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Spring is the time when nature blooms and all living things wake up. Together with plants and shrubs in the summer cottage, pests wake up from hibernation, who can cause irreparable harm to them. Insects and larvae eat gooseberry leaves more numerous, the fight against which and the prevention of their appearance occupy an important place in the management of each country house.
Who eats gooseberry leaves
Among pests that can harm gooseberries, caterpillars, which eat gooseberry leaves, occupy an advantageous position. There are several varieties of these larvae at once. All of them differ from each other not only in their appearance, but also in the ways in which it is necessary to deal with them.
The most common caterpillars eating gooseberry leaves are:
Pest name | Description |
Gooseberry moth | A green larva with a black head up to 2 cm long, which spoils the berry harvest. |
Gooseberry sawfly | The larvae of the parasite have a bluish-green tint with a black speck. They eat up the foliage of the vegetation. |
Gooseberry shoot aphid | Transparent greenish larvae. Their vital activity on foliage causes a stop in the growth of shoots, curvature and twisting of leaves. |
Gooseberry moth | The larvae of these butterflies have a white-yellow tint and dark spots on the back. The harm from their vital activity lies in the fact that they completely destroy the leaf plate. |
Spider mite | Tick larvae, like adults, are very small in size, so they can only be seen with a microscope. Cause the death of gooseberry foliage. |
How to determine which caterpillars appeared on a gooseberry
To determine what methods of struggle to choose with the pests that have appeared, it is necessary to clearly understand who exactly will have to fight and who exactly ate the gooseberry leaves. To determine exactly whose caterpillars appeared on the gooseberry and ate its leaves, you need to be able to distinguish them from each other by the main external features, and every gardener should know this, on whose site there is this plant.
Sawfly caterpillars on gooseberry leaves
By right, sawfly caterpillars have earned the reputation of the most dangerous pests for gooseberries. They eat gooseberry leaves with little or no residue. They also do not hesitate to feast on such plantations as black and red currants.
There are two main varieties of sawfly caterpillars that eat all the leaves of the gooseberry: yellow and pale-footed.
Both of them can cause irreparable harm to gooseberries, eating every leaf of the plant, right down to the veins.
Track Description:
- external similarity with a conventional caterpillar;
- green or greenish-blue colors;
- 10 pairs of legs;
- have a black speck along the entire perimeter.
Overwintering of these larvae occurs in the ground, directly at the base of the shrub itself. In winter, they are located in thick cocoons approximately at a depth of 12-15 cm. When early spring comes, the larvae enter the cocoon stage, and at the moment when the plants they have chosen begin to bloom, they turn into adults.
Insect females lay their eggs during the formation of young leaves on their underside, along the main leaf veins. Caterpillars appear rather quickly from these eggs and begin to actively develop the process of their vital activity. Initially, they gnaw small holes in the sheet, and then completely eat up the entire sheet plate without leaving any residue.
The life stage of the caterpillar directly on the foliage of the plant takes about 28 days. After gaining the necessary mass, they are sent to the soil and move on to the next stage - to the stage of the cocoon, and subsequently to the pupae.
The eggs left by the female on the gooseberry foliage are quite difficult to notice with the naked eye, and not all gardeners pay attention to the small holes in the leaves. Due to this, the caterpillars can actively develop.
The vital activity of these caterpillars threatens the gooseberry bushes with the following consequences:
- the berries of such a bush will be much smaller than from a healthy plant;
- some of the berries fall to the ground in a shorter time;
- the plant has a significant weakening of the growth of the shoot;
- the winter hardiness of the gooseberry bush drops sharply.
Green moth caterpillars on gooseberries
If the green caterpillars have eaten the leaves on the gooseberry, then, most likely, we are talking about the moth caterpillars. They cause great harm to the gooseberry bush crop.
Description of pests:
- the length of the larva of the caterpillar is slightly less than 1.5 cm;
- the body of its bright green hue, with clearly distinguishable dark stripes;
- the head is painted black.
