Young fruit trees are being eaten by a bug, what to do. Tree pest control. Prevention and control measures

Despite their gigantic size, trees need constant protection from many pests and diseases. Pests are especially dangerous.In a short time they can harm one tree or spoil the life of an entire garden.

The signal for protective measures is the unusual behavior of trees. For example? If a tree sheds its leaves, turns yellow, the bark begins to quickly wear out and peel off. In 90% of such cases, pests are to blame.

When you discover harmful insects, you must immediately begin an all-out fight against these nasty creatures. Otherwise, having destroyed the harvest on one tree, they will move to the remaining ones.

All pests can be roughly divided into 4 types

• Fruit eaters - they encroach on the most valuable thing - the harvest. Most of these pests have wings and fly well. They lay eggs on or in close proximity to fruits.Having hatched, the larvae begin to actively absorb the pulp of the fruit. There are also exceptional pests - weevils and codling moth larvae. They feed exclusively on bones.
• It is not difficult to deal with this group of pests by using Alatar, Confidor, Apache, Kinmiks, Iskra. The main thing is to stop processing 20-30 days before harvesting.
• Bark destroyers. This includes not only bark beetles. Many pests use the bark as overwintering habitat. Delving into the pores and getting out of their homes, they destroy the bark.
• It is very difficult to cope with such pests. The most effective measure remains cutting out damaged areas of the crown and burning them. Eradication sprays with DNOC, Nitrafen or 3% Bordeaux mixture are also useful.
• Juice lovers. The main representatives of this group of pests are all kinds of aphids. Insects cover trees in entire colonies. The aphids bite into the tender parts and sip the tree sap. These insects are especially dangerous for young, immature plants.
• There is no problem in destroying these pests: their delicate skin will not protect them from any drug. There is only one problem - every five days a new generation of aphids hatches and the treatment has to be repeated.
• Leaf and shoot gourmets. Caterpillars and several species of beetles and moths eagerly eat leaves and young shoots. There are also insects that drill branches, making real holes in them.
• The weak point of these pests is their appetite. Therefore, they can be removed even with a single spray. The most effective drugs at the moment are Konfidor, Tonreg, Zubr, and Golden Iskra.

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In the list of species that damage buds, shoots, leaves and fruits of fruit trees, it is difficult to strictly divide them into food items.

Many species of beetles of the Weevil family in the adult stage damage buds, buds, flowers, green shoots, and then the fruits of trees. This is typical for, and others. (Compiled)

The vegetative and generative organs of fruit trees serve as food for the adults of various species of the family (chafer beetles).

On the tops of shoots and leaves, simultaneously from the moment the bud scales move apart, mites (hawthorn mite, brown fruit mite, red fruit mite and others) settle. These pests delay and even stop the growth of shoots and leaves, and cause underdevelopment of inflorescences and fruits.

There are also species with a more limited feeding range. Adults only damage tree leaves, but the larvae of this species live and feed under the bark, like a bark beetle.

Despite their powerful, gigantic appearance, trees are rather weak plants that require constant care. The main danger to plantings is fruit pests . They can do a lot of mischief: destroy the harvest of one plant or undermine the health of the entire garden as a whole.

Unusual changes in the “behavior” of the tree (sheds its leaves, turns yellow, the bark begins to quickly “wear out” and peel off) indicate that the health of the plantings is in danger. In 80% of cases, such changes are the result of an insect attack. To determine which species is attacking your tree, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the harmful insects at the bottom of the article. fruit pests in pictures.

If harmful insects are found on at least one of the plants, it is important to immediately begin the fight against this type of dirty pest. Otherwise, having destroyed one tree, they will spread to the rest of the vegetation in search of food. Believe me, the reproduction rate of insects, provided there is a huge supply of food (your seedlings), is very high.

Insects – fruit pests,

According to their taste preferences, they are conventionally divided into 4 types:

• Fruit eaters. The basis consists of winged insects. Some species of butterflies, flies and moths sometimes even lay eggs in close proximity to or directly on fruits. Having hatched, the larvae begin to actively eat the pulp. It is worth mentioning special insects - weevils and codling moth larvae; they feed exclusively on bones. Below you can see the appearance of these insects (garden pests photo).
• Bark destroyers. This includes not only bark beetles and ticks. Many insects use the bark as a wintering habitat. Burrowing into the pores of the old skin of a tree, they pupate and sleep until spring. Actually, delving into the pores and getting out of their home, they destroy the bark.
• Juice lovers. The main consumers of plant liquid are aphids. These are the smallest garden pests; insects practically cover the tree in entire colonies. Aphids dig into weak parts of the plant (wounds on a pole without bark, leaves, etc.) and draw out tree sap. Insects are especially dangerous for young plants.
• Leaf and shoot gourmets. Caterpillars and several species of beetles and moths eat the leaves of the plant, thereby disrupting the natural process of photosynthesis. There are also insects that feed on shoots; they practically dig holes through small branches (sometimes they can remain in them for the winter).

