Codling Moth
The codling moth is a small moth whose young eat into apples in late to mid summer, this is one of the easiest pests to spot as if the grub is not present the bore hole will be.
These pests cause apples to ripen and drop early and also leave them inedible.
In order to control these pests we need to understand their lifecycle.
The small brown moths in their larvae stage spend winter hidden in bark and other secluded areas, in the spring they pupate, emerge grow wings and lay eggs, once the eggs hatch the hungry larvae eat their way into the apples until they are fat enough to emerge and overwinter starting the cycle again.
You can’t treat the codling moth once you have it so what we need to do is prevent it and there are a number of options available.
We can use a biological control by using nematodes which are small worms that enters the body of the codling moth infect it and kill it, you would use this in september when the bug leaves the apple. This is an effective control for the larvae but will not stop the adult moths arriving from other gardens the following season.
A popular method to deal with these pests is a pheromone trap this is a trap that mimics the scent of a female and lures the male into a sticky trap that they cannot escape, this may not control the population of codling moth but will reduce the numbers, this is not suitable for a large number of trees.
If you wish to use a chemical control, these should be sprayed before the larvae enter the apples in late spring, it is important to avoid getting these chemicals on your flowering buds as they will kill any pollinators.
This is a nasty little pest who can very easily ruin your whole crop of apples,prevention is always best it may just be a case of trial and error to see what works best for you.