Merit 75 WP - 2 oz. jar

Merit 75 WP is a broad-spectrum systematic wettable powder concentrate which can be used at very low rates and applied as a foliar spray, soil broadcast spray, soil injection or soil drench to control grubs, weevils, and other soil and turf inhabiting pests. Soil applications are taken up by plant, ornamental, and tree roots into twigs, stems, and foliage. Merit 75 WP includes detailed instructions for application to turfgrass, ornamentals, trees, shrubs, flowers, groundcovers, and in and around commercial or residential buildings. All applications recommend the use of a sprayer for application which will produce a uniform, coarse droplet spray when used at a low-pressure setting. 2 oz.

Applicators and other handlers of Merit 75 WP must wear the following PPE (personal protective equipment):
• Long-sleeved shirt and long pants
• Waterproof gloves
• Shoes plus socks

User Safety Recommendations:
• Wash hands immediately after product use before eating, drinking, chewing gum, chewing tobacco, or using the restroom.
• Remove clothing immediately if pesticides get inside.
• Remove PPE immediately after handling this product, and was separately from other clothing.

Merit can be applied as a root/soil drench. Insecticides applied to the soil are taken up by the roots and translocated throughout the tree or shrub. Root/soil drenches offer the advantage of requiring no special equipment to apply (other than a bucket or watering can). However, surface layers of organic matter, such as mulch or leaf litter, can bind the insecticide and reduce uptake. Before applying drenches, it is important to remove or pull back any mulch or dead leaves so the insecticide solution is poured directly on the mineral soil. It is also important to keep the soil around the tree or shrub moist for the next 7-10 days after applications to encourage uptake.

TREES:

To calculate how much Merit you need to purchase, you will need to measure the diameter of the tree trunk.  You will need 0.7-1.4 level teaspoons of Merit per inch of diameter. The highest rate should be used for all boring insects. The amount of water that is used will vary depending on soil conditions and volumes that are easy for applicators to use. The minimum amount of water that should be used is 1 pint per inch of tree diameter but you may use 1 quart -1 gallon of water per inch as well. Denser soils such as clay do not accept water as readily, so the lower volume of water is suggested.  Since sandy soils can accept more water, using the higher volume of water is preferred.

*Example: If a tree has Emerald Ash Borers the highest usage rate of Merit would need to be used (1.4 level teaspoons per inch of diameter).

If the trees diameter is 11.5 inches you would need about 16 teaspoons (5.5 tablespoons) of Merit. If the tree were in sandy soil you could dilute the Merit with up to a gallon of water per inch of trunk diameter.

In this case you would dilute 16 teaspoons of Merit into about 11.5 gallons of water.

Note: Water simply acts as a carrier and it is important that even distribution of the product is achieved. Thus, more water may be used if the applicator feels runoff will not occur and proper penetration of the root zone is achieved.

SHRUBS:

You will need to use 0.7-1.4 level teaspoons of Merit per foot of shrub height. The amount of water that is used will vary depending on soil conditions and volumes that are easy for applicators to use. The minimum amount of water that should be used is 1 pint per foot of shrub height but you may use 1 quart -1 gallon of water per foot of height as well. Denser soils such as clay do not accept water as readily, so the lower volume of water is suggested.  Since sandy soils can accept more water, using the higher volume of water is preferred.

*Example: If shrubs had white fly you would use the mid- usage rate of Merit (about 1.05 teaspoons per foot of shrub height)

If the shrub height is about 3 feet then you would need 3.15 teaspoons of Merit. If the shrub is located in dense clay you would use the lower volume of water, 1 pint per foot of shrub height.

In this case you would dilute 3.15 teaspoons of Merit in 3 pints of water.

Note: Water simply acts as a carrier and it is important that even distribution of the product is achieved. Thus, more water may be used if the applicator feels runoff will not occur and proper penetration of the root zone is achieved.

Tip: How to treat multiple shrubs

Cumulative feet of shrub height is the total height of all shrubs to be treated. This is determined by estimating the height of all individual shrubs in feet and totaling the sum. With this information, you can correctly mix the appropriate amount of Merit needed for the shrub or foliage plant application.

Example: If you have two shrubs that are 2 feet in height and one shrub that is 5 feet in height you would have 9 feet of cumulative shrub height. Measure the Merit according to the instructions above and apply to the individual shrub according to its own height. For instance if you decided to use 1 gallon of water per foot of shrub height, the shrub that is 5 feet in height would receive 5 gallons of diluted Merit solution and the shrubs that were only 2 feet in height would receive 2 gallons each of the diluted Merit solution.

