Apple moth - how to deal with it

In nature, there are a large number of insect pests. One of them is the apple moth. Many gardeners had to notice a cluster of caterpillars on the apple trees, and maybe even a web-covered tree with almost completely eaten foliage. This is a sign that a pest, the apple moth, has settled on the apple tree.

Insect features

Apple Mole –A dangerous fruit pest, which belongs to the family of ermine moles.The insect is a small butterfly with an original color. A white moth with a velvety sheen has two pairs of wings, one of which has black blotches. Another pair of wings is ashy color. Inconspicuous moth not easy to spot the first time.

Apple pest begins its active actions with the appearance of the first green leaves, which are the main damage zone of the tree. First, hibernating caterpillars eat the inner parts of the leaf, leaving their skin intact.

On a note!

In addition to the apple pest in the garden and the garden can be found cabbage, potato and mining mole. All of them also eat leaves and interfere with the normal development of the plant.

Apple Mole

With the beginning of flowering of the apple tree moth caterpillars fade and begin to feed on the leaf, building a web in that place. After eating around the growing greens, they move to another area. With a strong infestation of a tree by pests, they are able to leave it behind them practically “naked” and entwined with cobwebs. Such a pastime of the apple moth larvae lasts for a month.Then the leaves of the apple caterpillars begin to pupate. This process takes about two weeks.

A month after the flowering of apple trees, butterflies appear. In the bark of the tree, they lay eggs (up to 65 pieces), which are covered with a layer of mucus. A month later, the little caterpillars will see the light, which will remain to spend the winter in this state. During the summer season, only one generation of the pest is born.

What is dangerous pest

The damage caused by the apple moth can be disastrous. Such an insect can destroy entire gardens. The larvae of the apple moth are especially dangerous, since adults are generally do not have a proboscis for food. The result of massive insect attacks that last for 35-40 days is the absence of fruits. This is because the damaged inflorescences simply fall off. The affected trees begin to multiply only after 2 years, but most apples are damaged by caterpillars.

Methods of struggle

There are two ways to get rid of the apple moth:

• Chemical;
• Mechanical.
  

  Traces of apple moth

More simple and safe mechanical method of struggle.It consists in the removal and destruction of spider nests, as well as leaves with brown spots. This method is effective in case of insignificant infestation of a tree by caterpillars. But if there are more than two such nurseries on the apple tree, then it is preferable to use special preparations.

The fight against apple moth includes the following activities:

1. It is necessary to examine all trees for the presence of a pest. Finding a massive accumulation of appleworms on its leaves, it is necessary to make processing. The best option is the use of biological agents: Lepidocide (it is used at the rate of 20 g of the drug per 10 liters of water) or Bitoxibacillin (60-70 g per 10 liters of water).
2. No less effective is Entobacterin (100 g of the drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water). The drug is safe for humans, plants and birds, but for the larvae of the apple moth, it is destructive.
3. Spray the leaves of the tree should be phased: before the appearance of buds and after flowering, when the leaves appear caterpillars of the apple moth.
4. The most difficult procedure is the destruction of eggs. The treatment of the affected areas with compounds in which paraffin is present will help achieve the effect.An example of this could be Dimilin, they are treated with trees at least twice a season.
5. It is possible to get rid of the caterpillars in case of excessive absorption of apple leaves with the help of insecticidal preparations: Inta Vir, Phosphamide or Aktelic.
6. In case of a massive lesion of trees by the larvae of the apple moth, Fozalon is used. Treatment with this tool does not cause chemical burns of the leaves.
   

   Apple moth remedies
7. Support greenery can be using top dressing. Any complex fertilizer is applied at the root immediately after spraying.
8. To prevent the apple moth from damaging the trees, they can also be sprayed with tobacco extract or millet decoction, which is prepared in a ratio of 800 g of product per 10 liters of water.
9. To reduce the number of apple pests, it is necessary to prune trees before the beginning of the growing season, whiten the skeletal branches, and also clean the bark on the shtamb.
10. Fighting a pest is possible by attracting various birds and beneficial insects.

On a note!

Some amateur gardeners have argued that the arachnoid membrane limits the penetration of poison to moth larvae.However, this statement is erroneous, since the web protects the caterpillars only from predatory insects.

The fight against apple moth will be effective in its timely conduct. At the first signs of insects, it is necessary to collect all their nests as quickly as possible in order to prevent the spread of the pest.