Plum moth: 1 - adult insect, 2 - caterpillar, 3 - damaged
fruits, 4 - cocoon in section

Eastern moth

Plum gall mite

Brown fruit mite

Slimy sawfly

Apple moth: 1 - adult insect, 2 - caterpillar, 3 - damaged leaves, 4 - cocoon, 5 - pupa

Bud leaf roller: 1 - adult insect, 2 - caterpillar, 3 - damaged leaves

Gooseberry shoot aphid: 1 - viviparous virgin, 2 - female disperser, 3 - damaged shoots

There are various types of insect control preparations for pests of fruit crops . Unfortunately, there is no universal remedy for all types of insects. Insecticides are selected depending on the type of pest. However, insect infestations can be prevented if preventative measures are taken (see below)

Rodents and hares - winter fruit pests

An important point of autumn work is protection against pests of fruit crops in autumn. Yes, yes, in winter your plantings are also at risk. During the cold season, small rodents and hares periodically roam around gardens and vegetable gardens in search of food.

You can protect the landing from a possible attack as follows:

• Small rodents (mice) can fall for special poison baits. Place the “goodies” in the planting area, covering them with small boards (so that birds don’t steal them) and garden rodent pests will eat exclusively fragrant baits :)
• Special belts made of roofing felt or roofing felt will help keep hares away. We wrap the selected material around the trunk, the height of the “fur coat” is about 1 m. It is advisable to attach the roofing felt to the tree not with a rope, but with wire (barbed wire is also possible).

Our articles from the section “Diseases and pests of the garden and vegetable garden”

Spring has come: the fight against insects

All kinds of insecticides (artificial chemical compounds) can be used against insects in the garden or fruit pests . Obviously, the latter are as safe as possible for vegetation and humans. Actually, we will focus on them.

To help trees resist insects, plant in close proximity to trees plants against pestsfruit crops

• from moths, flies, butterflies: celery, shawl, tobacco, garlic, calendula;
• from beetles, bedbugs, mites, weevils and moths: elderberry, rosemary, mint, chamomile, sage;
• from caterpillars (including leaf rollers): nasturtium, calendula, dill;
• from aphids: garlic, tobacco, nasturtium and other plants with a pungent odor.

Several times during the growing season, it is useful to sow celery, mustard, dill and coriander in the planting area. These plants attract natural enemies of insects - pestsfruit crops – entomophages. These include ladybugs, ground beetles, lacewings, etc.

Special traps for pestsfruit crops

• Not a single crawling insect can approach a tree in front of which there is a small ditch with water. You can create an artificial barrier around the trunk using a regular tire or oilcloth (placed in a specially artificial groove around the tree). Fill the barrier with water and insects will not be able to reach the plant.
• Against crawling fruit pests effectively use catch belts. The trap can be made with your own hands from tow or similar fibrous material. Simply wrap the tree trunk with tow at a height of 70-80 cm from the ground (minimum belt width 15-20 cm).

Preventive actions

By planting special plants and installing traps, the fight against pests of fruit crops doesn't end. The best plantings are timely measures taken to combat insects:

• several times a year it is necessary to dig up tree trunk circles, thereby not giving a chance to survive for pests that winter in the ground;
• damaged shoots need to be removed and burned (you can also burn fallen leaves);
• in the first warm days it is carried out fromfruit pests in spring (trees are sprayed with special liquids against harmful insects);
• Twice a year the trunk is cleaned of old bark and whitewashed wood.

Our articles from the section “Diseases and pests of the garden and vegetable garden”

This garden pest mainly damages pear trees. In appearance, the pear honeysuckle is similar to the apple tree, differing from it in its darker color and slightly smaller size. The pear honeydew is a greenish-brown or yellow-brown insect with orange stripes along the back. In early spring, even before the buds open, female pear honeydews begin to lay eggs. After a week, the larvae hatch and begin to actively suck juices from young shoots, buds, leaves and flower buds. When the larvae turn into nymphs, they damage leaves, shoots and sometimes fruits, which turn black and fall off. When the pear honeydew multiplies massively, the trees are abundantly covered with honeydew.

