In an Apple Orchard Codling Moth is one of the most damaging pests of all. They also affect pear trees and quinces which are related.
This is a pest that needs to be controlled before the grub enters the fruit, as once this has happened the crop becomes worthless.
It is during winter that controls need to be put into place to prevent the grubs from crawling from their hiding places into the fruit.
Orchard cleanliness and Codling Moths
Clearing beneath trees is one natural methods of control. And if we look at old orchards, they were often attached to Chicken runs. The chooks would be released into the orchard and clear the ground of grubs.
- Never leave dropped fruit on the ground.
- Remove leaf litter and fallen bark from around trees.
A number of products and treatments are available for controlling coding moth, including organic, or natural methods. This is an insect that is the major source of damage to apple trees and related fruits but can be controlled by the use of Codling Moth Control Phernome traps or Chemical Sprays.
Basically it is a moth that lays its lava on apple trees and the larvae hatch and turn into caterpillars which then use the fruit as a source of food as well as place to grow and develop. Severe infestations can ruin a whole crop in an orchard.
On maturity the lava then form cocoons usually beneath the bark of the tree or in the leaf litter beneath the tree.
Methods of codling moth control
Control in the home orchard can involve making sure that leaf litter beneath the trees is removed regularly. Or you could remove all of the fruit for a year as this’ll break the life cycle. You can also just remove infected fruit.
Phernome traps
The most common form of codling moth control in the home orchard is to use phernome traps, this is basically a sticky trap that attracts moths. They are placed in trees in spring and replaced as needed.
Band traps can also be used and these are usually placed on trees in November and stay on until March when they are removed and disposed of. These traps last about two months so you will need to replace them half way through. The bands will attract the caterpillars and you can then remove them with the trap and dispose of it.
Other control methods
After this its chemical sprays and a number of these that act in different ways are available. Pyrethrum sprays can be used when moths are active, so if you use phernome traps and find they are catching moths, then Pyrethrum sprays can be effective against coddling moth.