How to get rid of caterpillars on viburnum

Viburnum is a common garden shrub with healthy fruits. During flowering, the viburnum bush pleases those around with lush snow-white inflorescences and a pleasant aroma. Viburnum attracts pests with young leaves and fruits. To preserve the plant, you need to know how to deal with caterpillars on the viburnum and when to start protecting measures.

Pests of viburnum

Viburnum bush was chosen by several species of insect pests. Their caterpillars actively eat the plant, which can even lead to its death. Most often among pests, the following insects can be found:

1. Viburnum leaf beetle is a small brown beetle with a body size of about 7 mm. He lays the laying of eggs from autumn or early spring under the bark of the bush or on the back of the leaf. In late spring, black caterpillars appear on the viburnum - beetle larvae. They have good appetite and are able to turn plant leaves into “skeletons", leaving only one streak. Then the caterpillars pupate and adult leaf beetles appear, which continue to feed on the remaining greens and fruits of viburnum.
2. The lobed moth is a green caterpillar of the butterfly of the same name, feeds on viburnum flowers. The main activity is observed from May to July. Over the summer may two generations of butterflies will appear Often these caterpillars are found on viburnum buldeneg - one of the most beautifully flowering shrubs. Destroyed inflorescences lead to crop loss.
3. Honeysuckle sawfly - small greenish caterpillars with a bright orange head and a motley pattern on the back prefer to eat tender foliage of viburnum. Larvae appear in late spring when the shrub is covered with young greenery.

Viburnum is eaten by caterpillars throughout the warm season. Optimal weather conditions and abundance of food lead to mass reproduction of pests. Larvae eat inflorescences and tender young greens. After the caterpillars on the viburnum ate all the leaves, they pupate and turn into adults. Adult insects can eat fruits, affecting all stages of growth and development of viburnum.

Important!

Damaged by pests, the bush stops growing and may not bloom in the next season. In advanced cases, insects destroy the plant completely. To avoid this, you need to start the fight against caterpillars on the viburnum in time.

Methods of struggle

To get rid of the invasion of the main enemies of the bush with the help of improvised means, a number of measures should be taken:

• to inspect the leaves of viburnum in the fall and spring for the laying of leaf beetle eggs, if any, cut off the leaves with secateurs and destroy them;
• to get rid of the sawfly larvae, which lays eggs in the upper layers of the earth, it is necessary to dig the soil around the bush in the autumn, and cover it with sheets of roofing material in early spring to prevent them from appearing on the surface of the earth;
• processing the trunk of viburnum with slaked lime or tar will not allow insects to get to the foliage from the upper layers of the soil;
• at the initial stage of the appearance of pests, they can be collected manually, dropping from the leaves with a brush or a broom.

The most effective way to save the bush is to timely process the viburnum from the caterpillars. To fight use solutions of chemicals, plant infusions, tobacco waste, onion husks and other improvised means.

Chemicals

The use of special purchased products helps to quickly and effectively get rid of caterpillars on the viburnum. The most popular methods using solutions are as follows:

1. The first treatment of the plant occurs in the spring at the time of bud swelling. Spraying buds and buds with 10% solution of Karbofos (100 g of substance per 10 liters of water) or 0.1% Fufanon will allow you to get rid of moth larvae that eat inflorescences.
2. Immediately after flowering, you can process the bush of viburnum with a 0.15% solution of Rogor. This will save foliage from the invasion of leaf beetle caterpillars.
3. With a large number of pests, spraying viburnum with a solution of Actara and Eleksara at a concentration of 0.08% will help.

Important!

When processing horticultural crops with chemicals, protective gloves and a respirator should be used. Containers and sprayers should be used only for their intended purpose and stored in non-residential premises.

Processing the shrub at the very early stage of growth will help prevent the mass reproduction of pests and their spread throughout the plant.

Folk ways

Viburnum bush can be processed using folk remedies. They are safe for the plant, but are effective against caterpillars. During the growing season, it is useful to spray branches of viburnum with various infusions:

• Tomato tops in the amount of 4 kg pour 10 liters of water and let it brew throughout the day (you can use 1 kg of dried tops);
• Cut 1 kg of hot pepper into small pieces and add a bucket of water;
• dried pharmacy chamomile infused in water in a ratio of 1 kg per 10 liters;
• 200 g of onion peel or the same amount of chopped garlic, stir in a bucket of water and leave for several hours to insist;
• Bring 1 kg of dried wormwood to a boil in a bucket of water and cool, then you can spray the leaves and inflorescences;
• 200 grams of tobacco or tobacco waste insist a day in the water obtained by infusion to spray viburnum.

Each method can be applied at any time of the season, and even as a preventative measure, spray healthy viburnum bushes and neighboring plants. It is recommended to process twice a season: in late spring and in the middle of summer. If necessary, treatment is carried out once a month. The smell of these infusions and the very content of specific products in the water will scare away any pests from the garden. Despite its effectiveness against insects, treatment with folk remedies is safe for people, birds, pets.