Pests can be controlled using a variety of methods, from the simple act of routine garden maintenance to the application of specifically developed products.  Autumn is the opportunity to use methods from both ends of the scale to protect your fruit trees and bushes.

Routine raking and collection of fallen leaves not only keeps your garden tidy and your grass from rotting, it is particularly important under and around your fruit trees to protect next year’s harvest.  This is because the grubs of over-wintering moths can be found among fallen leaves, and if you don’t clear the leaves (and grubs) away, then next spring you’ll find them attacking your fruit buds and munching on your fruit before you get the chance!

And collecting leaves has other benefits too – don’t forget you can add them to your compost bin with Garotta to speed up their breakdown into useable home-made compost, or use them to make your own leaf mould.

Unfortunately some pests cannot be dealt with simply by being tidy, and that includes the Codling Moth which loves apples!  The good news is that it can be treated by using a Winter Tree Wash – an oil based wash which has a physical reaction with pests which keeps them away from the tree and therefore unable to reproduce.  It works on contact so fruit trees and bushes will need a thorough application.