I’m not sure I mentioned it anywhere. I put out the lures over a wide area, not just in the fruit trees, and I put out about double what they recommend for larger areas. To cover a lot of area I have them in bushes, attached to the house, trellises, in adjacent woods, etc. Also they should be put out at bloom, I was putting them out a bit later in past years so they would last longer through the year but that I now feel is a mistake.
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Does anyone have any advice about using the new formulation Sevin for PC control? I noticed that Mustang Maxx, with the same active ingredient zeta-cympermethrin, is rated effective (4 out of 5 on a 1 to 5 scale) for PC control according to this table on page 9 from North Carolina State.. It’s also rated as very effective, their highest rating, for OFM. I used two sprays of Malathion this year on peaches and plums with not great results.
I have no experience with Seven. I still use Malathion. I spray once a week at dusk starting not long after the fruit drop the husks of the old flowers and stopping when they are a little bigger than a nickel. Mariana is way to big for me to spray the whole tree, but when I spray the limbs I can reach, all the other prunus trees around her and the ground under her as well at dusk, I get good results. With Malathion I think the key is spraying at dusk and spraying the ground. It seems to be OK to not be Able to reach the top of the tree. Personally I think the curculios hang out on the ground during the day, so it just might only be important to spray the ground under the trees. God bless.
Marcus
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Whatever you do I think spraying often enough, spraying the ground and spraying at dusk are three important components of effective curculio control if your weapon is malathion.
For those interested in organic control of PC, a long study on the use of Entomopathogenic (insect-attacking) nematodes (or EPNs) concluded and its results were published here (opens to PDF) starting on page 11.
The idea was to use native cold-hardy nematodes that attack PC larvae, establishing a colony by spraying just once a year and allowing their numbers to grow naturally. Cost worked out to be $80/acre I believe. Results were mixed but sound substantive enough that if you’re dead set on organic it’d be an option worth exploring.
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I saw that study awhile back and have for a couple years sprayed the nematodes they recommend. I didn’t notice a big difference unfortunately. I might have messed up the application which is why I tried it again after the first time didn’t work.
I am trying a new product called Venerate XC this year which is supposed to have some action against both PC and moths. See the following thread.
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I am in Zone 7 Northern VA. My Beauty plum tree is in bloom now due to the unbelievable warm winter. I never sprayed anything on my plum, but this year I want to give it a try and hope to get better fruits.
After reading the articles online and posts on this forum, I still don’t know what would be the best spray to control PC.
I know Surround works well, but it leaves white coating, which is not good in my case because my tree is up front. I know my neighbors will start worrying and asking questions if the tree is heavily covered by white coating. 
I am OK with non-organic solution. So I found the following 3 options:
- malathion
- carbaryl
- phosmet
Which one is effective and less “toxic”? Any other better options?
Thanks!
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Malathion is pretty safe if you spray at dusk and are careful.
I wish I knew I bought the New Sevin with Zeta-Cypermethrin - 0.35% Plum Curculio is listed as a kill as is most everything.
Thanks, Marcus!
I will give it a try because it delivered good results for you.
Did you buy a specific product?
I am thinking to buy this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Bonide-BND992-Malathion-Concentrate-Insecticide/dp/B000OW94Y2/
Thanks, Carroll!
Actually I put the same exact Sevin product in my shopping cart as well. It seems can kill every single pest we know. 
Please keep us posted about how well it works. If it works well, this will be the best one solution to control PC and all other pests.
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I think nematodes work excellent and you should just be mindful not to apply them in a sprayer that has had pesticides in it (or applied recently to the ground) and to put it down before a rain or irragate after using them and releasing them in the evening for greatest efficiency.
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My two cents - you are wasting your time with malathion and carbaryl to control PC on peaches. Lost an entire crop using these insecticides. Phosmet (Imidian) is highly toxic to mammals but is effective, should not be sprayed in a home yard. Permethrin is what I have found to be effective and is labeled for home use. I cannot speak to Zeta-Cypermethrin. I am located south of you on Lynchburg, Va.
Below is permethrin that is labeled for fruit and home use.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BX1HSU/ref=twister_B07TKN1ZGT?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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Note that Malathion has a pretty strong stink, so your neighbors may be more alerted/ bothered by it than the white color of Surround. Plum curculio is tough, your best bet for a house yard application is probably a pyrethroid, however their down point is the short residual effect (they get destroyed by UV light within a week, if not a couple of days). Below is a screenshot from Penn State’s home orchard manual, that rates the effectiveness of various insecticides (ones that are registered for residential use) against some of the common stone fruit insect pests.
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Malathion smells like toxic death - I hate it
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Those with a small yard and live in a densely populated area should consider if the chemicals recommended are rated for residential use or not. Some growers here do not live in a residential area so they have more choices.
Also, be careful how lethal certain chemicals are to beneficial insects and what time of the day to spray to minimize the damage.
In short, for people new to spraying chemicals, there are things to consider when choosing what to spray.
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Noticing on that chart that nothing much is listed as very effective against PC
Correct, and that’s why I think it is a tough pest. The best insecticides that work against it are ones with significant mammalian toxicity, which I would hate to use even if I had a commercial orchard. Spraying pesticides is my least favorite part of growing fruit trees!
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Ahmad,
Totally agree with you. I’ve never had full crop because of these pests esp. PC which show up so early. I figure that’s OK since I’d rather not kill many beneficial insects and/or get my neighbors to be really upset with me 
This PC is not politically correct for sure.
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Thanks, Richard!
That’s very helpful info!
Does Permethrin smell less bad than Malathion?