Is your tree covered in caterpillars? If the caterpillar is yellow with black dots, it is probably the descendants of the so-called web moth, also known as apple moth, and you should definitely act quickly because these pests are extremely voracious and destructive. Unfortunately, the bad news is that the usual home remedies you use for other types of pests are usually not effective here. But that doesn't mean that you have to (or can) eliminate the web moth from the market using chemical sprays, because there are still alternatives. You can find out from us how you can fight web moths with home remedies or with harmless products.
Caterpillars in a tree with a web - every gardener's nightmare
The caterpillar is colored yellow-black? Then it comes from the web moth. And although the web in the apple tree, plum tree, bushes etc. can look really interesting, it quickly means the end of the plant - if action is not taken immediately. However, if you take action right away, the plants can usually recover, although not always in the same year.
What do these caterpillar species attack?
- Fruit trees such as the apple tree or plum tree, but also others
- poplars
- Pfaffenhütchen
- Bird cherries
- Willows
- Weißdorn
Everything about the annoying boxwood borer and how to get rid of it,find out here.
Before you instinctively resort to injections and home remedies
If caterpillars have ensnared the tree, you have to remove everything. And this works best with your hand and gloves. Collect the pests, also remove the caterpillar webs from bushes and trees and cut off the tips of the shoots, as there are probably still eggs there from which more caterpillars will hatch.
Everything you have removed from the infected tree is best placed in the trash can. Under no circumstances should you throw waste near the garden, other gardens or even in the compost.
Fighting web moths with home remedies: effective, or not?
If you are hoping that you can fight web moths with home remedies, we will unfortunately have to disappoint you.The webs serve to protect the caterpillars. As you have already discovered, these are extremely finely spun so that hardly anything can penetrate them, let alone fine sprays. So they wouldn't be useful to you anyway. For this reason, collection and preventive measures for next year are your only option. After the initial cleanup, check the affected plants regularly for newly hatched specimens and dispose of these as well. At a certain point, caterpillars of the web moth that you missed pupate, after which the moth hatches and leaves the tree.
Parasitic wasps and the like against moths and caterpillars
There are some beneficial insects that prey on these moths and their larvae and you can even purchase some of them commercially and then release them. The parasitic wasp is one of these beneficial insects (see more below) that alsowith other pestsis a great help. What you should remember, however, is that it has to be the right kind. So be sure to pay attention to this when purchasing. Not every species of parasitic wasp also hunts web moths.
Preventative measures to combat or prevent web moth caterpillars
You will be at peace once all the moths have hatched. But to avoid a new infestation, you need to protect your favorite garden plants early next year. To avoid moths in the garden in the future (and therefore caterpillars), you must:
- Cut back plants that were infected in the current year in the fall. Dispose of these clippings in the trash, not in the compost!
- Attach glue rings around the trees in September.
- Optionally set up traps with attractants for the moths so that they are destroyed if possible before they reproduce and lay their eggs.
- Attract natural enemies to the garden next year. These are: parasitic wasps, predatory bugs and caterpillar flies.
- Although you cannot fight web moths with home remedies, you can use them as a preventive measure. If you don't want to use chemicals that are sprayed in spring (they end up getting into the fruit), prepare themgood old soap solutionwhich you can spray regularly on endangered or previously infested plants as early as April or May at the latest. Adding rubbing alcohol to the mixture makes it even more effective.
- In spring, check the plants regularly for egg deposits, which you must remove immediately. The moth usually lays its eggs near the buds. The clutch lies beneath a slimy, yellowish substance that hardens over time and then appears reddish or brownish. It is the clutches that have not yet hardened that you can kill with the soap and alcohol solution mentioned above.
Soap solution recipe:
- 1 liter of hot water (so that the soap can dissolve)
- 50 g soft soap (curd soap is also suitable)
- a few splashes of spirit
Mix everything together well and put the homemade apple spider moth remedy in a spray bottle. Then spray the affected plant every two to three days until you can no longer find any remnants of the pests. This home remedy can of course also be used on other fruit trees and plants.
The only natural remedy against spider moths: simple water
No, of course the water does not miraculously kill the pests. But you can use it to wash them off the plant with their nets. For this you needa strong jet of waterfrom the garden hose (or just shake it vigorously if the size of the plant allows). It is best to place a large sheet of foil around the tree during this time. It is important that you destroy the fallen moth caterpillars so that they do not find their way back to the plant. You can also prevent this with so-called glue rings that you attach to the trunk.
