Willow Tree has been Invaded!

TechnoFreek

Pretty much has the title says, my willow tree has been taken over by these critters. There are literally hundreds of them and they are carving up the tree, leaf by leaf, branch by branch.

I have tried knocking them off but it is an endless task. Any better and more permanent solutions out there?

toddunctious

looks like sawfly larva
you will need a pesticide

tommy2bad

Yep sawfly, even if they do eat all the leaves (and they will if left unchecked) the tree will recover. You can powerhose them off or spray with a pesticide. Prune the tree in winter to get some air moving through it, sawfly don't like wind, oh and the larva will be in the ground at the base of the tree so keep an eye for the little feckers and spray early next year.

Oldtree

they also like birch and hazel. I picked them off the birch as soon as they appeared as tiny catapillers, and after a couple of years of close monitoring they disappeared. the tree will recover but get/pick them off now, the bigger they are the more they eat.

Looks like a kilmarnock, i would hesitate to prune it for air. picking them off is easy given that the tree is short.

magicbastarder

i had them on a birch a few years back - i pulled off the leaves they were on and left them under the bird feeders. was about half an hour's work, and the birds seemed to appreciate it.

LimerickCity

I have a similar problem with aphids on my willow trees.

A nightmare.

I tried the washing up liquid method but maybe used too much as the leaves have appeared to dry up pretty quickly.

Sonnenblumen

An alternative to spraying with a mild soapy solution, is crushed garlic soaked in water and makes an excellent deterrent spray especially for aphids.

Otherwise offenders are easily removed with a water hose.

As suggested, thinning and removing some branches to remove congestion and reduce shelter will also help.

dozy doctor

tommy2bad wrote: »

Yep sawfly, even if they do eat all the leaves (and they will if left unchecked) the tree will recover. You can powerhose them off .

I concur.... We had them same issue and i power washed the tree around four or five times plus cut some branches and allowed the wind to flow through which worked a treat