Green apple aphid. This pest damages apple trees, hawthorns, pears, quinces, rowan trees, and dogwoods. Aphids cause especially great harm to young trees. The body of the aphid is up to 3 mm long, yellowish-green in color with a black or yellow head and yellowish-green abdomen. Adult insects overwinter in bark cracks, bark beetle passages and under fallen leaves. In early spring, the larvae penetrate the still unopened buds. During the development process, the larvae turn into foundress females, who give birth to up to 40 larvae throughout the summer. After 10-15 days, each such larva can itself produce offspring. The number of generations of insects in the southern regions reaches 11–13 per season.

Apple sucker. A cold and prolonged spring promotes the reproduction and development of the apple worm. The length of an adult insect is 3 mm, it has 2 pairs of transparent wings and 10 thread-like antennae. The body color of the copperhead is bright green at the beginning, later straw-yellow, and by autumn it acquires a brown-yellow and carmine-red hue. The apple worm overwinters in the larval stage, which are deposited in the folds of the bark of young apple tree shoots (pillows), at the base of the buds. During the swelling and opening of the buds, the eggs hatch into larvae that gather on the tops of the opening buds. They feed intensively, sucking juices from yet unopened buds and leaves. At the same time, the larvae of the honeydew secrete honeydew, which glues the internal parts of the kidneys, preventing their normal development. Larvae that have passed into the nymph stage also cause considerable damage to trees. They feed heavily on apple blossom buds and young leaves.

Scale insects. Scale insects are a group of insects close to aphids, whose body is covered with a waxy shield. The female of this insect usually lays eggs under her shield. Larvae hatch from them, which attach themselves to the plants and suck out the juices from them. This slows down the normal development of plants, weakens them, and reduces the quantity and quality of fruit harvest. Only larvae disperse with the help of birds and wind; adults are motionless. The fight against them is difficult due to their small size and immobility of the attached individuals, as well as mimicry to the color of the bark of the affected tree. The most common are apple comma and acacia scale insects. They harm apple trees, pear trees, apricots, dogwoods, hawthorns, currants, thorns, and grapevines. During mass reproduction, scale insects completely cover the shoots, causing the death of branches, and sometimes the entire tree or bush.

Pear mite. This garden pest damages pear leaves. It has an elongated worm-like body and 2 pairs of limbs. Adult mites overwinter under the bud scales. After they bloom, insects move onto the leaves and suck the juice from them. As a result, small swellings form on the leaves, and on the reverse side there are small holes through which mites climb inside the leaf. Then brown dots appear on the leaves, the leaves turn black and die.

hawthorn. Hawthorn causes significant harm to apple, pear, plum, quince, cherry, sweet cherry, apricot, rowan, and hawthorn. The wings of this butterfly are white with a network of dark veins. Young caterpillars are grayish-brown with a dark head. Adult caterpillars are distinguished by 2 brown-orange and 3 black stripes on their backs. Their nests are dried leaves hanging on a tree and covered with cobwebs. Each caterpillar in such a nest is in a separate dense cocoon. In the spring, the caterpillars wake up and attack young buds, eat them up, and then switch to flowers and young leaves. During mass reproduction, adult caterpillars often denude entire trees. At the beginning of June, hawthorn caterpillars pupate and freeze on the branches of trees and shrubs for 2 weeks. Each female can lay up to 500 eggs in 2 weeks of her short life. The colonies of young caterpillars that emerge from the eggs completely eat the leaves and prepare winter nests for themselves.

Ringed silkworm. This garden pest damages pome and stone fruit trees and shrubs, as well as oak, hazel and hawthorn. The butterfly is brownish-yellow in color with a pair of transverse dark stripes on each wing. The hind wings of the ringed silkworm are lighter than the front wings. The wingspan of the female reaches 40 mm. Butterflies lay eggs on young branches. As they grow and eat leaves, the caterpillars form new cobwebby nests in the forks of branches. During the day they live in them, and at night they crawl around the tree and feed on leaves. After pupation, after 2 weeks, butterflies emerge from the cocoons and immediately begin laying eggs.

Gypsy moth. The gypsy moth damages a wide variety of species of fruit trees and shrubs. As a result, trees affected by silkworms lose foliage, yield, and are attacked by secondary pests. Female gypsy moths are large butterflies with a wingspan of up to 80 mm, with yellowish-white wings covered with spotted fringe. Males are half the size - 45 mm in wingspan - with a thin abdomen and gray-brown wings with fringe. The gypsy moth lays its eggs on tree trunks, stumps and bark, covering the clutches with brownish-yellow felt. The caterpillars of this pest first feed on the buds, and then eat the leaves, buds and ovaries. Adult caterpillars are especially voracious. In June they pupate and after 2 weeks butterflies emerge from the cocoons, capable of mating and laying eggs again.

