Gooseberry Invasion

We have had a couple of gooze gog bushes for a few years now and never any problems until now....... Checked them over a couple of days ago and no problem. Went out today and about a square foot was stripped of the leaves!!! On closer inspection the leaves underneath were swarming with hundreds of Caterpillars about a 1/2 long, green and as thick as a matchstick, about 5 to a leaf. Left for a couple more days I doubt if any leaves would be left, war had to be declared. Armed with a lance sprayer and long thick rubber gloves so I could get into centre of bush and aim lance upward I sprayed the buggers to death .Hundreds fell onto the soil dead, Just been out again and cannot see any alive ,not to say I got them all so will have to check every day.

Not sure what sort of caterpillar they are but they are the same sort that when I go out after dark with torch & spray they are the ones that like to eat my clematis. This year I have be vigilant as far as clematis are concerned so no problems there. Funny but under and around the gooze gog bush are strawberries and not one caterpillar was found on them.

 

You're lucky you caught them in time. I once went away for a week, leaving a perfectly healthy goosegog bush. When I came back, it had been annihilated by said caterpillars.

Luckily the bush survived, despite being completely stripped of all leaves, but its taken so far 3 years to recover, and still no fruit.

I caught the same caterpillars on some of the other fruit bushes. I initially tried picking them off/squashing them, but they just kept coming, so I resorted to spraying too. If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have sprayed them right from the first moment I saw them because they are super destructive.

 

Cabbage whites love my Goosgogs!