Caterpillars killed my bush. What now?
Discussion
I used Bug Clear Ultra 2 this year and it definitely works. I don't like using any pesticide but after last year they mullered about a metre of brand new bare root and I'm not letting that happen again. You do have to be very thorough, and I only use it on affected sections where you can see them, but you have to inspect them one by one this way.
Yep, it’s definitely time I sprayed mine with XenTari as a preventative.
In the last couple of years I’ve noticed that the sparrows have acquired a taste for the caterpillars, and when there’s the start of an infestation they’ll constantly fly down to the box, hop into the branches and emerge with something green and wriggly in their beaks. It’s a useful early warning!
In the last couple of years I’ve noticed that the sparrows have acquired a taste for the caterpillars, and when there’s the start of an infestation they’ll constantly fly down to the box, hop into the branches and emerge with something green and wriggly in their beaks. It’s a useful early warning!
I've sprayed Xentari for the first time this year too. Mostly in response to seeing a neighbour's hedge opposite. His next door neighbour was spraying his hedge. Mad, as she doesn't have any Box plants in her garden, but he has given up on his hedges. The caterpillars have pretty much destroyed his hedges to the point where they are out of food, so they are on the march, literally, across her front garden, wall, front door, etc. When she found the wriggling green b'stards abseiling from her porch it was the last straw, so she ordered her own supply of Xentari and declared war on them.
Happy to report that my hedge is showing minimal signs of damage, and oodles of fresh growth, with only a handful of caterpillars, and tiny ones at that. Hopefully I've nipped the problem in the bud this year. Just gotta keep on top of it now, and spray again at the first signs of leaf damage.
Happy to report that my hedge is showing minimal signs of damage, and oodles of fresh growth, with only a handful of caterpillars, and tiny ones at that. Hopefully I've nipped the problem in the bud this year. Just gotta keep on top of it now, and spray again at the first signs of leaf damage.
As OP, time for another update... despite spraying, the second box bush started ailing badly (I guess I wasn't doing it either early enough, or often enough, or long enough) so I threw in the towel on that one too.. pulled it out and burned it. LIfe's too short to be spraying bushes.
Everything replaced with stuff that caterpillars don't like and life has returned to normal.
The very first reply in this thread was likely the right one for anyone who's not a super-keen gardener - just get rid.
Everything replaced with stuff that caterpillars don't like and life has returned to normal.
The very first reply in this thread was likely the right one for anyone who's not a super-keen gardener - just get rid.
Just pulled out all my boxes from the front garden, including what used to be an attractive corkscrew. Very sad but I left it too late to salvage and the thing was deader than a dead thing. Looking round my neighbours they’ve all been equally hit. Time to find a replacement that won’t get munched.
sleepezy said:
AC43 said:
Having said that, my wife's been buying an alternative to box over the last few years; similar-ish to look at but no moths.
I'll find out what it's called.
Euonymus or Ilex probablyI'll find out what it's called.
sleepezy said:
AC43 said:
They're pretty bullet proof.
Most things other than box seem to be 
https://bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/lifestyle/gardeni...
motco said:
Well here we are in August and still no sign of caterpillars. Good old climate change!
Keep your eyes peeled. We were smugly thinking that our hedge had avoided their attention after we'd sprayed in April this year, even though we'd bought another batch of Xentari. Then we checked the hedge last Tuesday and the little PITAs had started munching.
A bucket and a giant pair of tweezers did for 60 to 70 of them...
A batch of Xentari was mixed, and sprayed, almost immediately, and within a day or two we stopped finding live caterpillars on the hedge. Only deceased ones...
The poor hedge is still recovering from its first run in with the wriggly pests, and the plant closest to the garage wall is completely dead. Hopefully we've found them and treated them in good time this year, and we can give the Box hedge its best chance of survival...
Edited by yellowjack on Monday 5th August 17:28
I have (well, had) 2 decent box bushes in the back garden. Last year, the caterpillars came! I sprayed, but i now have one slightly worse for wear box, and one that's like a Bykolles lemans car at hour 16. It's still technically in the running, but it's not looking good - it's clearly knackered and not coming back.
Above there were some people sparring in Latin (i read in doc holliday / johnny ringo voices), is there an official PH consensus in what to replace box with thats similar but caterpillar-proof please?
Above there were some people sparring in Latin (i read in doc holliday / johnny ringo voices), is there an official PH consensus in what to replace box with thats similar but caterpillar-proof please?
Some Gump said:
I have (well, had) 2 decent box bushes in the back garden. Last year, the caterpillars came! I sprayed, but i now have one slightly worse for wear box, and one that's like a Bykolles lemans car at hour 16. It's still technically in the running, but it's not looking good - it's clearly knackered and not coming back.
Above there were some people sparring in Latin (i read in doc holliday / johnny ringo voices), is there an official PH consensus in what to replace box with thats similar but caterpillar-proof please?
Ilex crenataAbove there were some people sparring in Latin (i read in doc holliday / johnny ringo voices), is there an official PH consensus in what to replace box with thats similar but caterpillar-proof please?
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