Gooseberry sawfly yet again

[newbieveggie]

Hi there
Last year my gooseberry bushes were stripped bare by little green caterpillars. Now after netting off my bushes with a temp cover just until I build a proper fruit cage, I noticed that (I think) the birds have pecked off some buds. I'm sure I spotted a sawfly buzzing around them. I am trying so hard to grow some goosegogs for hubbie and middle son but are they really worth the hassle ? What am I doing wrong ? I don't use pesticides and I tried last year squishing the caterpillars but there were so many. Hellllppppp !

[FB.]

When a pest or disease is a severe problem, I'd consider using "sacrificial" plants that particularly attract the pests. In other words, if you can't beat them, try growing a mixture of varieties, so that the pests are attracted to one or two and leave the remainder mainly untouched.
I do that with my apple trees; I let the pests run riot on certain one's and eventually, a predator sees the opportunity and the pests get eaten, with the predators searching and protecting the less-affected apple trees at the same time.
For example, I allow my Bramley M26 to get overrun with green and rosy aphids. I allow my Grenadier M9 to get overrun with woolly aphids. As the season progresses, the predators arrive and the problem becomes self-limiting.

There are probably sprays that you can use, but I think that sprays have too many side-effects on local wildlife, so I won't use sprays.

[Nes]

Mine were pretty munched last year too. This year, mum gave me some dried meal worms, so I'm sprinkling a few of those round the bushes to try to encourage birds to pick around the gooseberries and hopefully eat any sawfly they see too. Don't know if it'll work, but the meal worms seem to be disappearing, and I haven't seen any sawfly yet (when do they arrive normally??).

[Two_Sheds]

Sawfly are active now.
Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Gooseberry Sawfly

[swampie sue]

Hi I have just sprayed my currants with liquid Derris but panicked after realising it might damage the the buds and blossom. Please have I done anything wrong and will I lose my currants this year.