Apple moth. The apple moth only attacks the apple tree. Pest butterflies have silver-white wings with 3 rows of black specks on the front pair. The butterfly's body length is only 8 mm, its wingspan is 19 mm. The moth lays eggs on young shoots in clusters, up to 100 pieces in each, covering them with mucus, which hardens and turns into a kind of shield. In the spring, dirty cream-colored caterpillars with a black head and black spots on the back crawl out of the eggs. Whole colonies of caterpillars bite into young leaves and hide there for up to 10 days. Damaged leaves first turn red, then turn brown. The caterpillars move as a whole colony to new nearby leaves, entwining them with cobwebs. Spider nests become visible among the branches as they grow. In June, the caterpillars pupate and after 2 weeks butterflies fly out of the cocoons and lay eggs again.

Leaf rollers. Garden pests such as leaf rollers cause great harm to fruit trees. The most common are the bud roller, the rose leaf roller, the brown leaf roller, the omnivorous leaf roller, the currant leaf roller and the ditty leaf roller. Young caterpillars of leaf rollers overwinter on tree trunks, and in the spring they roll several young leaves into a ball and eat them. They damage buds, flowers and young ovaries, and eat away the pulp of cherry fruits. Leaf roller caterpillars are very nimble - when their nest opens, they quickly fall and hang on the web.

Bukarka. This garden pest feeds on the buds and leaves of apple, pear, cherry, plum, thorn, bird cherry, viburnum, hawthorn and other garden crops. An adult beetle reaches 2-3 mm in length, has wide elytra of a bright blue color with a metallic tint and a long proboscis. The beetle hibernates in the soil. In early spring, beetles fall on trees, pierce buds and buds, eat away stamens and pistils, and prick the peduncle, as a result of which the development of buds is suspended. At the end of flowering, the beetles begin to lay eggs, also damaging the leaves of the trees. The female lays 1 egg in the midrib of each leaf, scraping off the skin while doing so. The larvae that hatch a week later gnaw through canals in the midrib and petiole, after which the leaves wither, turn brown and fall off.

Apple flower beetle. The apple blossom beetle causes great damage to the buds of apple and pear trees. This is a beetle with a body about 4.5 mm long, ovoid, brownish-brown in color with a transverse light gray stripe on the elytra and a long proboscis on the head. This garden pest overwinters in bark cracks, fallen leaves, garden debris and soil. In spring, when temperatures are above zero, beetles come out of their hiding places and crawl into trees. They pierce the buds and buds, sucking the juice from them. When the air temperature rises, the females drill through the buds that have become exposed by that time with their noses and lay eggs in each. One female can lay up to 100 eggs. The buds damaged by them do not bloom, but turn brown and dry out.

Goose. Goose damages apple trees, cherries, plums, sweet cherries, sloe, apricots, and peach trees, damaging buds, buds, flowers, and developing fruits. The body of the beetle is 6–10 mm long, covered with hairs. The elytra are golden-reddish-bronze in color with a greenish metallic tint; the head, nose and antennae are purple. Young beetles, rarely larvae, overwinter in the surface layer of soil, fallen leaves, and under the bark of trees. In spring, the goose feeds heavily in order to reach sexual maturity. The beetles puncture the buds at the base, causing them to dry out and fall off. After the leaves bloom, pests prick leaves, buds, flowers, eat away their contents and gnaw the peduncle. When the fruits appear, the goose begins to feed on them. The female gnaws through a chamber in the fruit, where she lays 1 egg. First, the beetle lays eggs on plum, cherry and sweet cherries, and then on an apple tree. The goose does not harm the pear.

Apple codling moth. This insect damages apple, pear, apricot, plum and other fruit trees. Codling moth butterflies reach 188 mm in wingspan. The wings are elongated, dark gray in color with numerous transverse wavy lines and a bronze ocellus at the edges of the front pair. Adult codling moth caterpillars overwinter under the bark in the lower part of the trunk in dense silky cocoons. During flowering, they pupate, and the butterflies fly out during the period of shedding of the excess ovary. They fly actively after sunset, and during the day they sit motionless on the trunks and in the crown of trees.

Apple sawfly. This pest damages apple fruits. The insect is similar in appearance to a fly, its body length is 6-7 mm. Its lower part is painted yellow, and its upper part is brownish-black. The hatched caterpillar gnaws winding passages under the skin of the fruit and then moves on to another fruit. She makes her way to the seed chamber and completely eats it away, leaving rusty-brown excrement. During 20 - 30 days of its development, the false caterpillar damages 2-3 fruits. Sawfly larvae usually complete their development by the time the codling moth caterpillars appear. The apple sawfly causes the greatest damage to early varieties of apple trees.

