Gooseberry Pests

[francesbean]

For the past couple of years those dreaded sawflys have eaten the leaves of my gooseberries. I tried picking them all off, squashing the eggs and netting, and they still got through.

This year - no sawflys - I am thinking that it may be a happy coincidence of my disturbing all the gound around the bushes in order to make some new raised beds and terrace the garden. Could that have killed off all the overwintering larvae ?

francesbean

[mrbadexample]

This year - no sawflys - I am thinking that it may be a happy coincidence of my disturbing all the gound around the bushes in order to make some new raised beds and terrace the garden. Could that have killed off all the overwintering larvae ?

Or exposed them for the birds to eat, would be my guess.

[BUFFS]

i was told that elderberry leaves crushed and soaked in water for a few hours,the water is then sprinkled onto the bushes and gets rid of the sawfly,havent tried it yet,but no sawfly yet this year,so am watching the plants carefully....

[FB.]

Or exposed them for the birds to eat, would be my guess.

Yes, that seems quite likely.

It's also possible that the strange climate (harsh winter, early spring) has confused their life cycle.
My fruit trees are not being troubled in the "normal" way by pests, with some varieties that are usually prone to pests being unaffected, while others that are usually resistant currently have quite a lot of apple sawfly or codling damage.