• 11 of 11 people found this review helpful:

    Merit
  By Chris on May 3, 2011
  Verified Purchase

  I had a terrible problem with Boxwood Leafminers and tried everything under the sun to try to eradicate them. I used Merit as a soil drench on about 150 boxwoods that were infested. One treatment did the job for me and now my boxwoods look spectacular. I really liked this product.

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• 11 of 11 people found this review helpful:

    Kills root aphids. Thank you
  By CB on June 24, 2011

  Our green house had a bad infestation of aphids and particularly root aphids. Did one treatment at 1/4 tsp per gallon. Poured about four cups per container or until very slight run off. 24 hrs later every aphid in the root zone had surfaced and was dead. There must have been thousands of aphids . I could not believe it. I'm sure a foliar spray would definitely knock out any bugs on the foliage as well. This product is systemic so it should hold a good residual in the root zone for a few weeks. The aphids try to come back but die off fairly quickly. Great product but use sparingly as noted.

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• 3 of 3 people found this review helpful:

    systemic pesticide worth it
  By Glenn on May 10, 2012

  I was hesitant to get this due to the cost but read other reviews being positive so I gave it a try. I needed a systemic due to plants hang inside and wanted something that would last not just a contact pesticide. I spray them outside then wait to put them back. As the other reviewer said a little goes a long way. So far the product is working on killing mealy bugs on hanging potted plants. It is a very fine powder so make sure not to mix in a windy area. I added a spreader sticker which I think helps keep product contact for absorption.

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• 3 of 4 people found this review helpful:

    merit 75 wp - 2 oz. jar
  By Bill on May 13, 2012

  Seams to do what it claims but time will tell. It would be nice if a measuring spoon was incorporated into the jar.

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• 2 of 2 people found this review helpful:

    Great stuff
  By DK on July 5, 2012

  Knocked the mealy bug in orchids due to the fact I could dunk the pot and get those bugs hiding out in the media. Now I am using it as a soil drench on ornamentals as well and it knocks mealy dead. About to order my second bottle.

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• 1 of 2 people found this review helpful:

    Merit 75 WP
  By William on February 25, 2013
  Verified Purchase

  Received the product promptly, well packaged. Use my first six grams for my two year old oranges, lemon, lime and sweet limes. Picked off all the leaf miner infested leaves, put them in plastic bags, sealed and discarded. Then applied the product at the rate of half a gram per inch of diameter of the particular tree. Very easy to dissolve, afterward just hosed the base of the trees with a few gallons of water. Now I can only wait and keep an eye on all the new buds and leaves.

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•   Kills bugs dead!
  By Don on August 7, 2012

  I love Merit 75 WP. Use it personally on my orchid collection and use it extensively at city conservatories. Mealybug was rampant in conservatories and now controlled with a regimen with this product as the main treatment along with fogging and Isopropyl alcohol. The product is easy to apply (I use drench) and immediately effective. So far retention of the product in the plants seems good. I would not recommend this nor any other systemic product for outdoor use on blooming plants due to loss of beneficial insects through poisoning.

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•   perfect for so much
  By Landscape on January 18, 2013
  Verified Purchase

  You can't beat Merit for preventing and treating so many pests and diseases. Mixes well with water and is easy to use as a drench. NO spraying! I use it every spring for all my client's yards to avoid many problems down the line. Using it every year has virtually eliminated problems with boxwoods, laurels and so many more shrubs.

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May 15, 2010 Therese asked:

QHow much Merit insecticide do I need?
I am a bit confused about how much product I would need. I have used Bayer Advanced and they ask for the distance around the tree and then to use 1oz per inch of distance. These instructions are quite different with this product. You have me dividing that distance(circumferance)to get the diameter. According to your formula I have 7 trees with a combined DBH of 82.72. Which at a rate of 1.4 tsp would mean about 116 teaspoons. So how many teaspoons are in the 2oz jar of product.

A

One 2oz jar of Merit WP contains enough product for about 30 cumulative inches of tree trunk diameter (at the highest concentration for systemic control). These small 2oz jars are usually purchased by people who only have to treat one or two trees or shrubs. When you need to treat several trees the Merit 75WSP envelope is usually the way to go. One envelope of the Merit 75WSP contains enough product for about 96 cumulative inches of tree trunk diameter at the highest concentration. As a low cost alternative we recommend Dominion 2L which has the same active ingredient as Merit and treats the same insects.  One bottle of Dominion 2L contains enough product for about 137 inches of tree trunk diameter at the highest concentration.

