2026 Insecticide Options for the Control of Hylobius abeitis
17 April 2026
In addition to non chemical control options for the control of Hylobius, the following three insecticides are currently approved for use:
Coragen (chlorantraniliprole)
Currently available under an off-label (EAMU) approval for pre-planting application by forest nursery application only. It is likely that this approval will be withdrawn once Lanzarta becomes available, although the final use date by the nursery has not yet been announced.
Forester (cypermethrin)
Available under full label post-planting approval, currently expiring 30 April 2031. Three applications per year are authorised, but use is restricted in FSC certified forests, where it may only be used if no other less harmful insecticide as defined by FSC can be used. However, FSC have agreed to it’s use if the application of alternative less harmful insecticides are restricted in terms of numbers of treatments.
Stocks in distributors stores are very low at present, but more product is expected to be available in late April, with further supplies anticipated in July.
Cypermethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid, a class of pesticides which may be potentially withdrawn in the EU following the adoption of more rigorous regulation. This will also affect GB use if, as anticipated, the current negotiations by Defra with the EU lead to GB reverting to EU pesticide regulation in 2027.
Lanzarta (chlorantraniliprole)
Lanzarta, which was available in 2025 for post planting use under a 120 day Emergency Approval, gained a full forestry approval on 12 March this year. The approval authorises both pre planting use by the forest nursery, and post planting use in the forest, and will mean that the off-label approval for pre planting nursery application of Coragen will eventually be withdrawn.
Distribution
The Lanzarta approval was authorised too late for product to become available for any April / May application this year (2026), but the licence holders, Syngenta, are planning to have product in distributors' stores in time for any July / August application. Supplies should then be available through nationwide Agrovista depots including Elgin, Dundee, Newton Stewart, Penrith, Appleton, Alscott and Evesham, and by mail order through Agrigem (tel: 01522 246491).
Authorisation
The authorisation restricts post-planting use to two post-planting applications in the lifetime of the crop, but does not prevent post-planting use in the year in which transplants have been pre treated with Coragen or Lanzarta in the forest nursery. This effectively extends the potential use to three applications of Lanzarta during the lifetime of the crop.
Use is restricted to conifers only, with a minimum gap of 60 days (2 months) between pre-treatment and post treatments of Lanzarta, and 180 days (6 months) between sequential post planting applications. This effectively rules out the use of two post planting applications of Lanzarta in a single season.
The current approval is valid through 2026 to 2029, by which time the approval of chlorantraniliprole should have been re-assessed either in the EU or in the UK for potential renewal.
Application
The application rate is 180ml/ha by knapsack sprayer or drench gun using an appropriate nozzle such as E80.02 (knapsack) accompanied by a one bar pressure control valve.
This equates to 10ml product to treat 150 trees at a planting density of 2,700 trees / ha.
The dilution rate per tree will depend on the length of the stem to be treated, but is likely to be between 5ml and 10ml diluted insecticide per tree.