Beating Codling Moth

Codling Moth - the life story

If you have apple, pear or quince trees in your garden there is a good chance you will have codling moth problems. I have had serious infestations in previous years and this year decided to confront this pest head on with all guns blazing.  I know however my efforts this year will only be effective with next year's crop.  Part of my attack strategy was to learn a bit about the life cycle of the moth and its relationship to my trees. I hope you find this abbreviated version useful.



At the moment, early spring,  the adult codling moths are emerging from their overwintering cocoons.  The female moths stay close to your trees and in the evenings you can see them fluttering around.  The males are attracted into your garden by the female moth pheromone.  A pheromone is a scent given off by female insects to attract males of the same species.  After mating the female lays her eggs on the leaves and fruit of your apple and pear trees.  When the grubs hatch they enter the fruit often at bottom of the fruit where you will see a tiny pile of detritus.  This is the entrance hole.  Once you see this on the apple, from about December, you know there is a grub inside,  so picking off and removing those affected apples will reduce grub numbers.  Don't compost these apples.  Later in the season when grubs have fully developed they eat their way out of the apple sideways and you will see a  large pile of detritus. At this stage the grub has gone and the damage is done.  Emerging grubs will look for a safe and convenient spot to pupate overwinter before the cycle starts again.

Here are some useful prevention strategies:

Band your tree trunks
In early spring place trap bands around the trunks of your trees. I have used hessian bags given away by my local oyster processor but corrugated cardboard works fine  as well. The point of these trap bands is to give emerging grubs a convenient place to hide. By removing, detroying and replacing these bands twice over the season in December and February you will be reducing the grub population around your trees.  After each band removal brush tree trunks with a wire brush to remove loose bark. Squash any visible cocoons.

Pick off infested fruit
By removing and destroying, not composting, affected apples early when the grubs are inside you will reduce the population of moths. Thinning the apples in this way will mean better , larger fruit. Remove fallen fruit regularly and dispose of it.

Encourage predatroy insects
Flowering parsnip, fennel and dill will attract predatory wasps

Pheromone traps
To attract and capture the males who fly in to your garden place a codling moth pheromeone trap in your trees. The one I have puchased cost $50 and includes enough sticky traps and pheromone to last a full season and will provide cover for up to 5 trees. I think there are different types available and prices may vary.
Next year I will only need to buy a part of the kit so it should be cheaper. I am told the traps are over 90% successful.

So the attack is on. I will need to keep track of the number of moths I capture over the season and heres hoping next year my apple, pear and quince crop will be in better shape.