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November 21, 2009 Keith asked:

QHow do I use Merit 75 WP for emerald ash borer control on two trees?
I have been told by your expert that Merit 75 WP is the product to use as a drench for protecting 2 trees that I have from the emerald ash borer. What quantities, and what dilution rate do I need for a tree that is 10 to 12 inches in diameter?

AThe Merit 75 WP product label is one of the most confusing of all the products that we sell.  You need 1.4 level teaspoons of Merit per inch of diameter. This is the highest rate and should be used for all boring insects. The amount of water that is used will vary depending on soil conditions and volumes that are easy for applicators to use. The minimum amount of water that should be used is 1 pint per inch of tree diameter but you may use 1 quart -1 gallon of water per inch as well. Denser soils such as clay do not accept water as readily, so the lower volume of water is suggested.  Since sandy soils can accept more water, using the higher volume of water is preferred.

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July 11, 2011 Russ asked:

QDo you sell a deep soil instrument to administer the Merit 75WP?
Not sure where to buy a deep soil injector that will work with this stuff.

AUnfortunately we do not sell any injection rods or kits due to their cost and that they typically are used with expensive large tanks and gas powered systems that are not really economical for a homeowner to purchase.  However, you can apply the Merit as a soil drench which prevents you from having to inject it, or many of our homeowners just use a long piece of rebar or thin steel and use a hammer to make injection holes around a root system and then fill the holes with the merit.

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April 17, 2010 Matt asked:

QI have a problem with grubs in my lawn. What kind of spray works best to kill them?

A

Merit, or the active ingredient in Merit, Imidacloprid, is the best product for grub control. It is important to start treatment prior to egg hatch. For optimum control irrigation or rainfall needs to occur within 24 hours of the application to move the product through the thatch layer and into the soil. You can contact your local cooperative extension office to see when egg hatch normally occurs in you region. Dominion 2L contains the same active ingredient as Merit and can be used as a money saving alternative.

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April 5, 2011 Adrian asked:

QI have Thrip on my ficus which is about 9 feet tall. Should I spray the hedge or soak the root with Merit WP?
Also how much Merit WP should I use?

AYou should do a foliage spray with the Merit WP as waiting for the product to be taken up by the roots from soil drench and trans-located through the plant can take too much time when you already have a damaging pest population. You will need to use 0.25 tsp of Merit per 2.5 gallons of water and thoroughly spray the foliage (don't forget to spray the underside of leaves). Foliage sprays will also work systemically. In the future you can choose to do soil drenches before the pest population has a chance to build. You will need to use 0.7- 1.4 level teaspoons of MERIT 75 WP Insecticide per foot of shrub height or 1 to 2 ounces per 30 cumulative feet of shrub height mixed in at least one pint of water per foot of shrub height. You will be required to pull back mulch or leaf debris near the root base prior to the application and you will be required to water in the application with about 1/2 inch of water. It is important to keep the soil moist for at least two weeks following the application to help with root uptake.

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January 28, 2013 Doris from Fresno, Ca asked:

QI have 2 huge elm trees that are only 6 feet apart. Do I treat them as one or two trees when applying Merit?
One elm has 22 inch diameter and the other has a 23 inch diameter (they are huge trees). They were recently thinned out by an arborist. Their root systems totally overlap.

AThe trees should be treated as separate trees. When applying merit your aim is to treat the roots that are close to each tree, not at the outer limits of the dripline. Instead go out about a foot from the base of the tree and do the application there in a bout a two foot band.

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November 10, 2012 Kent from St. Louis, Mo asked:

QWhat time of year should Merit 75 WP be applied to kill boring insects in globe locust trees?
Location: St. Louis, MO. Plan to use soil drench method. Thinking about using this product now (early November, if it'll do any good) and Safari via basal trunk application in spring.

AMerit should be applied when the tree is actively growing. If you try to apply a systemic product like Merit to the root system when the tree has gone dormant it will not be able to trans-locate through the tree. Instead you should consider using a topical product such as Tengard to stop new insects from invading the tree. Tengard can be sprayed on the bark and the foliage to kill exposed insects before they invade the tree.