Woodworm. The insect damages apple, pear, plum, bird cherry and other fruit and berry trees. The size of the woodworm butterfly in the wingspan reaches 90 mm. The front wings are gray-brown in color with dark dots and spots. Young caterpillars are pink, adults have a brown-red back and a black head. After the first winter, each caterpillar makes its own move in the wood with branches, one of which goes outside. After the second winter, the caterpillars crawl into the exit and pupate there. Trees infected with woodworm larvae are severely weakened and susceptible to fungal and other diseases.

Cherry moth. The insect damages cherries, cherries, plums and other stone fruit trees. The external moth butterfly is small, with a wingspan of 10-21 mm. Cherry moth damages the buds, causing them to die or deformed leaf blades. Damaged fruit buds also die. Even if a fruit bud damaged by a pest throws out an inflorescence, its buds do not develop and quickly dry out. Subsequently, the caterpillars penetrate the buds, eat away the stamens and ovaries of the flower, holding the petals together with a cobweb. As a result, instead of the ovary, a small lump of cobweb remains. At the end of May, the caterpillars go into the soil and pupate until the end of June. Butterflies fly out of cocoons and in early September lay eggs under the scales of the buds or cracks in the bark, leaving them to overwinter.

Cherry slimy sawfly. This pest damages cherries, cherries, plums, apricots, sloe, peach, and sometimes pears. An adult insect has a black body 5-7 mm long, glassy-transparent wings. Adult larvae overwinter in an earthy cocoon in the soil under the tree crowns. Females cut “pockets” into the pulp of leaves and lay eggs there. At this point on the surface of the leaf, the skin swells slightly. This bubble bursts when the larva emerges from the egg. Sawfly larvae feed actively starting from the end of May. They are placed on the upper side of the leaves and first skeletonize small areas, leaving a network of veins. The adult larva completely eats the pulp on the leaf blade, leaving only a lace of veins. The larvae stay on trees until mid-September, and then go into the soil for the winter.

Cherry elephant. The insect damages the buds, flowers and fruits of cherries, cherries, plums, peaches and apricots. The body of the cherry elephant beetle is golden in color with a crimson or greenish tint, covered with grayish hairs. Both beetles and pest larvae overwinter in the soil - in an earthen cradle. In early spring, the beetles crawl to the surface and begin to feed on the buds. Then they attack young leaves, and later damage the ovaries of cherries, plums and other fruit crops. Damaged ovaries do not develop or produce ugly fruits. Female elephants lay eggs during the formation of the ovaries. The female makes a hole with her proboscis, eats the flesh down to the bone, on the surface of which an egg is laid. Fruits damaged during oviposition lose their shape and taste.

Plum moth. The plum moth damages not only plums, but also sloe and apricot. The butterfly's body length is 7 mm, its wingspan is 17 mm. In terms of lifestyle and development, the plum moth is in many ways similar to the apple tree pest. Adult caterpillars overwinter in web cocoons, in bark crevices, and on tree trunks. The emergence of butterflies occurs in mid-summer, during the formation of ovaries. Butterflies lay eggs on young green fruits, sometimes on leaves. After 5-8 days, caterpillars hatch, bite into the fruits and feed on the pulp. They eat around the bones of the cave, filling them with excrement. The fruits become covered with purple spots, gum flows from the wounds, then the damaged fruits fall off.

A fruit-bearing garden is the special pride of a zealous owner. Every gardener knows how difficult it is to achieve such a result. If sanitary conditions are not observed, green spaces quickly turn into a problem. The main culprits of neglect in the garden are usually pests of fruit trees. A huge number of insects can multiply even more in a short period of time and literally occupy the garden. Let's try to figure out how to deal with bugs, caterpillars and other “aggressors”.

Types of insect pests

Insect pests of fruit trees are classified according to different criteria. It is convenient for the gardener if insects are considered according to the damage they cause. The final result is that the entire tree suffers from any pest, but each insect loves certain parts of the plant. There are also omnivorous representatives of the pest world. What taste preferences do different insect pests of fruit trees have?

Fruit lovers

Fruits are loved by weevils and some sawflies (apple, black plum). Not far behind them are all types of codling moth : apple, pear, plum, oriental. During the fruiting period, the apple blossom beetle is dangerous, reducing the yield and reducing its quality. The cherry fly injects its larvae into the berries of cherries or cherries, and larvae appear there, spoiling the harvest.

