Box bother.

Discussion in 'Pests, Diseases and Cures' started by Drahcir, Aug 20, 2023.

  1. Drahcir

    Drahcir Gardener

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    Deleted by self.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2024
  2. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    Looks like the moth, I just spayed my box with Nurelle, but I'm not really bug friendly I think there are others that just kill caterpillars, it looks like yours are a bit far gone for this year.
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      Nurelle is not cheap, but useful for other pests if used sparingly, and I bought it online maybe try the organic method if you just want to target caterpillars.
       
    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      I've used xentari this year with good results, it targets the caterpillar and almost immediately they stop eating the box leaves and die. Again it's not cheap and supposedly not for sale in the UK but is available of Amazon :scratch: I bought it on the co.uk site and it comes from Holland, I know a few others on here use it as that's where I got the idea from. I'd tried everything up till then and almost given up my hedges as a write off, still not sure if parts of them will recover as the caterpillars stripped all the leaves off some sections.

      If you give the box plants a good shake then return a few minutes later lots of caterpillars dangle down on a silk thread, you can pick them off by hand but it's only a small percentage each time. They wrap themselves up in the webbing to avoid predators. The first couple of years bluetits were eating them but gave up as they must taste awful.
       
    • noisette47

      noisette47 Total Gardener

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      The active ingredient that you need is Bacillus thuringiensis. No idea what name it's marketed under in UK. It's a bacteria that targets caterpillars. Very, very effective. Can also be used as a prevention in spring. It's strange that it's so expensive in UK, because it's about the only cheap garden-related thing on the shelves over here.
       
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      • Alisa

        Alisa Super Gardener

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        I had a nice small plant, they found it and stripped down completely within a week. Not trying to grow again despite me loving the foliage.
         
      • JWK

        JWK Gardener Staff Member

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        That's what is in xentari.

        A friend has replaced all his box hedging with ilex crenata, looks very similar to box but is slower growing, it's not affected by the caterpillars.
         
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