Many of us have garden plots that we cultivate and cherish. And what a joy during the harvest, because it is the fruit of your labor! However, this happiness can be overshadowed by various pests, including leafworm. How to deal with this insect, we will tell a little later, since you first need to learn how to recognize it. Trees and shrubs affected by this pest usually have a row of twisted leaves wrapped in cobwebs. This is the first sign that a leafworm has started on your tree or shrub. If you look closely at the leaf, you can see a caterpillar on it. It can have a color from brown to olive. These caterpillars eat leaves, flower buds, and, in large numbers, fruits.
That's why the fight against the leafworm is a must-have event that every gardener should carry out when the first signs of a pest appear. However, the first "symptom" of the presence of this insect is not only twisted leaves. The alarm should be sounded already at the sight of a large number of nondescript butterflies, the size of which is from 2 to 2.5 cm. In their appearancethey are different from other similar beings. Their wings fold horizontally, while other butterflies fold vertically. The people call these insects "night moths".
And now let's move on to the main thing. What to do if you find such a pest as a leafworm on your shrubs or trees? How to deal with it without chemicals? First of all, it is necessary to cut off the infected leaves, which are then burned. This will destroy the larvae that were laid by the pest. In addition, the leaf roller has one enemy - birds. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that feathered friends do not fly around your garden plot. In winter, they need to be fed to keep them in the garden.
In addition to the above, you can try to remove the tracks manually. However, this will be difficult to do if the leaflet is located on an apple tree, for example. After all, not all tree branches can be reached. That is why the most popular means of dealing with apple leafworms is the use of insecticides. Since autumn, it is necessary to carefully cultivate the soil under the affected tree. This must be done because most of these pests hibernate under a thin layer of soil or in dry leaves (in the egg stage). If there are areas with dead bark on the trunk, then it must also be removed and burned.
If a pest such as a leafworm is found on currants or low trees, it is possible to spray with various solutions that do not contain chemicaldrugs. So, for example, you can use a decoction of wormwood or a strong tincture of tobacco to fight. In addition, you can simply clean the damaged leaves with a paint brush dipped in one of the above solutions. Spraying can also be carried out as a preventive measure. The solution can also be prepared on the basis of other plants that have a pungent odor or caustic juice. It can be onions, garlic, potato or tomato tops.
But when using folk remedies, we do not always get the expected result. What to do if the prepared solutions could not scare away such a pest as a leaflet? How to fight in this case? It is necessary to resort to chemicals. Among the numerous funds offered to the buyer, the most popular are "Altar", "Furafon" or "Durban". The most powerful of them is the last one. But it has both its pros and cons. You can use such a drug only before flowering, observing all safety measures. Spraying should be done with gloves, as it causes irritation when it comes into contact with the skin. If the damage to trees or shrubs is very large, you can use chemicals such as "Accord" or "Fitrin". These drugs must be used before the formation of inflorescences so that the poison does not get into the fruit. They are used at a temperature not exceeding 23 degrees Celsius, since the substances that make up their composition have a low evaporation temperature. They are very likely to destroy such a pest as a leaf roller.
How to deal with this insect yet? There are a number of folk remedies that you can also try on your site. So, for example, in the crown of trees at night you can hang a vessel with a fermenting solution (dried fruit compote, kvass). Flying leaflets flying on the smell fall into a trap. In the morning they must be destroyed and the bait removed. In addition, you can use a kind of "belt-traps" made of burlap, which are wrapped around tree trunks in the spring, and in the fall they are removed and burned.
