caterpillars on gooseberry

[GardeningNovice]

Is this thread still active? I need help. I have 3 gooseberry bushed, 2 green one red and all are covered in catapillars, a green one with black head. They have completely stripped by two green bushed and have almost desimated my red I just dunno what to do about it and I want to know if my bushes are gonna die because they have very few leaves

[sugar]

I pcik the larvae and feed them to the chicken.
If you want to get rid of those larvae in a biological way without a lot of fuzz, you can apply 'Bacillus thuringiensis aizawai'. It are bacteria that infect caterpillars and are not harmfull to other animals

[veggiechicken]

Hello GardenNovice and welcome to the Forum. You can read more about Gooseberry Sawfly here http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...-normal-2.html

[redser]

Mine got attacked a couple of weeks ago. One thing not to do that I found out after reading up (which I had been doing) is not to squash them on the leaves as it can cause desease. So remove them and then squash them They had a right go and strip a good few branches but I seem to have stopped them now.

[GardeningNovice]

Thank you all. I haven't got a chicken lol. They've stripped one 2 of my bushes completely, I'm worried they're gonna die because of it, or at least not fruit next year my red bush isn't fully bare but it's heading the same way. I've got an elder tree in my garden so I may try the boiling down of those leaves and making up a spray. I'll give the bushes a shake onto some cloth too and try get the munching critters off the bushes

[GardeningNovice]

We didn't have this problem last year at all. Can you get rid of saw fly for good?

[GardeningNovice]

OK, so I made the elder leaf solution and a bit of soap and have sprayed all my bushes and I've killed hundreds of caterpillars, the solution seems to be working but every time I go out I still see the little critters trying to climb up my stems. The caterpillars are green with black heads and really blend into the leaves. My bushes look awful though :'(

[redser]

just keep shaking them off onto paper and then dispose of them

[GardeningNovice]

Thank you. I've been at it until about half an hour ago. I even enlisted the help of my pregnant neighbour lol. We were picking them off, shaking branches and squishing them. My two green bushes have very very little foliage, I'm worried they won't make it through winter. I don't know what species they are so I don't know how hardy they are. My green ones are in big planters and my red is in the ground with some black weed preventer around it's base. Not two weeks ago that bush was lush and now it looks naked I wish I'd have caught it earlier

[redser]

They usually do survive and would have lost their leaves soon any how. I think they will be fine.

[GardeningNovice]

I really do hope so

[mrbadexample]

If you don't mind being a bit inorganic, Provado Ultimate Bug Killer does the job. Dilute it 50-50 with water and you'll halve the cost and the amount of chemicals you use. I try to be as organic as I can, but sawfly cross the line. Waaay over the line.

[GardeningNovice]

You're not kidding they cross the line. The little sods have stripped two of my bushes. We didn't have this problem last year but last year they were smaller and hadn't fruited, I wonder if the smell changes when they fruit. Saying that though, my red bush hadn't fruited yet anyway

[GardeningNovice]

I think I maybe on top of the infestation at last!