Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You (37 page)

MAKING TREE PASTE

This is only practical if you have a few trees that are bothered by aphids.

Make a paste of:

1/3               Sticky clay

1/3               Cow manure

1/3               Sand

Mix with water into a paste and paint it on the tree trunk and large branches.

NEVER USE ANY OILS IF THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE IS OVER 90
⁰
F

ALMOND TREES

ALMOND TREE PEST PROBLEM SOLVER

              THE PROBLEM                                                        CAUSED BY                                                       

Nut meat with worms, webbing with

brownish fecal matter                                                        Navel orangeworm

Young shoots die back to several inches

from tip in spring                            Peach twig borers, oriental fruit moth

Leaves tied together with webbing, young

fruit eaten                                                                                    Leafrollers

APRICOT TREES

             
APRICOT TREE PEST PROBLEM SOLVER

              THE PROBLEM                                                                      CAUSED BY                                                       

Young shoots die back one to several inches         Peach twig borer, oriental

from tip in spring,, small worms in shoots                   moth

Leaves and fruit webbed together and eaten in     Leafrollers, tussock moth,

spring, sunken brown scars                                              green fruitworm

Fruit may have whitish worm inside and fall                   Codling moth

off tree prematurely                                                                     

Foliage infested with green bugs in spring,                   Mealy plum aphid, earwig

leaves and twigs have honeydew on them,                           

Irregular holes in leaves with no webbing, holes             

Tiny holes in ripening fruit, green beetle with                   Cucumber beetle

black spots hanging around                                                       

Fruit partially eaten                                                                          Birds and squirrels
                           

APPLE TREES

APPLE MAGGOT

General Information:

    These are yellow-white legless larvae that will bore into an apple after they hatch from an egg. The eggs: are laid by the adults in small punctures in the apple. The punctures are so small that they are hardly noticeable. The problem may not become evident until you bite into the apple and find the worm. The telltale hole will appear in the apple when the worm leaves. After they become mature the maggots leave the apple and just fall to the ground, enter a pupate stage and remain for the winter. They are common everywhere apple trees are grown. These are also known as the apple tree fly or railroad worm.

GET THEM DRUNK

It is best to catch the pest when it is in the fly stage before you have a problem. Set a baited trap by mixing 1 part of molasses to 9 parts of tap water then add yeast so that it will ferment and pour the liquid into a wide-mouthed jar. After the fermentation relaxes, hang the jars in the trees.

YUK, PLASTIC FRUIT AGAIN!

This will really irritate and kill them at the same time. Hang plastic fruit from the trees and paint Tanglefoot™ or Stickem™ on the fruit. They will land and be stuck for the rest of their lives.

WORMS TO THE RESCUE

One of the best ways to eliminate maggots is to apply Nc nematodes to the topsoil around the apple trees in the late summer to early fall. This will kill all the maggots as soon as they fall to the ground.

PASS HE FAUX APPLE PLEASE

If you string some fake apples that are yellow and red in the apple trees and place Tanglefoot™ or any other sticky substance on them it will trap the females that are going to lay their eggs. This should be done in the spring or early summer for the best results. You can also purchase some traps that can hang in the trees.

APPLE RED BUG

General Information:

    These bugs are normally found in the north central and northeastern United States. The bark crevices hold the eggs until they hatch and they become mature about June. They feed on the fruit and leave small russet scars or slight dimples. If you do a delayed spraying of dormant oil it should eliminate the pests.

APPLE SEED CHALCID

General Information:

    This is a tiny wasp that is found in the northeastern United States and lays their eggs in apples and other fruit. The apple will have a dimpled appearance since the larvae feed on the seeds. Check the fruit for signs of dimpling and destroy the infested fruit to get rid of the problem.

BUFFALO TREEHOPPERS

General Information:

    
    These bugs are triangular in shape and have a short snout and horns at each shoulder. They do their damage by puncturing the bark of the trees to lay their eggs. The young trees are more susceptible to damage than the older trees. The eggs are laid in September and October. If you have this problem, don’t plant alfalfa, legumes or clover as a cover crop.

Their favorite plant is bindweed, which must be kept out of orchards. Spraying with a dormant oil spray should kill the majority of the wintering eggs.

CANKER WORM

General Information:

    These worms are yellow, green or brown and spin a silken thread from which they can descend from branches on apple trees. If you cultivate the soil under the apple tree during the first week of June, chances are you will eliminate most of these worms since this is when the larvae tend to descend and enter the ground.

The canker worm will go through 10 year cycles that, which may often peak for 2-3 years. Many of the canker worms; will be eaten by birds and other types of predators.

THE ELIMINATOR

Spraying with Bt is the recommended method of controlling these bugs. Spray in April or May for the best results.

BAND THE TREES

In the fall, try placing a plastic band that has been treated with a sticky substance such as Tanglefoot around the trunk. This will stop the wingless female moths from climbing the trunk to lay their eggs.

CODLING MOTH

General Information:

    This caterpillar will bore into the core of the apple and is one of the more significant apple bugs that do crop damage. There are a number of methods of controlling the bug naturally. When you hear someone referring to the “worm in the apple” it is usually this worm. The larvae, tunnels into the core of the apple and eats the apple from the inside out. The brown reside around the opening is their excrement and is called “frass.”