I've decided to battle with the coddling moth on my apple trees in the back
yard this year. Has anyone had experience with either Bulls-Eye
bioinsecticide or Neem-Away as described in the Gardens Alive catalog and
website? I would appreciate knowing how effective each is against the
coddling moth larvae and eggs in your experience.

Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:

I've decided to battle with the coddling moth on my apple trees in the back
yard this year. Has anyone had experience with either Bulls-Eye
bioinsecticide or Neem-Away as described in the Gardens Alive catalog and
website? I would appreciate knowing how effective each is against the
coddling moth larvae and eggs in your experience.

I doubt either would be very effective, although the Neem product may have some
value as a smothering spray.

Coddling moths are rather difficult to control and are not effectively treated
with sprays, cetainly not for the home gardener. It is not the moths which
cause the damage, it is their larvae which lives inside the fruit - a product
like Bulls-Eye will have no effectiveness because it must be consumed by the
insect (usually from the leaf) and the the larvae, immediately after hatching,
burrow their way into the fruit and are protected from any further spray
treatments. And they don't eat the foliage, only the fruit.

The recommended treatment here (and we grow a lot of apples in this state) is
to use a dormant spray to smother overwintering pupae (can be done now here)
and follow up with pheremone traps. What adults are not controlled by the
dormant spray are then prevented from mating by the traps. No mating, no eggs,
no larvae. It often takes more than one season to effect complete control.

The Neem product could be effective as a dormant spray, I guess, but you should
be using it for this purpose ONLY if it is registered on the label for such.
Even Neem oil is toxic to pollinators, which is why any spraying should be
limited to a dormant product.

With any type of pest it is extremely important to understand their life cycle
and how they cause damage - only then should treatment/control be effected to
address their most vulnerable stage. With CM, this is by trapping the adults,
as it is virtually impossible to control the larvae once they are protected
inside the fruit.

There is a lot of information about coddling moths available if you do a
search. Disregard the statements recommending diazinon or malathion - they are
outdated and no longer valid control methods. Diazinon is now restricted from
home use and personally, I wouldn't want to eat fruit that has been treated
with malathion. Trapping is really the only effective control method.

pam - gardengal

Good morning. This is a home made mixture that is to be placed in plastic
containers that you have made out of old milk or soda bottles and attached
or tied in your fruit trees. I got it from some friends in Colorado and
they swear by it. Use 1 container for a small tree and up to 4 for large
ones. Mix this up and check the containers every few days and add as
needed. It wont get them all but has proved very effective in some
applications.

2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of molasses

Start using this in early spring before the trees have leaves or blossoms.
Pour about an inch in the bottom of each plastic container and refill as
needed. You can cut the plastic containers with a sharp knife in a way that
will let you use the handle and still leave the bottom open like a tray for
easy access when filling.

Goodluck. Dwayne




"Pam" wrote in message
...


Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:

I've decided to battle with the coddling moth on my apple trees in the
back
yard this year. Has anyone had experience with either Bulls-Eye
bioinsecticide or Neem-Away as described in the Gardens Alive catalog
and
website? I would appreciate knowing how effective each is against the
coddling moth larvae and eggs in your experience.

I doubt either would be very effective, although the Neem product may have
some
value as a smothering spray.

Coddling moths are rather difficult to control and are not effectively
treated
with sprays, cetainly not for the home gardener. It is not the moths which
cause the damage, it is their larvae which lives inside the fruit - a
product
like Bulls-Eye will have no effectiveness because it must be consumed by
the
insect (usually from the leaf) and the the larvae, immediately after
hatching,
burrow their way into the fruit and are protected from any further spray
treatments. And they don't eat the foliage, only the fruit.

The recommended treatment here (and we grow a lot of apples in this state)
is
to use a dormant spray to smother overwintering pupae (can be done now
here)
and follow up with pheremone traps. What adults are not controlled by the
dormant spray are then prevented from mating by the traps. No mating, no
eggs,
no larvae. It often takes more than one season to effect complete control.

The Neem product could be effective as a dormant spray, I guess, but you
should
be using it for this purpose ONLY if it is registered on the label for
such.
Even Neem oil is toxic to pollinators, which is why any spraying should be
limited to a dormant product.

With any type of pest it is extremely important to understand their life
cycle
and how they cause damage - only then should treatment/control be effected
to
address their most vulnerable stage. With CM, this is by trapping the
adults,
as it is virtually impossible to control the larvae once they are
protected
inside the fruit.

There is a lot of information about coddling moths available if you do a
search. Disregard the statements recommending diazinon or malathion - they
are
outdated and no longer valid control methods. Diazinon is now restricted
from
home use and personally, I wouldn't want to eat fruit that has been
treated
with malathion. Trapping is really the only effective control method.

pam - gardengal

I don't know what either of these products active ingredients are, but here are
some suggestions:
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopE...ts/codling.htm
sed5555