Some pests eat the pulp of the fruit, while others prefer to feast on the seeds. The leaf roller butterfly damages the garden in its own way. Being a caterpillar, it devours the ovary and hatched buds at the beginning of summer, reducing the yield of the tree. Some winged pests lay eggs in fruits to provide nutrition to the emerging offspring.

Lovers of foliage and buds

In the spring, when the buds open, hearth mites, apple budworm, gray budworm, and green aphids pose a great danger. They drink life-giving juice from tender buds. At the same time, other pests of the ovary and young leaves become active (hawthorns, winter moths, lacewings, leaf rollers, silkworms). The pear bug is most dangerous in dry summers; its presence can be seen by whitish spots on the leaf - this is the place where the juices have been sucked out of a healthy tree by a colony of larvae.

Apple moths, silkworms and fruit sawflies feed on the buds. The ovary suffers greatly if there are apple sawfly and mountain ash moth, and after half a month the codling moth joins them. Many caterpillars like to feed on leaves. Some only drink the juices, which causes characteristic holes to be visible on the leaves. Others eat the leaf so consistently that only the “skeleton” remains. In both cases, the plant’s photosynthesis is disrupted and the tree gradually withers. The attack of caterpillars on the garden is also expressed in the early falling of leaves and their yellowing.

Rowan and apple moths, lacewings, ringed and gypsy moths, American white butterflies, hawthorn moths, leaf miners - this is an incomplete list of those wishing to profit from leaves. Their harm to the garden is largely due to the fact that the fruits are underdeveloped, and the yield drops the next year. Leaf-eating pests need to be combated, but some gardeners are careless about them.

Bark lovers

For an uninitiated person, such a hard substance as bark seems inedible, but many pests do not share this point of view. They overwinter in the bark, feeling especially comfortable in the old bark. This is how caterpillars spend the winter, hibernating and waiting out frosts. Bark beetles and mites (spider, brown, hawthorn, red, pear gall) happily eat tree bark.

Roots lovers

Unlike other parts of the tree, not many pests feed on the root system. Among the enemies dangerous to the roots is the Californian scale insect, which settles on young trees. The plum moth sucks substances from young seedlings, injecting its enzymes into them, negatively affecting the development of the tree. Beetle larvae and weevils also choose the roots as a source of food and can quickly destroy the plant.

Omnivores

Aphids are a real scourge for trees; they are especially dangerous for young plants. To be precise, aphids do not eat the tree, they drink its juices. There are many varieties of this small pest: gray aphids, blood aphids, green aphids, etc. It makes no difference where aphids suck the juices out of a tree; they do it equally well with soft leaves and fairly hard young bark.

Woodworm caterpillars bite into cuttings, and when they get older, into young shoots. After a year, they migrate to old branches, then to the trunk. Near a tree heavily damaged by woodworms, you can see sawdust - this is the excrement of this insect, which feeds on wood.

Old or simply weak trees are more at risk from wood borer, bark beetle, sapwood and glassweed. They form passages in the branches, reducing their strength and leading to rapid death. These pests easily move from neighboring gardens, nearby forest plantations, forests and parks.

In order not to miss the time when you need to treat fruit trees for pests, you need to inspect the trees in the garden at least twice a month. If you notice something suspicious, you need to figure out the type of pest and the method of treatment. Experienced gardeners will recommend numerous ways to get rid of insects.

Basic rules for pest control

It is not at all necessary to wait for insect pests to attack the garden; in many cases, preventative measures can be taken. Treating fruit trees against pests that damage the bark is quite simple. It is enough to clean the trunk of obsolete bark and whiten it.

Lime is poisonous to insects; they will not settle in such uncomfortable conditions. Whitewashing has an excellent effect for destroying insect cocoons. Spring treatment of fruit trees against pests is mainly limited to whitewashing. You can make catching belts from cloth or paper soaked in a special solution, which will repel the pest with its smell. Do not forget to promptly remove weeds in the garden, loosen the rows, and water.

Treating fruit trees against pests in the fall means digging up the ground under the tree, pruning and burning branches and leaves. Root pests do not like the violation of thermal insulation in the tree trunk circles. Just dig up the soil and the bugs will freeze. Those insects that eat holes in branches are not particularly afraid of frost. If you notice dying or weak shoots, most likely pests have settled in them. Such branches need to be cut off and burned. Treatment of fruit trees against pests in the fall includes the collection and destruction of carrion - nothing should remain near the trees for the winter.

