Coddling Moth control for two mature apple trees in backyard - Ask Extension
Hello, My parents have two large mature apple trees in the backyard in SE Denver, they have had a coddling moth issue for as long as I can remember. I...
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Coddling Moth control for two mature apple trees in backyard #865734
Asked April 24, 2024, 1:12 PM EDT
Hello, My parents have two large mature apple trees in the backyard in SE Denver, they have had a coddling moth issue for as long as I can remember. I would love to try to keep it under control this year. In addition to trunk banding with cardboard, I'd like to spray the trees this year, can you tell me when the biofix date is? (I may be using the wrong terminology, but I was told to contact local office and ask when it was the time to start spraying in the spring). The trees are quite tall, so it is unrealistic to thin out apples up top and unrealistic to bag them (other ideas I've seen online).
Do you recommend any specific spray or is a general tree/shrub insecticide ok?
Thank you.
Denver County Colorado
Expert Response
I empathize with you. My father had an apple and peach orchard long ago, and we never got rid of codling moths! Fortunately there is a lot more research and many more options now.
Attached is a detailed fact sheet on codling moth and controls. Toward the bottom, there is a procedure for determining the Biofix date. Since we've had so many warm days, you may have missed the opportunity to set out pheromone traps, but it also might be moot because of the cold temperatures and snow today, that may have killed the moths or eggs. The reason to determine a Biofix date is to determine when the eggs laid in the first round will hatch, so that you can make your first spray application.
All pesticides are very specific to different insects, so only those listed on the sheet will work, if you follow the label directions exactly. There is no such thing as an all-purpose pesticide, no matter what advertising copy might say.
If you want to go deep into the Biofix date, I found a listing for an Associate Professor of Pomology (fruit science) at CSU in Ft. Collins. You might give him a call or talk to someone in that office to help you estimate when you should spray this year. Then you could follow directions for the traps in subsequent years. His information is: Ioannis Minas, Associate Professor of Pomology, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Department, CSU <personal data hidden>.
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/codling-moth-control-in-home-plantings-5-613/
Good luck!
Attached is a detailed fact sheet on codling moth and controls. Toward the bottom, there is a procedure for determining the Biofix date. Since we've had so many warm days, you may have missed the opportunity to set out pheromone traps, but it also might be moot because of the cold temperatures and snow today, that may have killed the moths or eggs. The reason to determine a Biofix date is to determine when the eggs laid in the first round will hatch, so that you can make your first spray application.
All pesticides are very specific to different insects, so only those listed on the sheet will work, if you follow the label directions exactly. There is no such thing as an all-purpose pesticide, no matter what advertising copy might say.
If you want to go deep into the Biofix date, I found a listing for an Associate Professor of Pomology (fruit science) at CSU in Ft. Collins. You might give him a call or talk to someone in that office to help you estimate when you should spray this year. Then you could follow directions for the traps in subsequent years. His information is: Ioannis Minas, Associate Professor of Pomology, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Department, CSU <personal data hidden>.
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/codling-moth-control-in-home-plantings-5-613/
Good luck!
