How to destroy gooseberry moth and save the crop

Gooseberry mumps, as the name implies, is a pest of gooseberries, but it can also affect other berry crops, such as raspberries and currants. And with uncontrolled propagation and distribution, this small pest is able to significantly reduce the quantitative yield of these plants.

Pest Description

Adult gooseberry moths are butterflies with a wingspan of about 2.4-3.6 cm. The front wings are painted in gray-brown or dark brown in color with a pattern consisting of brown stripes and light scales.

The length of the body of the caterpillar is not more than 1.4 cm. The color of the integument is gray-green. Ring-like spots are visible on the sides of the body in the second segment. Pupae are colored brown and enclosed in a parchment-like cocoon.

Development features

The gooseberry moth in the pupal stage hibernates, occurring in the upper layers of the soil. With the arrival of spring heat, when buds begin to be tied up on gooseberry bushes and other berry crops, butterflies fly out of the pupae. Fertilized females make their masonry inside the buds and flowers, and then move to the ovaries. Over time, caterpillars emerge from the eggs, which begin to mercilessly eat flowers, as well as the pulp of fruits and seeds.

Thin cobwebs can be found on plants infected with gooseberry fireplows. In this case, damaged fruits stain early, then rot, dry out and fall off or remain hanging on branches directly on the web.

Approximately in the second or third decade of June, the larvae descend from the plant and go to the upper layers of the soil where they pupate - usually this is the area right at the base of the shrub. There, pests entangle themselves in a dense cocoon and settle down for the winter.

Signs of infection

To discover firebox on gooseberries it’s easy - you just need to inspect the bush and fruits. When infected on the berries, small holes will be visible through which the finest strings of the web stretch. Over time, the number of such fruits will increase markedly.

On a note! Moreover, a clump of web around them will also grow, and often in one such cocoon you can find several berries of varying degrees of ripeness and infection at once - some may be completely fresh, others may be rotten and dried up.

The main food source for gooseberry larvae is the fruit pulp and seeds. Moreover, damaging the internal tissues of the fruit, the caterpillars will not touch the peel. And if you try to stir up a ball of entangled berries and crush the healthiest looking one, then inside you will probably find a bright green caterpillar with a black head.

If you do not do the destruction of the pest population in time, then after a short period of time the majority of the berries will appear on the web and the entire crop will be in serious jeopardy. And the caterpillars, having gained enough strength, will go down into the soil and calmly leave for the winter.

A set of agrotechnical measures to combat gooseberries

In order to expel the parasite from its site, it is necessary to carry out the following measures:

• in the autumn, after harvesting, to clear the garden of plant residues and dig up the substrate - this will destroy the pupae that settled there for the winter;
• shortly before the first freezing, gooseberry bushes spud to a height of about 10 cm - this way in the spring butterflies simply cannot fly out of the pupae remaining in the ground;
  
• the soil under the berry crops is mulched; peat or ordinary compost can be used for this;
• all wilted and darkened ovaries are collected manually, the cocoons weaved by the web are also removed and everything outside the site is destroyed.

Folk remedies

You can deal with gooseberry ognevka with the help of plant-based products, and resorting to spraying with ash and dust solutions.

• A solution of wood ash. To prepare it, it is necessary to sift one and a half kilograms of ash and pour the resulting fine powder with five liters of water. The composition is left for two days at room temperature, after which it is filtered and used to spray infected berry bushes.
• Dusting soap solution. Despite the fact that dust is a chemical preparation, it is already so firmly established in the everyday life of many gardeners that it is considered a folk remedy that shows very good results in the fight against gooseberry ognevka. To spray the affected plants and the strait of soil under them using a 12% dust-water solution.
  

  Recommendation! And for greater efficiency, a week after such treatment, a small amount (about 50 g) of dust powder is scattered under the bushes.

• Infusion of tomato tops. In order to make the product, a kilogram of raw material is soaked in a bucket of water, after a day of insisting it is filtered and the affected gooseberry is treated once a week.
• Needles extract. For 200 g of spruce or pine needles, you need to add a couple of liters of hot water, cover with a lid and leave for a week in a warm place. Shake the contents of the container daily. After the specified time, the product is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.
• Mustard infusion. To prepare it, 100 g of dry mustard is diluted in a bucket of water and left for two days at room temperature. Before processing, the infusion is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 2.

Chemical attack

If folk control measures have not yielded positive results in the destruction of gooseberry moths or have proved ineffective, then more toxic drugs will have to be sought.

Important! But just remember that after the last chemical treatment, at least 30 days must pass before harvesting!

1. "Kinmix" - this tool is an insecticide that has a wide spectrum of action and copes with the attacks of various pests of berry crops. Moreover, with its use, it is possible to destroy both larvae and adults. It is allowed for use in private households. The active substances of the drug, penetrating the body of the parasite, paralyze its nervous system and after a few days the insect dies.
2. "Spark" - release form - insecticidal tablets. To prepare a working solution, one tablet is dissolved in a glass of water, after which the volume of the drug is adjusted to 10 liters. Processing is best done in the evening, when the gooseberry moths butterflies begin to fly.
3. "Karate" is an insecticide, the main active components of which are the substances of the pyrethroid series. Destroys gooseberry moth at all moving stages of its development.

There are also biological agents that can be used in the fight against this parasite. These include Bitoxibacillin and Lepidocide. They are used to treat affected bushes immediately after the flowering period.

In the fight against gooseberry moths, some insects and fungi can help.For example, trichograms, which are released onto plants at a time when sexually mature individuals begin to actively lay their eggs. Trichogramma damage their membranes and parasitize on hatched pests. Equestrians and tahini flies can provide the same assistance to gardeners.

And with heavy rainfall in spring, pink muscardine begins to develop - a parasitic fungus. Moreover, if the summer is dry, most gooseberry larvae larvae will die without having time to hide in the upper soil layers. These natural factors are of great help in protecting crops from gluttonous pests.

Have a good harvest!