Chemical methods

It is impossible to limit ourselves only to mechanical methods in exterminating insects and preventing their appearance in the garden. Many consider chemical countermeasures to be the most effective. When using chemicals, extreme caution must be exercised - humans are also susceptible to the effects of poison, not just insects. Some chemicals are not completely broken down by the time it is time to harvest. Responsible gardeners try not to use chemicals; they prefer more environmentally friendly options. Chemicals should only be used in critical situations.

Biological methods

The technique is based on what nature itself gave us. The vast majority of harmful insects have an extremely developed sense of smell. It is thanks to the smell that they search for those trees that they need for life. They also identify trees that are unsuitable for food or habitation. Gardeners use a keen sense of smell for insects - they specially prepare traps into which they lure insects, or special repellers that pests do not like.

Garlic

The most basic way to repel insects is to plant plants with an unpleasant aroma near the trees. It is advantageous to plant garlic between apple trees, which is cut off by 1 cm as soon as its foliage grows sufficiently. Trimmed garlic releases juice that has an unpleasant smell for pests (it’s not for nothing that there are legends among people that garlic can scare away even a vampire!). This pruning of garlic is done no more than 15 times per season, provided that the plant is watered after pruning during drought.

Bags and spraying

If you want to scare away flying pests, hang naphthalene packed in small bags on tree branches. Almost all pests do not like this smell, not just moths. Garlic, wormwood and tansy infusions, which need to be sprayed on trees, cope well with these tasks. But if insect pests are already in the garden, then such methods are ineffective; you need to use stronger means. Summer and spring treatment of fruit trees against pests is sometimes carried out using these methods.

Natural enemies

In nature, all insects have deadly animal enemies. Man has learned to use this fact to his advantage. The harmless ladybug is a terrible enemy for aphids, scale insects, copperheads and other sucking insects. An adult “cow” manages to kill 200 aphids per day. Its larva does not lag behind the adults - in 10 days it eats 500 aphids.

Lacewing larvae are used as gardener's allies. These are real champions in terms of appetite - they eat 30 spider mites in an hour, and more than 4 thousand aphids in their entire short life. Ants are also considered useful animals by gardeners. The exception is black garden ants - they have adapted to feed not on aphids themselves, but on their secretions.

When planting a garden, you need to pay attention to those varieties of trees and shrubs that are rightfully native plants. Many new gardeners make the mistake of planting only “overseas” trees. Viburnum and hazel, which are common in our climate, are very popular with insects that are beneficial to the garden. If you plant these bushes, pests that have natural insect enemies will avoid the garden.

Birds are the most famous fighters for a clean garden. One tit nesting site will protect 30 trees, a couple of starlings with their voracious chicks eat 8 thousand pest larvae. Flycatchers and the most common sparrows are excellent gardener's helpers. A smart gardener is always not lazy to install a birdhouse in his garden. Many birds like to settle without a birdhouse, just in the crown of powerful trees. Therefore, do not rush to uproot old trees with lush, spreading crowns near the garden - there should be 2-3 of them.

Common Pests

There are insect pests that almost every gardener encounters, while others appear relatively rarely. Let's take a look at some of the insects you'll encounter. How to deal with them. What fighting tactics to use.

Medyanitsa

There are several species of small jumping insects with roof-like wings - this is the copperhead. They suck juices from the buds, then do the same for flowers, leaves and petioles. As a result, the flowers and ovary die, the leaves become smaller, and the tree weakens. The larvae leave behind gray sticky balls called excrement. They glue the elements of buds and flowers together, preventing them from blooming.

They fight the copperhead before the buds open. Spraying at a temperature of only +4°C with nitrafen. When there are buds, you can spray solutions of garlic, henbane, yarrow, crow's eye, dandelion, creeping mustard and others.

Aphid

There are many varieties of these insects - more than four thousand. Gray, green, cherry, plum, and blood aphids are dangerous for the garden. To get rid of them, ticolpridone is sprayed on the aphid colony.

Signs that a tree is infected with aphids:

• young leaves curl;
• shoot growth is slowed down;
• there is sticky dew on the leaves;
• on young stems there is a sticky substance.

Red spider mite

If you notice slightly spotted leaves on a plum or apple tree, this may be the “work” of a mite. There are several varieties of mites: pear, brown, apple and others. Some of them live openly on leaves, others hide inside galls. If the weather is dry, these leaves take on a bronze color and become dry and brittle. Prevention - at the end of spring and again after 21 days, spray with pyrethrin.

Ringed silkworm

It looks like a large butterfly with a hairy body; in April-May it becomes a caterpillar, eating leaves at night and weaving webs during the day. When pruning, you should first remove branches with eggs. The trees on which the silkworm has settled are sprayed with nitrafen until the buds appear.

