Apple leaves affected by winter moth

How to deal with winter moths

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Sunday, 24 March 2019 at 3:00 pm

Find out how to prevent and treat winter moth, in our How-to guide.

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Virtually wingless, female winter moths hatch in November, then crawl up fruit trees to mate with male moths. The eggs that are laid hatch into caterpillars in spring, which eat the leaves and flower buds of the affected tree.

Usually they cause very little damage and don't reduce the overall fruit yield. However, in large numbers, they can weaken the tree and reduce yields. In these cases you may wish to trap and kill female moths before they climb the trunk to mate, by attaching a grease band to your fruit trees.

Follow our guide to controlling winter moth, below.

You Will Need

Grease band
Scissors
Garden twine

Total time: 15 minutes

Step 1

How to deal with winter moths - wrapping the grease band around the tree trunk

Unroll the grease band and measure how much you'll need around the base of your fruit tree.

Step 2

How to deal with winter moths - cutting the grease band to size

Cut off the length required, ensuring the ends overlap so there aren't any gaps.

Step 3

How to deal with winter moths - wrapping the grease band around the trunk

Stick the overlapping end firmly in place. If it's not secure, tie it in position with two lengths of string above and below the band of glue.

Step 4

How to deal with winter moths - removing the protective layer from the grease band

Peel off the paper covering the glue.

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