pocodot Hi Mr Smittycdm,
You state, “in SoCal we have been hit by two types of Citrus bugs”.
I believe that in general your comments are valid and correct. However, the solutions are cultural in origin, they may be as complex and as difficult to interpret as “the world economy” or as simple to understand as observing our natural environment, which is ultimately more complex than anything our human mind has yet to devise. Whole books have been written on the subject, and rightly so. To emphasize my point, let me relate an anecdote (condensed) involving humanitarian aid from U.S.A.I.D. (which has since, and is still, undertaking a reorganization to avoid vast expenditures that serve little or no purpose).
USAID sent an agricultural expert to a very poor developing tropical country in Africa. His goal was to implement a sustainable agricultural solution to help feed the people and alleviate poverty. The expert was quick to observe that some regions of the country produced a lot of bananas. He organized the farmers and implemented an agreement with the governments to export and buy vast quantities of bananas. The farmers assumed the wisdom and expertise of the plan, after all how could such a rich and prosperous nation not understand the path to success and wealth.
The farmers went into the forest and cut vast swaths of rainforest and planted groves of banana trees expecting nothing less than wealth, prosperity, and food for their families. In six months all of the trees became infected with a root weevil and unable to support themselves collapsed under their own weight at the stem and died resulting in short term famine, economic up evil, and an economic reliance upon wealthy donor nations that still persists even to this day and a general distrust of any expert advice that does not involve cold hard cash, making development work just so much more difficult to accomplish. (chuckle, chuckle, please excuse my diatribe, but sometimes an anonymous soapbox is just too good to pass up :o).
The farmers had inadvertently, in clearing the land, destroyed and distanced the trees from the naturally occurring predator pests that fed on the root weevils that would have normally only been able to feed on and destroy the weakest and most vulnerable of the banana trees, in other words, “survival of the fittest”.
O.K., my story is too simplistic, but the solutions need to be analyzed within their context. I.e. agriculture in the U.S. and much of the developed world especially after the Great Depression and the dust bowl, etc., has evolved and been driven with the goal of economic, commercial and social prosperity (all worthy goals) but often with disregard for the natural laws or (sic) “survival of the fittest”, and much agriculture now relies on large quantities of artificial nutrients, fertilizers, and pesticides. Many agrarian experts suggest that this over use of artificial ingredients in the soil will result in the decline of food production in as short of time as the next 50 years. These compelling arguments will engage many interested people in philosophical debates, perhaps until the end of time as we know it.
The point of this suggestion of solution is that many small organic farmers and backyard gardeners are actively trying to reintroduce the natural elements into their production methods, often successfully depending on the amount of time and effort they can practically afford.
So the sort answer Is, prevention is the best defense against for Citrus Leaf miner and/or Asian Citrus Psyllid infestations by spraying with solutions, either the afore mentioned organic solutions I’ve mentioned in previous posts, or with store bought solutions which may or may not contain artificial ingredients. Also I advocate the reintroduction of natural predators largely by recreating the natural eco system or perhaps even a forest garden. To some degree you will be able to measure your success by the amount of birds that you will see returning... c

pocodot continued:
Also I advocate the reintroduction of natural predators largely by recreating the natural eco system or perhaps even a forest garden. To some degree you will be able to measure your success by the amount of birds that you will see returning to your garden, homestead, or farm.
As pointed out by your research Mr Smittycdm, the leaf curling disease produced by the Asian Citrus Psyllid, is spread and transferred by the larva from flying (hopping) insects being impregnated into the capillaries of the leaves after the birth of the larva in the bark of the trees and traveling internally through the trees and into the leaves (primarily young trees that haven’t yet produced the mass of leaves and foliage to effectively fight the disease) the best solution after infestation is first, the removal and destruction of the infected branch, usually by burning (not by burying or composting!) and finally the removal and destruction of the whole tree or trees.
Obviously my suggestions will not be heeded by large commercial farm enterprises that produce mass amounts of product. They will have to continue to use large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides or face economic ruin. But you my friends are in a perfect position to begin and thereafter advocate your own organic solutions… I hope you will.
In these fast paced times, when people have barely enough time to spend on their gardens and farms and require quick short precise answers, my views may only appeal to Dr. David Suzuki (or maybe not :o) and other likeminded individuals but I offer them in good faith and I hope you might find them useful.
For further information, I would suggest an excellent coffee-table book called, Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture by Andrew Kimbrell.