Sawfly alert!

[Rabidbun]

I've heard that's not the best thing for plants.

Actually it can vary. Two of my clematis had a very bad attack of the same thing last year after they failed to establish as plugs and guess what grew back this year!

[elleme]

Damn, I've just spotted the first tiny sawfly larva on my whitecurrant. Can't see any yet on the gooseberry but it's so hard to tell with all those smallish new leaves and spikes. Mostly I found aphids on the whitecurrant leaves which would explain why the bush had so many harlequins on it last year. I'm very tempted to spray but for now I squashed the few sawfly larva I found. They were so small at this stage I wouldn't be able to spot them if I shook the bush.

I've got garlic planted around both, but more close by the gooseberry.

[Falkirk Bairn]

I've just found some young sawfly on one of my currant bushes. I'm intending on picking them off and I've also read that underplanting with poached egg plant will attract hoverflies which will eat the sawfly and aphids, has anybody tried this and if it works would it be ok to underplant my bushes that are in large containers?

[vikicats]

Also have sawfly on my gooseberries.

[pauco]

If you have blue tits, robins etc ~ hang some fat balls near the affected bushes. The birds will eat the sawfly too

Goldfish love them

Will they survive in the bush though



paul.

[chris]

What you lot need is chickens!

Though they'll strip your goosegogs too :/

[BUFFS]

1 put out old newspaper under my goosegog bushes and use a metal pole to tap around the base to shake the sawfly grubs loose,then use my long flyfishing forceps to pick off any that i can see are left, i dont like thorns,they get left out for the robins/wrens/tits etc and they soon vanish from the bowl.they do seem to start on the solomons seal first,to build thmselves up,then attack the goosegogs,but we seem to win each year with only a few leaves nibbled,but you have to keep an eye on them and have the weather to round them up before too much damage is done,growing one bush on for (local) show fruit this year,as i found i had given away better fruit last year than what actually won its class,so will be having a go at this years show.....

[w33blegurl]

Ahhh, that explains what that caterpillar thing was I squished on the gooseberry yesterday. Better keep an eye on them!!!