Pupae of butterflies overwinter in the ground, in its upper layer. During the period when the first buds appear on the gooseberry, butterflies fly out of the pupae. Females of these butterflies lay eggs in flowers at the end of flowering. One adult female can lay about 200 eggs on the foliage of the plantation. After 10 days, caterpillars appear from these eggs. They are quite voracious and eat both flower buds and berry ovaries. The period of their life cycle on foliage can last about 30 days, and during this time they have time to pretty much spoil the possible harvest of berries from the gooseberry bush. Basically, they feed on berry pulp and its seeds. For a relatively short period of time, one such caterpillar is capable of destroying about 7 gooseberry berries. Having dealt with the next fruit, the pests envelop it in a cobweb.
After 30 days, the caterpillars are ready to move on to the next stage of their life cycle - pupation. As a rule, this period comes just when it is necessary to harvest.
It is not difficult to find that the bush has been attacked by moth caterpillars. This can be understood by the following signs:
- With a close examination of the gooseberry berry, you can see small holes in the berries, while a small thin cobweb stretches from berry to berry;
- If you examine a lump of cobweb, you can see up to 6 berries in it. Some of them are still quite fresh and not touched by pests, others, on the contrary, are already rotting or completely dried up;
- If you stir up such a lump, then in one of the fresh berries, most likely, you can find a moth caterpillar.
Caterpillars of currant glass
This pest is considered one of the most dangerous. Despite its name, such a caterpillar is not averse to feasting on gooseberry foliage.
The danger lies in the fact that for a sufficiently long period of time the presence of this pest in the bush does not mean itself in any way, and summer residents sometimes begin to fight it when it is practically impossible to do anything, and the bush is seriously injured. This type of caterpillar is capable of completely destroying the entire volume of the crop.
Females of adult specimens of currant glass lays about 60 oblong eggs directly on the branches of shrubs.
Description of the pest:
- white color of the larva;
- dark head;
- is distinguished by its particular gluttony.
Approximately 10 days after the eggs have been laid, harmful larvae emerge from them. During this period, they are very vulnerable. This lasts until the caterpillars have penetrated from the foliage into the branches. There they begin to actively feed and can pave their way up to 30 cm long, thereby destroying the shrub from the inside. For wintering, they remain inside the plant and only in May get out in order to give birth to their offspring.
You can recognize that the gooseberry bush is affected by these caterpillars by the following signs:
- the leaves on the branch inhabited by them are smaller than their neighbors;
- in hot climates, the leaves on the branch wither and fall very quickly;
- the death of the affected part of the plant occurs in the second year after the currant glass has got inside it;
- when cutting off such a shoot, a cavity filled with the waste products of this caterpillar can be observed in its core.
Reasons for the appearance of green caterpillars on gooseberry leaves
The main reason for the appearance of harmful and gluttonous caterpillars on the leaves, fruits and branches of gooseberries is that the owner of the site on which the shrub is located:
- does not pay enough attention to methods of preventing their occurrence;
- at the wrong time begins to fight harmful insects;Important! It must be remembered that the earlier the gardener begins to fight pests, the more chances are that they will be completely exterminated from the leaves of the plant, and the gooseberry bush will not be completely damaged. In addition, it will stop the spread of larvae to other plants in the garden that are not yet infected.
- he simply does not know about the presence of such caterpillars and the need to actively combat them in order to preserve the "health" of their plantings at their summer cottage.
How to deal with those who eat gooseberry leaves
There are several main ways to deal with gooseberry caterpillars that have eaten its leaves, branches and berries. They can be used individually or in combination with each other. The main thing is to start the process of pest destruction in a timely manner and track the result of the measures taken.
How to deal with caterpillars on gooseberry folk remedies
Folk remedies for controlling gooseberry caterpillars have been known for a long time and have proven themselves very positively. They are very effective and safe.
