The Garden Muse - Controlling Coddling Moth in Apples/title> <meta name="keywords" content="garden, questions, answers, canada, bc, british columbia, coddling, moth, apple, tree, spray, organic" />  <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Coddling moth control is best approached using integrated pest management (IPM), which begins with understanding your adversary’s lifecycle.">  </head> <body> <table align="center" width="80%"> <tr><td> <p align="center"><img src="../images/garden_muse2.gif" alt="Garden Muse - Garden Information with a Twist of Lyme"/></p> <hr align="center" color="#333333"></td> </tr> <tr align="center"><td><a href="../lyme.html"><img src="../images/lyme.gif" border="0" alt="Lyme Disease"></a> <img src="../images/flower.gif" alt="flower"> <a href="../articles.html"><img src="../images/articles.gif" border="0" alt="Garden Articles" /></a> <img src="../images/flower.gif" alt="flower"> <a href="../questions.html"><img src="../images/q_a.gif" border="0" alt="Questions & Answers" ></a> <img src="../images/flower.gif" alt="flower"> <a href="../about.html"><img src="../images/about.gif" border="0" alt="About" /></a> <hr align="center" color="#333333"> </td></tr> <tr><td> <img src="../images/answers.gif" alt="The Answers" /> <p><b>I have four apple trees on my property and I’m interested in spraying them myself. I read in the Creston Valley Advance that an organic spray for coddling moth has been approved. Do you know the name of it?</b> </p> <p>I suspect that the Creston Valley Advance does and I'm sure they'd be happy to provide it to you. Just keep in mind that sometimes it takes a while for new sprays to make it into the garden centres once they've been approved. Also, what's approved for home use and what's approved for commercial use isn't always the same, so you'd do well to head down to your local garden centre and have a chat with their Licensed Pesticide Dispenser to make sure you get what you really need. </p> <p>I’m not a big advocate of spraying (organic or chemical) and will normally try any mechanical means of control to get around it. However, in areas where coddling moths have a foothold, it's hard to get around a spray program of some description. </p> <p>Having said that, the best approach for controlling coddling moth is integrated pest management (IPM). Coddling moths overwinter in cocoons that are tucked under the loose bark on a tree’s trunk, its main branches or even in debris on the ground. Soon after your trees have blossomed, the moths will emerge from their cocoons and lay eggs on the immature fruit and leaves. Over successive weeks, these eggs will hatch and the larvae will burrow into the fruit so that they can eat the seeds. Once mature, they'll exit the fruit and crawl down the trunk to make their cocoons. This cycle can repeat as many as three times each year.</p> <p>To control coddling moths, fill your yard with bird baths, nesting boxes, feeders and whatever else you can think of to attract birds to your property, particularly in winter, since birds love to snack on the overwintering cocoons. </p> <p>Inspect developing apples for holes filled with red-brown excrement from the time the flower petals fall until harvest and promptly destroy all infested apples along with any that drop early. In mid-June, wrap strips of corrugated cardboard or burlap around the base of your tree trunks and major branches to trap overwintering larvae. Remove these strips in mid-July and replace them with new ones, inspecting them regularly for a build up of larvae. Remove and discard, as necessary. At harvest, pick your trees clean and never leave rotting fruit or debris in your orchard.</p> <p>If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at <a href="mailto:vanessa@gardenmuse.ca">vanessa@gardenmuse.ca</a>.</p> <p> </p> <hr align="center" color="#333333"> <div align="left"><a href="../index.html"><img src="../images/home.gif" border="0" alt="Home"/> </a> <div align="right" class="copyRight">Copyright 2009 - 2010 Vanessa Farnsworth </div> </p> </td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>