Cherry pests and their control: how to process and spray, the best means

The life of summer residents is overshadowed by the constant appearance of harmful insects on fruit trees. Every year summer residents fight with this or that pest. Even preventive measures do not always help to prevent the appearance of insects. Cherry pests also appear on trees due to proximity to other fruit crops. If this happens, then all the trees that grow in the garden can be affected.

Causes and symptoms of tree infection

There are many reasons why harmful insects appear on cherry trees. The only way to prevent pests is to constantly inspect trees and take action as soon as necessary.

Symptoms of cherry infection:

Declining yields.
Massive leaf fall in summer and early autumn.
Fruit falling.
The appearance of yellow spots and "moves" on the leaves.

Causes of insects on cherry trees:

Insects breed much faster if cherry trees grow next to cherries or because of the proximity to plums.
No seasonal preventive crown pruning.
A lot of weeds in the area.
Having a large number of ladybugs, ants, wasps and flies in the garden (these insects contribute to the appearance of aphids, because they feed on the sweet juice that aphids secrete).
Lack of autumn winterization.

Most of the causes of parasites on cherry trees are due to a lack of garden maintenance. Therefore, the main method of preventing the appearance of insects on cherries is sanitary pruning and preparing the garden for the onset of cold weather.

Varieties of harmful insects and their control

Pests of fruit trees include aphids, moths, codling moths, cherry flies and a number of other insects. There are many reasons for the appearance of parasites on cherries. The sooner the appearance of pests on trees is detected, the easier it is to deal with them. If insects have filled the entire garden, then it is almost impossible to cope with them.

Aphid

Among the harmful insects that most often appear on fruit trees are aphids. Aphids appear on leaves and stems. Aphids appear in the first decade of summer, when young shoots on the tops of branches begin to grow.It multiplies rapidly and in a few days can flood the entire tree. The aphid feeds on the juice of the stems and leaves of the cherry. Gradually, the leaves dry up and fall off.

Because of aphids, trees stop growing, fungi develop on cherries and yields decrease. Pest control consists of the following actions:

Declining ant population.
Pruning dry branches in spring and autumn.
Lime tree trunks.

If aphids have already appeared, the cherries are treated with a soapy solution with the addition of ash. As well as mustard powder diluted in warm water.

Slimy Sawfly

The appearance of the slimy sawfly resembles slugs. The length of the sawfly is 4-5 mm. Sawflies move along the trunk to the leaves and gnaw out their juicy part without touching the veins.

How to get rid of the sawfly:

Cherries can be peeled with chemicals.
If there are few sawflies, they are picked by hand or cleaned with a strong jet of water.

In large numbers, sawflies cause significant damage to cherries.

Weevil Elephant

Elephant-weevil length from 5 to 10 mm. The body is a golden-green hue, with a metallic sheen. You can get rid of the weevil elephant with the help of chemicals. The tree needs to be sprayed several times during the season. Chlorophos is suitable for spraying. The treatment is repeated after 10 days.

Instead of herbicides, decoctions based on tobacco or yarrow are used. To prepare a decoction, you need to take 500 g of grass and pour 2 liters of water. Boil the decoction. Before spraying, dilute the decoction with warm water.

Cherry fly

The cherry fly is a small insect with yellow stripes on its wings. The fly has large green-yellow eyes. The main part of the body is black. By winter, the cherry fly wraps itself in a mustard-yellow cocoon no more than 13 cm long.

First signs of a parasite:

Mass fruit fall.
The "moves" of the larvae remain on the foliage.
The tree is already without leaves by the beginning of autumn.

In the spring, the fly feeds on the secretions of the cherry, and in the summer - on the juice of the fruit. The cherry fly lays larvae in the fruit. The larvae grow for 20 days, all this time feeding on the juice of the berry. When the larvae reach adulthood, they crawl out and wrap themselves in cocoons.

To prevent the appearance of a fly several times a season, trees are treated with chemicals. You need to spray the soil around the trunk. You should also regularly loosen the soil around the tree. In winter, the soil is dug up to a depth of 25 cm.

Moth

You can get rid of moths using the following means:

Spray cherries with Confidor Maxi. The second treatment is carried out after 2 weeks.
Pour the trees with water from a hose under strong pressure.

Also, after the leaves fall, dig up the soil under the trees to a depth of at least 20-25 cm.

Fruit bog

To determine the appearance of the fruit bog, first study its description. The length of the body is 3-4 mm. The wings of the bog are brown-brown, shiny. Larvae are 4-5 mm long, beige. Females lay their eggs in cherry buds.

For processing cherries use:

"Aktar";
Mospilan;
"Vector".

Two weeks after the first spraying, the treatment of trees with chemicals is repeated. During spraying, it is important to ensure that the branches are well wetted in the solution. It is also effective to introduce chemicals under the bark of a tree. For injections use "Arrivo", "Decis" or "Sherpa".

Hawthorn Butterfly

Caterpillars of hawthorn butterflies eat inflorescences and leaves that have not yet blossomed. Before pupation, caterpillars can cause significant damage to cherries. After flowering, the caterpillars begin to pupate.

The natural way to deal with caterpillars is to attract birds to the garden. You can install birdhouses or feeders on the cherry. In early spring, butterfly nests are clearly visible and easy to remove. After removing the nest, they burn it. Near the tree, you need to spread the fabric and shake the tree strongly, the fallen caterpillars are collected and burned along with the fabric.Of the chemicals, Herold, Aliot, or Fury are effective.

Plum codling moth

To combat the plum codling moth, chemical and biological methods of control are used. If berries appeared on the cherry, then it is desirable to give preference to biological ones. For this, decoctions of yarrow or tobacco are used.

You can spray with drugs:

"Decis";
"Alatar";
Knimix;
Fufan.

You need to spray cherries with chemicals twice. Cherries are treated for the second time 7-10 days after the first spraying. The beginning of June is considered a favorable period for processing. The second treatment is carried out in mid-July.

Goldentail golden silkworm

Goldtail butterfly lays its eggs in foliage. When the larvae hatch, they try to sap the leaves. After only veins remain from the leaf, it is wrapped in cobwebs. By winter, golden tails wrap themselves in cobwebs and leaves, and with the onset of heat they wake up and feed on the kidneys.

To fight the golden tail, an aqueous solution of "Karbofos" is used. You can also shake off the larvae and collect them by hand. Trees are sprayed with biological products, for example, Lepidocide or Bitoxibacillin. Birdhouses are also set up on cherries to attract swallows, swifts and starlings.

Prevention and seasonal treatment

As a protection against harmful insects, preventive measures are taken. The less time spent caring for cherries, the more parasites appear on it.

Spring

In early spring, after the onset of heat, sanitary pruning is carried out. Those branches on which there are no buds are cut with a sharp pruner, and the cut points are treated with a disinfectant. For example, potassium permanganate or lime solution. They also dig up the soil in spring.

Summer

Cherry trees are regularly inspected for insects in the summer. You also need to periodically loosen the soil and remove all weeds from the site. In addition, if damaged leaves and branches appear on the trees, they are cut and burned away from the site.

Autumn

In autumn, after harvesting, the soil must be dug up to a depth of 20 cm. Insects prefer to hibernate and lay their larvae in the soil. Therefore, after digging the soil, the parasites will be on the surface of the earth, freeze and die in winter.