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Gardeners World blog

Plants

Organic pest control

Posted by: Adam Pasco, 28 September 2007, 08.10AM

Pheromone trap with moths Parts of my garden have resembled something of a battleground this year. Why is it that all my favourite plants and crops have their very own pest to contend with? Grow lilies and you'll be hard pressed not to find lily beetle munching them. My greenhouse cucumbers always succumb to red spider mite. Hostas act like a magnet to the local snail population.

Well, I'm not having this! I've been fighting back, organically of course, especially on crops I'm going to eat or feed the family.

How disappointing to bite into an apple or plum and find a maggot inside (perhaps disappointing isn't quite strong enough). But how satisfying to hang a sticky pheromone trap in your trees and catch the culprits red handed, so to speak. They're out there, getting up to no good, but rarely ever seen. Now you can catch them, and the gruesome evidence brings a big smile to my face. (It can't only be me, surely?)

I invested in a Plum Moth Trap and Apple Codling Moth Trap in May. These comprise of a green plastic shelter (bird-proof I'm told), a very sticky glue card plus a specific phermone capsule. This sex pheromone provides the lure to attract male moths to an untimely end, hopefully before they've done the deed with any female moths. No mating...no eggs...no grubs inside the fruits...one happy gardener!

One thing this season has taught me is that prevention really is better than cure, and this is a prime example. Delay control until later in the year and the damage is done, but hang up those pheromone traps early and you can hopefully look forward to pest-free crops. For once the gardener comes out on top!

Comments

  • margaretm

    28 September 2007, 10.16PM

    where can I buy Apple Codling moth trap. Also why have my apple trees not fruited this year. neither have the trees of my two neighbours. As I live in the warm south east I cannot blame the frost.

  • Rosie T

    29 September 2007, 09.12AM

    Can anyone tell me how long an adult vine weevil lives?

  • Mike Harvey

    29 September 2007, 10.10AM

    Yes all this is fine for apples and plums but - do you know of a pheromone trap for pear midge? Last year I did not spray and my crop was destroyed almost totally. This year I sprayed at petal fall being careful to do this late in the evening due to my bees (I am a beekeeper) and I have a huge crop of pears. Pear midge seems to be little known but is a bad pest in this area of Norfolk and was also bad in Northampton when I lived there.

  • Lorrie Flannery

    29 September 2007, 11.45AM

    This sounds like a great idea Adam. If I grew apples or plums I would definitely try it. However I discovered the down side of organic pest control this summer. In early May and mid June I invested £20 a time in nematodes for slugs. I waited for the right conditions to apply them - dull and damp but not too wet - then set too and watered all my borders and tubs with them. Then, on each occasion, just as I was feeling smug in the knowledge that I would be enjoying a slug free summer, the heavans opened and.... well we all know what happened next, especially here in Sheffield! and the nematodes were washed away. The result is I have had my worst summer ever for the dreaded slugs, they have even been eating plants that are guaranteed to be slug free. My borders look like a battle field. Ah well, as Alan Titchmarsh would say, there will be another summer along next year.

  • Jennifer

    29 September 2007, 07.51PM

    I feel that life is too short to lift dahlias, even on clay soil, even in Scotland. I mulch them with peat free multipurpose compost and stick a bell cloche over them. They seem to survive with this treatment. A Bishop of Llandaff that was previously reliable failed to appear this year which surprised me because last winter was mild. I finally dug it up today and it is very much alive but the shoots stop just at the soil surface. I have a bumper crop of slugs and snails after the damp summer and I suspect that this plant gets chewed off every time it raises its head above the parapet. Next plan? Copper ring, same mulch, same cloche.

  • sulia1

    29 September 2007, 09.42PM

    This year everything, and I mean everything, was infested by aphids, white fly, green fly, mealy bug. Despite our efforts, most of our back garden is a white-fly fest even today. I have had to prune our bay tree back dramatically to remove the worst of the mealy bug infestations, our quince and plum tree had green fly and black fly, the roses had black spot.....in fact, I think the only plants left alone were a few of the herbs, the rosemary and sage and chives, the geraniums, citrus trees.....not much more than that. We lost a lot of fruit this year due to bugs, but have learned to compost slugs!

  • Ann Vaughan

    01 September 2007, 09.07PM

    Yes Jennifer I've had exactly the same happen to my Bishop of Llandaff. Good idea of yours for the cloche, I'll definitely try it.

  • Oliver

    02 October 2007, 02.18PM

    We have a plum tree on our allotment. It produces much delicious fruit. The first 'batch' generally had inhabitants, but the second lot seemed to be free of lodgers. A couple of years ago there were no lodgers at all. I was somewhat puzzled until I discovered my neighbour had a trap on his trees - so the moths must have been going over there! I have no bought my own trap, just in case. I bought mine at the Malvern Autumn Show from the Agralan stand. They were very helpful and have both plus and apple traps.

  • Adam Pasco

    02 October 2007, 04.15PM

    Margaret, you can find more details and buy pheromone traps from Agralan Ltd. Check out their website. Look under 'Insect Control' for the traps, which cost £6.95. Rosie, I'm not sure how long the adult vine weevil lives for, but probably a few months. Did you know that ALL vine weevils are female! No male vine weevil has ever been found, so as every one you find is capable of laying eggs you must be sure to catch them all. (Agralan sell controls for this pest too).

  • Sandra

    03 October 2007, 10.31PM

    Can any one help me with the problem of leaf curl on the tips of my Cherry Tree. Last year I cut the new growth from the ends of the branches which did not do much for the shape, but unfortunately it was there again this year.

  • Andrea

    04 October 2007, 02.52PM

    Could anyone please tell me where I can obtain Field Beans? I live on the Isle of Man and no-one here supplies them. I would like to sow them as a green manure this autumn.

  • JAC

    04 October 2007, 07.49PM

    can any one please help me to get rid of SELF HEAL in my lawn

  • Dorothy

    04 October 2007, 07.50PM

    I forgot to put up my Agralan Codling Moth trap this year and surprise, surprise my apples were mainly free of maggots. I feed the blue tits and other birds throughout the year with sunflower kernels which they carry up into the apple tree above to feast on this delicacy and can only assume that they dealt with the little bug...s for me! I will put up the trap next year as insurance.

  • Patricia

    05 October 2007, 02.39PM

    How can I organically control Scale insect on my 8ft tall Contorted Hazel? All the controls appear to be for greenhouse use. Please help! Thanks

  • Janet

    09 October 2007, 08.54PM

    how do you prune cob nut trees?

  • Ian

    19 October 2007, 10.23PM

    I suffer from vine weevil in my garden is there any natural way to get rid of this pest, at the moment i use provado treatment but this year has been the worst ever, i have killed numerous adult vine weevils manually is there a easy organic solution?

  • nirmal

    30 April 2008, 10.36PM

    Have found holes in the buds of one clump of irises anybody had a similar experience and any advice out there?

  • Madmissy

    18 July 2008, 09.56AM

    I have noticed that my lovely plum tree has a greenfly infestation. I want to treat it but need to use something that will not effect the eating quality of this years crop. Any suggestions most welcome.

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