Viburnum Leaf Beetles attack only one variety of shrub. You guessed it…the beautiful flowering Viburnum.

Homeowners understandably get pretty nervous as they watch their flowering Viburnum’s leaves disappearing under the weight of thousands of these beetles as shown above. These shrubs can be completely skeletonized in a matter of weeks once beetles start to appear in the Spring.

Above is the same hedge row just 4 weeks after we treated them. To avoid this type of damage from occurring in the first place, treatment timing and proper insecticides are the key. It is also necessary to rotate the products used to avoid the insects developing a tolerance and resistance by using the same product. These three points are the case with all insect and disease issues in our industry.

If you look closely you can see eighteen (18) Viburnum Beetle larvae on this single leaf. Imagine how many must have been present to devour the entire hedge row shown above.

Although we can kill the beetle population during infestation, helping these bushes to recover within a period of weeks only works well in the first year of infestation. Viburnum that have been attacked two years in a row without treatment in the first year usually end up dying.