Most pests on apple trees are difficult to see with the naked eye due to their small size. However, they can be identified and combated in good time based on specific damage patterns with regular visual inspection.
What pests occur on the apple tree and how can you combat them?
Pests on the apple tree can include aphids, codling moths, apple rust mites and the small frost moth. Mechanical methods, beneficial insects such as ladybirds and earwigs as well as glue rings for frost moths are suitable for combating them.
Aphids on the young shoots of the apple tree
Aphids also suck the juice from the young shoots at the tips of apple trees in spring and early summer. They can be combated mechanically by specifically washing them off with a sharp jet of water from the garden hose. However, with this method you should make sure that the delicate leaves and flowers are not damaged. Nowadays, specialist retailers also offer biological control measures against aphids. This means they can be specifically attacked by placing predators such as ladybirds (€29.00 on Amazon) on the tree. You can also promote the settlement of these and other beneficial insects in the garden by hanging a so-called insect hotel on a branch of the apple tree as a breeding site.
The codling moth
The codling moth is actually a butterfly from the moth family. The danger to the apple harvest comes from its caterpillars, which eat their way through a spiral tunnel to the core of the apples. Since the adult butterflies fly in from the air to lay their eggs, a ring of glue around the trunk of the apple tree has no effect against this pest. However, control can take place by promoting beneficial insects and enemies of the codling moth. For example, hang an upside down clay pot on a branch of the apple tree and stuff some wood shavings into it. This creates the ideal breeding ground for the earwig, the natural enemy of the codling moth. The following insects are also useful for combating:
- Bugs
- the parasitic wasp Elodia tragica
- the parasitic wasp Trichomma enecator
Perching and nesting opportunities for birds also contribute to the fight, as they like to eat the larvae of the codling moth.
The apple rust mite
As its name suggests, the apple rust mite causes rust-colored, circular spots on the leaves of the apple tree. These mites overwinter on the leaf buds and, from spring onwards, attach themselves to the undersides of the freshly sprouted leaves. Chemical control with sulfur preparations should only be used in the event of a very massive infestation, as this can also affect beneficial insects. Otherwise, affected leaves should be removed from the lower third of long shoots in June and disposed of accordingly. The material resulting from winter pruning should also be burned or composted away from the apple trees in order to stop the mites.
The small frost moth and its control
The overwintering eggs of the lesser frost moth are laid in cracks in the bark of the apple tree trunk. Since the caterpillars crawl onto the leaf buds to eat after they hatch, they can be caught with a ring of glue around the tree trunk. Since the female specimens of the frost moth are flightless and often strive to climb back up the tree where they hatch, they can also be caught in the treetop with a glue ring before mating with the males.
Tips & Tricks
A slight infestation of pests sometimes does not require any intervention from the gardener, as it can be compensated for by the beneficial insects in the garden within the framework of the biological balance. However, if the infestation increases significantly, appropriate countermeasures should be taken quickly so that diseases do not fundamentally damage the tree and crop.