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August 29, 2012 Roger from Toms River Nj asked:

QHow do I drench apply Merit 75 to treat Bronze Birch Borer?
Do I dilute one package (1.6 oz) into 10 gallons of water and pour it around the tree? The instructions are not complete clear.

AWe agree, the directions can be very confusing. You will dilute the 1.6 oz pack in at least 10 gallons of water and pour the dilution around the base of the tree. You will need to use 1.6 oz (1 packet) MERIT 75 WSP per 24 to 48 inches of trunk diameter.

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June 12, 2012 R. from Dublin, Tx asked:

QWill Merit 75 kill squash bug adults?

AMerit 75 is not actually labeled for squash bugs but squash bugs that try to feed off of treated plants would surely be effected. Merit 75 is most likely not labeled for squash bugs because it cannot be used on most edible plants which are the ones that will most likely be infested by this pest. We do carry Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus and Vegetable Insect Control and while it does share the same active ingredient as Merit 75 the formulation is a bit different which is what allows you to use it on edible plants.

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August 26, 2011 Rosi from El Paso Texas asked:

Qwe bought merit 75 about two or three years ago
We had great luck controlling ground pearls on backyard tifgreen grass. We just found out ground pearls are back, but can't find mixing instructions that used to be attached to bottle. Could you please help us with that.

AYou can find the Merit product label on our website on the Merit 75 WP product page. For your convenience we have also linked the product label in our answer : Merit 75 WP product label

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July 15, 2011 Gary asked:

QCan Merit be mixed as a concentrate and used in a Dial-n-Spray? If so, what concentration?
How much powder per quart of water for the concentrate, and how many ounces per gallon to dial in on the sprayer? I have 28 feet of 8 ft tall "Snow on the Mountains" which get infested every year with the span worms of White Tipped Black Moths. The span worms can strip the shrubs bare, then metamorphose into moths, which lay more eggs which hatch into more span worms. The typical 1 gallon pump hand sprayer takes forever to treat this much shrubbery.

AUnfortunately most hose end sprayers only work with liquid and not a dry product like merit.  It typically will not mix very well with the water.  Although it does take longer, a hand pump sprayer is much more effective and ensures the product is mixed thoroughly and applied evenly.  We do have many inexpensive back pack sprayers which will allow you to apply 4 gallons of solution at a time fast and efficiently. 

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June 29, 2011 Minette asked:

QWill Merit 75 WP kill bag worms?

AMerit 75 WP is not labeled for bagworms and may not provide you with satisfactory results. We recommend that you choose a product that lists bagworms on the product label such as Talstar P (Talstar P is the product most commonly selected by pros for bagworm control), Thuricide, Mavrik, or Permethrin SFR. Please take a few minutes to read our article Bagworm Control to learn when you should start spraying for bagworms.

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March 29, 2011 Paul asked:

QWill Merit 75 work on nematodes found in the earth?

AMerit 75 is not labeled for nematodes so we are not sure if it would provide any type of control for this pest. We would recommend contacting your local cooperative extension office to seek further information on the type of nematode that is infesting certain plants on your property. In most situations you can manage nematode populations without any type of chemical control.

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June 5, 2010 Barbara asked:

QHow much Merit 75 WP do I need per gallon of water for tall bearded iris that have iris borers?
Do I drench the rhizomes and spray the foliage? How much liquid per plant and how often. There are tiny grubs already in the lower part of the leaves.

AApply 3 to 4 level teaspoons of MERIT 75 WP per 1000 sq ft. The amount of water you use will be up to you, though we recommend using at least 2 gallons of water per 1000 sq ft. Apply as a broadcast treatment and incorporate into the soil. When the application is made to established plants, optimum control will be attained if area is irrigated thoroughly after application. Complete instructions can be found on page 4 of the product label.

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June 4, 2010 Betty asked:

QWhat is the best method for treatment of cottony maple scale?

AWe recommend Merit for cottony maple scale. When dealing with soft scale insects, Merit can be applied as a root/soil drench. Insecticides applied to the soil are taken up by the roots and translocated throughout the tree or shrub. Root/soil drenches offer the advantage of requiring no special equipment to apply (other than a bucket or watering can). However, surface layers of organic matter, such as mulch or leaf litter, can bind the insecticide and reduce uptake. Before applying drenches, it is important to remove or pull back any mulch or dead leaves so the insecticide solution is poured directly on the mineral soil. It is also important to keep the soil around the tree or shrub moist for the next 7-10 days after applications to encourage uptake. Low cost alternatives to the Merit would be Dominion 2L or Mallet.

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