Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser (Imidacloprid)

When using Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser to control pests as listed in the 'directions for use' on established in-ground or potted plants, create a hole in the soil approximately 5 cm deep, as close to the absorptive roots as possible, ensuring the tablets are completely covered with soil after placement. In plants greater than 1 m in height, where multiple tablets are required, space out the tablets evenly around the plant in the drip zone (leaf canopy).

'Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser' are not registered or recommended for controlling leafminer. Products such as Sero-X Insecticide, Preserve 120 Insecticide, Success Ultra, Eco-Neem and Eco-Oil Insecticide would be recommended for this purpose.

The Initiator Tablets are not registered or recommended for controlling Cycad moths. Some blogs on the internet suggest a proactive measure to protect the cycad before the moth comes, which is the use of “Confidor” tablets (now replaced by initiator tablets). The technique is to dig a small hole in 3-4 places around the roots and place the slow-dissolving tablets in. Note: these may take up to 2 months to provide systemic protection and may not be effective if root uptake is slow. Alternatively, another option, if you notice a flush starting and have not installed tablets, is to spray the liquid form “confidor” (Imidacloprid 200g/L - i.e. Spectrum 200SC Insecticide) over the leaves of the plant. This will provide system protection in days rather than months. It will need to be repeated weekly to guarantee protection. Please note that internet blog advice is off-label and not guaranteed by the manufacturer of each product.

Initiator Imidacloprid tablets do not have a best-before or expiry date. If possible, the best practice is to use the contents within a few years (3-5) of purchasing. Store in a closed, airtight container in a cool, well-ventilated area. Do not store for prolonged periods in direct sunlight.

The Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser are not recommended or registered to control red cedar tip moth. In this situation, a product such as the Red Cedar Tip Moth Lure & Trap available from OCP (Organic Crop Protectants) would be recommended.

The Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser are not registered to control insect pests in Canary Island Date Palms, so their effectiveness against palmetto weevil is unknown.  The initiator tablets are not recommended for use in large trees as a substantial amount of insecticide is required to be translocated through the tree to be effective.  It is doubtful the tablets could provide this quantity of product.  To get enough insecticide into the tree, soil drench, crown drench or stem injection application may need to be investigated.

Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser can be used on established ornamental plants. Without knowing the insects attacking the Murraya (mock orange), it is difficult to say if they will be effective or not. However, Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser are unlikely to affect boring insects. To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of an all-purpose insect spray that will remove boring insects from the Murraya plants.

Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser are not registered to control loopers or mealybugs on crotons. We recommend controlling loopers and mealybugs on ornamentals with Surefire Fivestar Insecticide, Venom Professional 100SC Insecticide, or AntagonistPro Residual Insecticide. Always read the 'directions for use' carefully to ensure suitability to your situation.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser does not claim to control borers and is unlikely to affect them, regardless of the quantity applied.

Providing pets do not consume whole Initiator Tablets it should not affect them. If this was to occur, you should consult your vet immediately for expert advice. The tablets are fertiliser balls with insecticide infused, so they are unlikely to appeal to pets consuming them. The Imidacloprid used in Initiator Tablets is systemically taken up by the plant so that it would void a plant's organic status. Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser are not classified as an organic input.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser only claims to control Pyslids on Lilypillies.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser Tablets are registered to control a wide range of insect pests, including African black beetle, Chrysomelid leaf beetle, Psyllid, Gum tree scale, Heteronyx spring beetle, Aphid, Mealybug, Scale & Azalea lace bug in various situations.  However, on Potted Palms, only Mealybugs are listed as pests controlled.

Initiator Imidacloprid tablets do not have a best-before or expiry date. If possible, the best practice would be to use the contents within a few years (3-5) of purchasing. Store in a closed, air-tight container in a cool, well-ventilated area. Do not store for prolonged periods in direct sunlight.

The initiator tablets are not recommended for use in very large trees, as a substantial amount of insecticide must be translocated through the tree to be effective. It is doubtful the tablets could provide this quantity of product in a 10m Ash tree. To get enough insecticide into the tree, soil drench or stem injection application may need to be investigated. You may still like to try the tablets to test their effectiveness in the Himalayan Ash tree. In smaller species such as Lilipillie and Magnolia, the application rate is one tablet per metre of plant height, so that you would require ten tablets per Himalayan Ash. The tablets must be spread out as evenly as possible in the drip zone (leaf canopy) where the absorptive roots are. Tablets must be kept at least 10cm from the tree's trunk.

