In order to collect a good harvest of apples, it is important to carry out the proper care of trees. To ruin the plans can small pests that destroy young buds, flowers, leaves and fruits. To save the crop in the event that caterpillars appeared on the apple tree - how to deal with them with the help of chemistry and folk remedies.
Apple moth
Many people, seeing the caterpillars, do not take any action, believing that they will die out during the winter, but this is a mistaken opinion, since with the appearance of the first leaves they pass to active actions. The apple-tree ermine moth affects the leaf plates, eating their middle and laying eggs there in the web. When caterpillars turn into butterflies, they are already laying off offspring on the branches, as evidenced by mucus on the bark.
There are caterpillars with the onset of heat after the appearance of the kidneys, and butterflies can be seen in the first decade of June. In the dark, they lead the most active life. They contribute to their absence of preventive measures, so in autumn it is necessary to burn all the fallen leaves and check the bark to remove the masonry. In the autumn, the necessary treatment with special preparations should be carried out. It is important to know if there are caterpillars on the apple tree, how to deal with them, otherwise there is a risk of complete loss of the crop.
Apple Fruitboard
A common pest that, if left unattended, can lead to the destruction of fruits. He leads a nocturnal life, therefore it is very difficult to detect it. The butterfly lays about 80 eggs, from which in a couple of weeks caterpillars appear and are much easier to notice. It is important to know the signs of the attack of the apple moth , the measures of struggle and provoking reasons to cope with the problem. Caterpillars first destroy the young foliage, and then pass on to the fruit. To do this, use the following tips:
- Plant around the trees a lot of flowers, attracting insects, which is afraid of the moth. Good neighbors are garlic, tomatoes and dill.
- In spring, clean the bark, and in the autumn loosen the soil around the trunk and remove the foliage.
Silkworm on the apple tree
Cereals of silkworm can become the reason of deterioration of quality of apples. There is a ring-shaped species that hibernates at the egg stage, and in the spring after the appearance of the kidneys, the caterpillars begin to actively devour kidneys and leaves. In the middle of summer butterflies are active, and they lay eggs, forming a dense ring around the branches. Caterpillars quickly overeat the edges of the leaf plate. It is important to know when silkworms appear on the apple tree, how to deal with it and how to prevent the appearance of a pest. And already in the early spring it is recommended to cut off branches with oviposition, put them in an open jar and put them away from trees.
Another species - an unpaired silkworm also hibernates with eggs. The masonry is oblong in shape and covered with hairs. Hairy caterpillars are transferred by wind currents to other trees. They eat buds, flowers and ovaries. With increased activity, leaves can be completely destroyed. It is important to know if there are caterpillars of silkworms on the apple tree, how to deal with them - in the autumn, be sure to inspect all trees, stumps and even stones and scrape all the masonry with a knife.
Black caterpillar on apple
Caterpillar with black strips - hawthorn , damaging leaf plates of apple. She hibernates in nests formed from leaves and fastened with cobwebs, and in the spring they destroy the kidneys. Little black caterpillars on the apple tree in the middle of summer become butterflies, and they lay their eggs on the leaves. It is worth mentioning that pests are often found in wet places with open access to water. It is important to fight them regularly, collecting and destroying the cobweb nests of the hawthorn.
Caterpillars on an apple tree in a web
Some pests can be identified by an obvious sign - the web. It is formed by apple moth, silkworms and winter moth. In addition to the chemical and folk methods of destruction described below, a mechanical method of control is also used. If you are interested in what to do, if the cobwebs and caterpillars are on apple trees, then experts recommend that in order to fight pests in spring, manually cut off the foliage, which became damaged and brown. At a time when the caterpillars have already appeared, you can collect the cobwebs themselves, and do it better early in the morning. Collect the collected material.
Caterpillars on an apple-tree - how to fight folk remedies?
The safest methods for getting rid of pests are folk remedies that involve the use of available products. There are several popular ways to get rid of caterpillars on an apple tree:
- Wormwood. Grind dry (350 g) or fresh (0.5 kg) wormwood and pour the plant with a bucket of water. Leave for a day, then bring to a boil on fire and cook for 30 minutes. After this, strain and add 40 g of chopped soap. To combat caterpillars, spray apples with a ready-made product after flowering at intervals of a week.
- Green tomatoes. To fight the caterpillars, you need to take 4 kg of leaves, twigs and green tomatoes. Vegetable raw pour a bucket of water, bring to a boil and cook everything for 30 minutes. It will stop decoction and add soaps, given that for every 3 liters there should be 40 grams of soap and 10 liters of water. Spray after flowering once a week. Ready-made broth can be stored in a cool and dark place in a closed container.
- Fumigation. Take a container that withstands high heat, and put hot coal in it and sprinkle with resin and sulfur, taking into account the proportion of 2: 1. With a tank, walk around the trees, fumigating all the areas.
- Glue. To combat the caterpillars, prepare a sticky mass by combining 100 ml of resin, 55 g of stearin and 60 g of pork fat. Heat the mass to achieve a uniform consistency. After that, cool and apply to the areas of trees affected by caterpillars.
How to treat the apple tree from caterpillars?
In stores you can find a large number of chemicals that are safe for people, but harmful to pests. For those who are interested in what to spray caterpillars on an apple tree, it is worthwhile to suggest chemical insecticides and organophosphorus agents have good efficacy. They kill the caterpillars at the moment when they leave the eggs. As an example, you can bring: "Dimetoat", "Atom", "Admiral" and others.
To combat the caterpillars, cyhalotrines ("Gladiator" and "Altyn") and pyrethroid preparations ("Accord" and "Ivanhoe") are used. Treat in the evening during the mass appearance of caterpillars. It is important to strictly follow the instructions. During spraying, be sure that the branches of the trees are completely processed. In the period when butterflies are actively flying, you can use "Herald" and "Dimilin".