Apple blossom beetle

This is a common pest, which is the weevil beetle. It wakes up in the spring and begins to eat young buds. The traces of his actions are similar to a needle prick on a kidney. The larva devours the pistils and stamens of the flower, simultaneously gluing the petals together with its excrement. The flowers do not bloom and die, sometimes all of them.

In the spring, before the buds appear, in the early morning the flower beetle is shaken off the tree onto film or paper. This is done with a wooden hammer, knocking it on the trunk. Treating fruit trees in the fall against flower beetle pests requires necessarily loosening the soil.

Mining moth

In the garden there are a lot of similar-looking, but different-named insect moths that mine leaves with their pupae. Then caterpillars emerge from them and skeletonize the leaves, which turn yellow and fall off. As a result, the trees become very weak, do not tolerate cold well in winter, and bear little fruit. There is especially a lot of damage from moths in the southern regions. The fight against different subspecies of moths takes place in its own way: as against the codling moth or using sumi-thione and anometrine.

leaf roller

There are 26 species of this insect in the gardens. The leaf roller is more dangerous when it is a caterpillar - from the very early spring until the leaves fall. It feeds on buds and leaves, tender inflorescences and ripe fruits. After leaf roller attacks, 60% of the inflorescences and about 40% of the fruits die.

Before the buds open, trees need to be treated with a nitrafen solution. At the beginning of flowering, they are sprayed with a solution of decis, karate, arrivo, anometrine or intavir. Experienced gardeners believe that the optimal period to combat leaf rollers is when the buds appear. Preparations of dendrobacillin, bitoxibacillin or lepidocide are used.

codling moth

Many call it the main pest of apples, and at the same time pears. If a gardener leaves processes to chance, 90% of the fruits in the garden will suffer from the codling moth. The caterpillar makes its way into the fruit and feeds on the seeds there, walling up the entrance behind itself. The fruit with the codling moth inside grows poorly, quickly turns yellow and falls to the ground. Fruit rot often comes with the codling moth.

To avoid an epidemic, you need to regularly collect carrion and remove it from the garden. At the end of summer, hunting belts are made from paper and burlap. When the harvest is harvested, the belts are removed and burned along with the moths sitting there. If there are few pests, then you can release Trichogramma. If 5 butterflies are caught in a trap in a week, after 7 days the garden is sprayed with biological products dendrobacillin, bitoxybacillin or lepidocide. Chemical preparations or infusions of insecticidal plants (wormwood, tomato, etc.) are also used. The last treatment should take place at least twenty days before harvest.

Plum moth

This rather large butterfly damages not only plum trees, but almost all fruit trees. Dangerous are the white caterpillars that emerge from eggs laid at the bottom of the leaf. Over time, the caterpillars turn red, their main goal is to eat fruit pulp, gnaw petioles and even seeds. The fruit that the plum moth has chosen for itself becomes unsuitable for human consumption.

Apple sawfly

More often it attacks apple trees, pear trees, hawthorn - it notices other trees less. There is also a pear sawfly that attacks only pear trees. The presence of the sawfly is indicated by oblong scars on the surface of pears, apples, and other fruits. Affected fruits fall off. Around the holes in the fruit there is sticky waste from the larvae, which have already gone into the soil. As a preventive measure, spray with thiacloprid after the petals fall. In the fall, spoiled apples are burned, and the trees themselves are treated with insecticidal solutions for prevention.

Plum sawfly

Fruit affected by this pest has small holes and black excrement around it. The fruits in which the plum sawfly has settled fall to the ground while still green. Prevention - thorough soil cultivation.

cherry fly

The favorite “dish” of this fly is cherries, plums and cherries, but they also do not disdain apricot, bird cherry, honeysuckle and barberry. The female introduces eggs into the fruit; spoiled fruits darken, but remain on the branches. The emerging larva goes underground, so you need to fluff up the soil in spring and autumn.

Pear bug

This pest bug is dangerous not only for pears, but also for all other trees. The adult bug and its larvae feed on the sap of the plant. The leaves become colorless, sticky, dry out and fall off.

Spring treatment of fruit trees from pests bedbugs: prepare a solution of liquid soap, corn or sunflower oil, wood ash and vinegar. The reverse side of the leaves, where the larvae are disguised, is treated especially carefully with insecticides. In the fall, you must not forget to cultivate the soil (harrowing, digging).

Insect pests of fruit trees numerous, they pose a serious threat to plants. Although they are all insects, along with their common properties they have many different things. That's why pest control of fruit trees