Caterpillars munching gooseberry bush

goreysquirrel

Hi there,
The gooseberry / magpie caterpillars have started to munch on my gooseberry bushes and are absolutely devastating them. I have a spray but it smells awful and I don't like the idea of putting on the fruit at this stage. Does anyone know any organic remedies or can recommnend a good safe spray for the job?

Many thanks, GS

Irish Gardener

The most organic method to use is to start checking your gooseberry bushes in April for sawfly eggs and their eventual larvae which you are now having problems with.
Removing them at that time will prevent them from defoliating your plants.

This is a bit too late for you now, so if you must spray you can use a derris based spray, which is created from a root extract.
Organic, maybe?
But it will also kills lots more than Caterpillars if splashed around willy nilly.

Good luck with your gooseberries.

John Mason

okay, this is what i did and it worked!!!!!!!!!!

get a squirty bottle e.g. frebreeze bottle, place a load of cig. butts or new cigs, fill with water and leave over night. the next day just spray the gooseberries with the solution. the auld caterpillars hate the smell/taste - trust me it works.

black fly/green fly spray with soapy water, the little buggers just keep slipping off

old boy

soak rubarb leaces in water for a week or so the spray it on, sometimes a watering with salted water works