This pest has been on the rise the last two years in my area South east UK /south coast. In fact two years ago I don't think I even saw a mulched Viburnum tinus in the area.
The situation is this: One of my contracts is for a private housing estate circa 2 acres. About 75% of the communal and private hedges are viburnum tinus. They are getting decimated with about a patchy 5% dead. No one is keen on pesticides, least of all me, as it is only a short term solution in my view with too many harmful side effects. Anyway many residents, and it is a comittee decision, are dead set against them and pesticides in my view are not really viable on this scale. Is there any honeypot I can use to limit these critters? (I was thinking an old fashioned beetle trap in the ground under the hedge with a content they can't resist - maybe if I laced it with their stinky beetle poo or fox urine?). At the moment they are mating and will be egg laying soon enough.
What is worse is the poor shrubs are trying to live, putting out basal growth but they are all getting skeletonised and a few more years of this and they'll all be dead.
If I can't get them under wraps I'm looking at £25k+ for new hedging, probably Griselinia.
Please help.