Tree & Shrub Insect Control Service

Sticky leaves or a black sooty film usually mean something is feeding above and dripping honeydew. Look for stippled or bronzed foliage, curled new growth, bumps along stems that scrape off, chewed leaf edges, and small holes in bark with sawdust below. Check leaf undersides, since that’s where most of it hides.

It follows the pests, not a fixed calendar. Scale is treated during its crawler stage or in the dormant season, mites when hot weather brings them out, and lace bugs as generations appear. Our insect control for trees and shrubs gets scheduled around those windows, and hitting them is what makes treatment work.

Pets are fine once treated foliage has dried. Pollinators take more care, so we avoid treating plants in bloom where we can, work outside peak foraging hours, and choose targeted materials over broad ones. Tell us if you keep hives or plant for pollinators, and we’ll plan around it.

Yes, and some pests do it faster than homeowners expect. Heavy scale can kill a holly over a couple of seasons by draining it. Borers girdle a tree from the inside and finish it. Bagworms can defoliate an arborvitae past the point of recovery because evergreens don’t release the way deciduous trees do.

Feeding stops within days on most soft-bodied pests like aphids and mites. Scale is slower, since it only stays vulnerable during certain life stages, and the shells stay stuck to stems long after the insect is dead. Existing leaf damage doesn’t heal; you’re watching new growth to judge the result.

Ornamental treatments cover our full Northern Virginia footprint, Haymarket and Gainesville included.