What's eating my hass avocado?

Hass Avocado's most serious pest is persea mite, which causes heavy leaf bronzing and drop. Avocado thrips scar young fruit skin. Western avocado leafroller rolls and webs shoot tips. Polyphagous shot-hole borer is an emerging lethal threat. Outdoors, rats and squirrels gnaw fruit; deer browse low branches.

Circular brown feeding colonies on upper leaf surface; heavy defoliation reduces fruit size and yield Predatory mite releases (Galendromus, Neoseiulus); horticultural oil or sulfur spray; avoid dusty conditions that suppress predators

Scars and russeting on fruit skin near stem end; cosmetic damage reduces marketability of Hass Spinosad sprays timed to fruit set; blue sticky traps for monitoring; avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill beneficials

Tiny entry holes in bark; white powdery frass; dieback of major branches; Fusarium fungus inoculated by beetle kills tissue Remove and chip infested wood immediately; no systemic insecticide fully effective; emamectin benzoate injection shows some efficacy in trials; report suspected infestations to your county ag commissioner

Fruit gnawed on tree or stolen; partially eaten fruit left attached; economic loss near harvest Trunk banding with metal guards; snap or live traps; reduce harbourage; harvest promptly when mature