WHAT TO DO ABOUT CODLING MOTHS

Have your apples and pears been eaten from the inside out? Codling moth larvae damage (pictured) is easily identifiable, both from the trails of brown waste (frass) inside the fruit, and the exit holes in the skins.

Codling moths can be controlled but you need to act in spring, when the trees are in blossom. Hang pheromone monitoring traps (from garden centres) and spray trees fortnightly with eco-friendly caterpillar-specific insecticides such as Kiwicare’s Organic Caterpillar Bio Control or Yates Ultra Success. Both are made from natural soil bacteria that caterpillars can’t digest.

At this time of the year, all you can do is cut out the bad bits postharvest, and make sure there’s no rotten fruit left on your trees or on the ground under them. If you keep chooks, let them eat the blemished fruit (and its pesky inhabitants). For those in the north, this advice also applies to guava moth infestations, though they don’t have a season as such, so you need to spray year-round to protect everything from feijoas to citrus.