Citrus trees are tropical to subtropical. They grow best in full sun, warm temperatures, and rich well-drained loam. Most citrus trees are the product of a graft of the parent plant onto appropriate rootstock.
Citrus can be fairly resistant to pests but the type of citrus and the rootstock will determine susceptibility. There are plenty of insects that want to live and eat in citrus trees. Orangedog caterpillars, noticeable by their red horns, will chew the leaves of a citrus tree and can damage the foliage severely. Orange thrips can be identified by scabbed fruit and shriveled leaves tinged silver. Citrus bud mite is primarily a problem for lemons. They are most active in summer and destroy fruit buds. Lindane works well on all these pests as well as less common insects such as ants.
Lindane is a toxic residual pesticide. It is useful in insect control on trees and is also found in lotions, creams and shampoos for the control of lice and scabies in humans. The product is primarily used for control of wood-boring insects. It does not kill larvae that have already penetrated the heartwood, but is useful for adults and larvae that are closer to the surface and in the cambium. It can also be used as a fumigant to repel adults and larvae.
Use as a Spray
Lindane is a foliar trunk spray. It is present in several products such as Drexel Lindane and Hi-Yield Lindane. It can control a wide variety of insect pests. Aphids, beetles, leaf miners, thrips and caterpillars are a few. It can be sprayed or applied as a swab around the base of the tree trunk to prevent the introduction of new pests. Citrus trees can be sprayed at any point of the growth cycle as long as there is a sufficient lapse of time between harvest and eating the fruits.
Use as a Fumigant
Fumigants treat growing crops and destroy insects in soil. The process is simple. The citrus trees are tented and lindane in the appropriate formula is injected or blown in under the tents. The insects need to be exposed to the fumes for at least an hour to be affected. However, the less time a tree is exposed to a fumigant the less toxicity builds up around the soil. Lindane is effective for treating soil to destroy pests in greenhouses and plant nurseries. When used as a fumigant lindane functions also as a contact insecticide.
Lindane is considered a moderately toxic product in EPA toxicity class II. All products that contain lindane must have the word "Warning" on them. The product is no longer manufactured in the U.S. and concerns have been raised that it can cause cancer. Therefore, dairy and agricultural use is banned by the EPA. Lindane is persistent in soils with a half-life of 15 months. It has the tendency to build up in foods and is poisonous to fish and invertebrates.