Among them should be highlighted:
- Planting in close proximity to the red elderberry gooseberries. Its smell will surely scare away many pests from gooseberry leaves;
- Spraying gooseberry leaves with elderberry infusion before and immediately after flowering will contribute to the destruction of caterpillars. This infusion can be prepared as follows: take 200 g of crushed flowers and shoots of red elderberry; pour 10 liters of hot water; insist the solution for about 2 hours and start processing the gooseberries;
- Processing gooseberry leaves with wormwood decoction. This will help to cope with fire and glass. In this case, you need to act as follows: take half a bucket of fresh bitter wormwood; pour 10 liters of water and leave everything in this form for 24 hours; after the required amount of time, boil the solution for half an hour. It should be used diluted in a proportion - 1 part solution: 5 parts water. Processing should be done 3 times with an interval of 7 days;
- Fumigation of gooseberry bushes with tobacco dust. To do this, you should: create a heap of dry debris on the leeward side; pour 2 kg of tobacco (dust) on top of it; fumigate the gooseberries for about 30 minutes;
- Sprinkling the earth under the bush with the following composition: 300 g of wood ash + 1 tbsp. l. dry mustard + 200 g of tobacco dust;
- spraying with a special coniferous solution of gooseberry leaves during the entire flowering every 7 days. To prepare it, you should: pour green pine or spruce cones (100g) with hot water; after 5 hours, you can start processing.
All of the above means will be highly effective in combination with the following procedures:
- loosening the soil around and under the gooseberry;
- cutting off damaged branches and leaves;
- picking up rotten berries.
How to deal with gooseberry caterpillars with chemicals
In addition to folk ways to combat gooseberry caterpillars, there is a whole arsenal of chemicals that will also help to cope with the trouble that has arisen on the leaves. The following drugs are highly effective in the fight against voracious caterpillars:
- Chlorophos. This tool is available in several forms at once: in the form of a paste or powder. In addition, the drug has different concentrations. It has proven to be effective against sawflies and moths on bush leaves;
- "Entobacterin-3". It is actively used in the fight against the sawfly. It can be used at an ambient temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. A big plus of this tool is that it does not have a detrimental effect on other plants, animals and beneficial insects. It can be combined with Chlorophos - and thereby further increase the efficiency;
- "Sevin" - a potent drug that fights against glassworm, fireweed, their larvae and eggs on the leaves of a green plant. It can be used only in the period before flowering, directly spraying the drug on the foliage;
- "Pyrethrum" - a very toxic powder that is used to pollinate gooseberry leaves or make a solution based on it. This tool is very successful in dealing with caterpillars that damage vegetation.
How to get rid of gooseberry caterpillars by mechanical methods
Mechanical methods of dealing with caterpillars inhabiting gooseberry leaves are considered the simplest, most affordable and very affordable for all amateur gardeners. However, in order for them to have a positive effect, such activities should be carried out with periodic regularity, carefully monitoring the timing when pest control should be especially active. The procedures include:
- Dropping caterpillars from bush branches and leaves;
- Manual collection of larvae from foliage and their destruction;
- Applying glue belts to bush branches. The surface of such a belt is lubricated with an adhesive. The easiest way to prepare this substance is by mixing burdock oil and boiling tar together in a 1: 2 ratio.
Prevention measures
In order to avoid the rather laborious process of dealing with caterpillars on gooseberry foliage, a number of simple recommendations should be followed on how to prevent the appearance of these harmful larvae in your summer cottage. They should be carried out at least 4 times, namely:
- in the spring;
- in the fall;
- before the flowering period;
- after the flowering period.
The main preventive measures include the following:
- during the period of warmth, gooseberry leaves and the ground around it must be treated with the following solution: ash + chalk + copper sulfate;
- in order to kill all larvae of caterpillars, it is necessary to water the soil under the bushes with hot boiled water (the temperature should be about 90 degrees Celsius);
- fallen leaves under the bush should definitely be collected and burned;
- as a preventive measure, gooseberry foliage must be sprayed with special chemicals during early spring.
Conclusion
Numerous harmful caterpillars eat gooseberry leaves. Fighting them is a rather complicated and time-consuming process, during which you need to stock up on strength and patience. Knowing certain methods of pest control on gooseberry leaves, you can defeat them and save the plant from inevitable death, but you should always remember that it is easier to perform certain actions to prevent the appearance of larvae than to subsequently fight them.