The Initiator Tablets Insecticide and Fertiliser are not registered to control insect pests in Poinciana Trees, so their effectiveness against Green Looper Caterpillars is unknown.  The initiator tablets are not recommended for use in large trees like Poincians as a substantial amount of insecticide is required to be translocated through the tree to be effective.  It is doubtful the tablets could provide this quantity of product.  To get enough insecticide into the tree, soil drench or stem injection application may need to be investigated.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser do not list 'Proteaceae' as a species that it can be used on.  This is more likely that Proteaceae was not included in the testing data due to time, market demand or financial constraints.  As Initiator tablets are used in various species, they will likely be safe for Proteaceae.  As the use would be off-label, an initial trial is recommended on a small number of plants to test suitability.

The Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser do not claim control over scale in olive trees, so the results are unknown.  The tablets and the active ingredients in the Initiator tablets will not affect the Olives and should be safe if you want to use them in your trial.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser are recommended to be applied when plants are growing actively and absorbing nutrients from the soil to affect sap-sucking insects.  The active ingredient is translocated through the plant via the sap flow, hence the requirement of vigorous growth for best control.  

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide does not claim control on sap-sucking insects when used on Cercis (Forest Pansy).  Providing the plants are not too large, the Initiator Tablets could still be trialled to test effectiveness.  Providing the plant is still growing actively and absorbing nutrients from the soil, then uptake of the Initiator tablets will occur.  Plant and pest activity is the best gauge of when the tablets should be applied.  They should be reapplied approximately every season to ensure insecticide uptake occurs.

The Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser only claim to control Scale on Magnolia and Eucalypt Trees.  As Bayer advises in their Initiator Brochure that 'Scale' is a target pest of the Initiator Tablets, we believe it would still be worth conducting a trial on an Umbrella Tree.  

We are unsure what is causing the reddish-brown spots on your Tuckeroo and Robinia trees, but the Initiator Tablets only protects against insect damage in certain situations.  To determine a suitable treatment, you may need to check with an arborist to identify the reddish-brown spots (i.e. insect damage, fungus, disease, etc.).

Sprays that you can use now to spray Psyllid is the Surefire Spectrum 200 SC Insecticide & Termiticide, which is also made from Imidacloprid or Temprid 75 Residual Insecticide.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser does not claim to control Fungus Gnats on any species of plants.  The initiator tablet is a systemic insecticide, though, so if you believe that Imidacloprid is a treatment option, Initiator would be worth a try.  

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide tablets do not claim any control over elm leaf beetles (or larvae) in Golden Elm Trees.  The only product Specialist Sales stock with this claim is Silvashield Injectable Tree Insecticide, and application post-flowering is recommended.  As Silvashield is applied undiluted, the amount of imidacloprid injected into the tree is much higher than the initiator tablets will deliver.

If you want to use Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide tablets to see if they are effective on the elm leaf beetle larvae, you can apply them anytime you wish.  For the tablets to be effective, the tree needs to be actively growing with active sap flow to distribute the insecticide.

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser do not have any claims of control when used on fruit trees so we can't recommend this use.  Other liquid Imidacloprid formulations such as Surefire Spectrum 200 SC Insecticide are registered for use on stone fruit and apple trees and the withholding periods need to be observed before harvesting the fruit. 

Initiator Systemic Plant Insecticide and Fertiliser are registered to control psyllid or lerp insect on lilly pilly and scale on magnolia.  The registration does not claim to control scale and psyllid collectively on both species.  This does not rule out that it will not be effective, but more likely that testing was not done on these specific species and pests when registering the product with the APVMA.  It would be worth trying to test the effectiveness yourself.  However, Bayer can't guarantee results.  Neither Confidor nor Initiator tablets have information on the label relating to being dangerous to non-target insects or bees.  The liquid formulations of Imidacloprid are considered dangerous to bees and do have this listed on the label. 

The breakdown and release of the active ingredient in Initiator tables are dependent on the presence of adequate soil moisture.  Under regular irrigation/rainfall, the tablets should last for at least 2-3 months before retreatment is required.  The 1 tablet per 1-metre height instruction applies to established trees.

 The speed of the tree uptaking the active ingredient depends on soil moisture, the season and sap flow of the plant so it can take a while to be effective.  If you have plants that are already covered in insects then you should consider a foliar spray of an insecticide as an initial knockdown.  Depending on the host plant and the insects affecting it you could consider insecticides such as Spectrum 200 SC Insecticide (Imidacloprid) or Zeus Insecticide (Bifenthrin).

Although not specifically registered for use with Rhododendrons, if you were to use the Initiator Tablets I would suggest a rate similar to other ornamental shrubs which is 1 tablet per 1 metre of height for each plant.  The pack sizes available are either 300 tablets (750gm) or 1200 tablets (3kg).  The 750gm pack would be more than adequate for 20 Rhododendron plants and you will have tablets left over for future applications.  They do not have an expiry or best before date.  The pricing listed on our website includes GST and Free Delivery Australia Wide.