.4 oz. of product per acre. For complete control, you may need to apply a second application 7 days after the first one.

For containerized citrus, you will apply 0.37 oz. of product per sufficient water volume per container media as a soil drench or through a low-pressure drip or trickle irrigation water.

For field citrus, apply 8.0 to 16.0 oz. of product per 10 gallons of water per acre. For optimum results, apply to newly planted trees or those previously trained to drip, trickle, or micro-sprinkle irrigation.

Pre-wet soil lightly to break soil surface tension before application. Spray the soil surface band spray on both sides of the tree. Bands should overlap at the tree base to create a continuous band within the drip-line area of the tree. This is followed immediately by light sprinkler irrigation sufficient to move the product into the upper portion of the root zone.

This method suits very coarse soils with 0.75% organic matter or less. Drench to the base of the tree not exceeding one-quart total solution per tree immediately around the tree trunk and extending outward, covering the entire fibrous root system of the tree. This method is only recommended for trees up to 8 feet tall.

Do not exceed 16.0 oz. of product per acre.

Prevention

Once psyllids are removed, you must implement preventative measures to exclude them from your property and eliminate the attractants that draw them to your foliage. Listed below are some preventative measures you can follow to control future psyllids infestations.

• Reapply Supreme IT and ImidaPro 4SC as directed on the product label for continued protection against psyllids.
• Remove affected foliage leaves, stems, and branches to reduce potential psyllid egg hatch sites and stimulate plant growth.
• Mow turf when it has reached a height of 3 inches and trim back overgrown plant materials to disturb psyllid activity.
• Rake fallen leaves, tree bark, fruit, and branches to reduce moisture and shade in your property and deter psyllids from invading.
• You may use yellow sticky traps along the base of trees, but they must be off the ground, to prevent psyllids from climbing up and damaging the plant.
• Avoid overwatering by adjusting watering to once a week early in the morning with no more than an inch of irrigation.

Key Takeaways

What are Psyllids?

• Psyllids are small sucking pests that ingest the plant juices from foliage leaves or fruit, depending on the species.

How to Get Rid of Psyllids

• To control psyllids, we recommend using Supreme IT on your lawn and non-bearing fruit and nut trees, shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, and foliage plants. Apply ImidaPro 4SC to potatoes and containerized and field-grown citrus crops, including calamondin, citrus citron, citrus hybrids (including chironja, tangelo, and tangor), grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, mandarin (tangerine), pummelo, orange (sweet and sour), satsuma mandarin, tangelo, white sapote (casimiroa spp.), and other cultivars and/or hybrids of these.

Preventing Psyllid Reinfestation

• Prevent Psyllid infestations by continually applying Supreme IT every 90 days and ImidaPro 4SC no more than two applications for potato psyllids and the maximum application rate for field and containerized citrus crops.