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How to Manage Pests

UC Pest Management Guidelines


Adult leadcable borer, Scobicia declivis.

Grape

Leadcable Borer

Scientific name: Scobicia declivis

(Reviewed 6/06, updated 6/06)

In this Guideline:


DESCRIPTION OF THE PEST

Leadcable borer is a cylindrical black beetle, 0.25 to 0.35 inch long, that emerges from round holes in trunks or cordons of damaged vines and from dead wood during spring and early summer. The head of the leadcable borer is mostly concealed from above by a hoodlike pronotum. Larvae are 0.35 inch long and cream colored with a small, dark head. The larvae are C-shaped and may be found feeding in tunnels on the vine. This beetle is not a common pest of grape, but has been observed in San Joaquin County and North Coast vineyards. It has also been reported to infest oak wine barrels and corks.

DAMAGE

Adults bore into wood to prepare egg tunnels. Leadcable borer larvae feed in trunk or cordon wood for up to 9 months during development, creating frass-filled tunnels that can weaken vine structure. They can reinfest the wood from which they emerge. Distribution of infested vines is typically localized within vineyards.

MANAGEMENT

The best method of control is good sanitation. Remove prunings and dead wood from the vineyard and destroy by burning or by thoroughly discing or flailing before adults emerge in spring. Remove dead or damaged wood from vines. Leadcable borer can become a chronic problem in infested vineyards and may take several years to control by cultural means. No material is registered specifically for this pest; however, sprayable materials used for cutworms, grape leaffolder, and other species applied when adult beetles are present may also help control leadcable borer. Once this borer is in the wood, however, chemical control is not effective.

PUBLICATION

[UC Peer Reviewed]

UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Grape
UC ANR Publication 3448
Insects and Mites
W. J. Bentley, UC IPM Program, Kearney Agricultural Research Center, Parlier
L. G. Varela, UC IPM Program, Sonoma County
F. G. Zalom, Entomology, UC Davis
R. J. Smith, UC Cooperative Extension, Sonoma County
A. H. Purcell, Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley
P. A. Phillips, UC IPM Program, Ventura County
D. R. Haviland, UC IPM Program, Kern County
K. M. Daane, Kearney Agricultural Research Center, Parlier
M. C. Battany, UC Cooperative Extension, San Luis Obispo County
Acknowledgment for contributions to Insects and Mites:
J. Granett, Entomology, UC Davis

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Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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For noncommercial purposes only, any Web site may link directly to this page. FOR ALL OTHER USES or more information, read Legal Notices. Unfortunately, we cannot provide individual solutions to specific pest problems. See How to manage pests, or in the U.S., contact your local Cooperative Extension office for assistance. /PMG/r302301311.html revised: October 3, 2008. Contact webmaster.