CODLING MOTH CONTROL

    This article is about CODLING MOTH control.
It will explain why they are a pest and what
needs to be done for controlling infestations.
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   Codling moths have accounted for more damage to apples then
any other pest. Their unique biology combined with their
physical attributes makes them forever a formidable foe to
anyone that grows apples. Whether you have 1 tree or an
orchard spanning hundreds of acres, codling moths can take
away your harvest quickly and consistently. This article
will detail their biology and then offer practical and
viable treatment schedules which will help keep your
apples in tip top shape and not worm food!
   Codling moths actually don't cause any damage. In fact,
like many other insects, it's their larva which do all
the bad deeds. Codling moths overwinter in the pupa stage
and emerge in the spring when local temperatures are right.
This is a key time for controlling the emerging adults
and every region has a different time of the year when
such activity happens. Getting an early grip on their
development can prove to be a big help when the local
environment has a large population. Since codling moths
are present in all parts of the world, there is no single
time or date when everything starts. Since their young
feed primarily on apples, the adults will emerge at a time
when food will be ready for when their offspring need it.
At this time, males will be seeking females. Once mated,
females will begin to lay eggs. If this occurs early
in the season, she will lay her eggs on the branches
and the bark of local apple trees. The first egg laying
will yield small amounts of eggs and sometimes only one
at a time will be laid. As the temperatures warm, so 
too will her egg yield. Though these females will only 
live about one month, they will lay 50-100 eggs during 
this time. 
   The eggs will develop and start to hatch in 2-4 weeks.
This will again depend largely on local temperatures.
A colder spring will tend to keep them dormant longer; 
warm weather will get them going all the more faster.
Once hatched, larva or "apple worms" will forage for
fruit on which to feed. It is not uncommon for one
apple to have several larva inside. It is also not
uncommon for a larva worm to enter an apple and then die.
This promotes rot and discolors fruit making it look
bad and rotten. Once inside, larva will feed and grow
through 4-5 instars or stages of development. Once
completing their stages, larva will leave the fruit
and seek a good place to pupate. In the southern zone
of the United States, this cycle will play out over
the course of the growing season. Eggs will hatch larva
worms which will feed on apples; once they have gone
through their growth they will leave the apple to
spin a cocoon in which to change to an adult and
then emerge to mate and reproduce. This could happen
several times a year if conditions are right. However, it is
most common to have two cycles occur in any one year
and sometimes three. For this reason it is important
to get the moth stage before they are able to lay
eggs. Since larva cannot move great distances, if
egg laying is minimized so too will larva damage.
This essentially means that if you are able to stop
all moths from laying eggs on any one tree or fruit,
no damage would happen to it. Though this sounds easy
and sound, the reality of achieving success is minimal.
For this reason it is important to employ different
strategies for different times of the year.
   Any weekend gardener knows the problems codling moths
present. Apples which appeared to be OK through much
of the spring and summer can turn bad quickly. Codling
moth damage from their young makes any fruit more
susceptible to disease and other predators and since
most larva will be in the apple itself, direct spraying is
not effective. However, there is a schedule that
can be followed which will help to minimize if not
eliminate the damage this little "worm" can cause.
   As explained above, interrupting the mating process
is key to preventing the cycle from getting established.
If you can prevent females from mating with males, you
will effectively reduce the amount of egg laying which
occurs on the tree. Yes it is true that moths can come
from other areas and find your tree but this is not
too likely. Since most pupa hatch close to where they fed
as larva they will be attracted to the same trees
that have provided food for all generations before them. 
Furthermore, codling moths don't fly all too well. They are 
not designed to travel great distances and though they
can move from one tree to another in any one orchard,
once they leave that common ground they are pretty much lost.
For this reason, it is safe to say that any one tree
or stand of trees has a certain amount of "seed" pupa
which will hatch in any one spring. Clearly impacting
this first hatching can have a dramatic impact on
just how many or just how few codling moths are able
to develop over the course of the year. For this reason
it is imperative that you get up some CODLING MOTH TRAPS
before any over wintering pupa hatch. Yes, it may still
be cold out, but if you want to protect your crop, it's
better to be safe then sorry. Just remember the old
adage about "the early bird gets the worm". Well, your
taste in worms might not be a codling moth worm but 
getting them before they get your apples is what any
grower would prefer!
   Timely placement of Codling Moth traps will assuredly
cut down on the amount of egg laying which can occur. 
However, it is not likely that traps alone will serve
to collect and kill every moth around any one or group
of apple trees. As a commercial grower, there are
detailed control programs which are beyond the scope of
this article which must be followed if your goal is
to produce the best crop possible with the highest
yield. The author has directed his writing more toward
the week end grower; the farmer with 5-25 trees who
may sell a few on a the roadside but probably gives 
most away. For these growers, there are several more
things you can do once the season begins and moths
are flying. If you only have one tree to protect, this 
same program will apply. Remember, Traps will catch a lot
of males which will not be able to mate allow for
egg laying females. However, some will inevitably get
to meet and some eggs are sure to find their way onto
your trees. To deal with this, there are varying degrees
of options. Choose a method with which you feel comfortable
and one that will allow you to achieve your goal. This
is largely an individual choice since apples to some
are the gardens finest yield and to others are nothing
but deer food. If you intend on harvesting as many apples
as you can and are tired of producing nothing but worm
food, get your traps out early and keep them renewed
during the season. Remember to replace them once a
month and try to have at least one trap per tree.
   Once you start catching moths, you know the adults
are active. Once they are active, you will probably end
up with some eggs on the tree. Though there is nothing
to stop the eggs from hatching, there are several products
which can be applied to the tree which will kill them as
they forage about looking for fruit. This is another tricky
proposition since larva are only active foraging for a few 
days at most. If fruit is available, they will find it and
once they do, the fruit will serve as protection from any
spray. However, early liquid treatments can serve you by
killing off emerging young. There are two liquid products
which will work well for this application. INSECTICIDAL SOAP
is one. It is the safest option since it will help two
ways. First, it will kill off any females which are on
the tree and second it will quickly kill off the larva
as they crawl about in search of food. The big limitation
of the treatment is that it is so safe it provides no
residual. This means it is active only when you are
applying it to the tree. Once dry it is pretty much useless
and will need to be applied again. The rule to follow
is to treat every few days for at least 2 weeks starting one
week after the first adult males have been trapped. Timing
treatments this way means you will begin to start treating
before any significant egg laying has occurred and if you
stick to it form 3-4 weeks, in all likelihood you will
have killed off all larva that may have hatched. If
you stick to this schedule during the first part of the
season you can dramatically reduce the amount of codling
moth activity that will ever develop for that one year.
Unfortunately, products like liquid BT (bacteria) won't
work for the larva. They don't actually ingest any food
stuff which you can treat. Since they only eat the innards
of the apple they will essentially circumvent the BT
and miss it altogether. However, if you want something
which will perform better than the Insecticidal Soap, use
some PERMETHRIN. This product is safe enough to apply over
fruit and vegetables and yet it will provide a residual
that will last 1-2 weeks. This means that you will only
have to treat once every two weeks one week after you see
the first adults trapped. The residual action of the Permethrin
is strong enough to provide protection for this long
killing off the larva as they crawl over treated parts of
the tree. If you don't have a sprayer or would like
something a little easier to apply, the CYONARA RTS
might be better suited for your needs. It too is a sprayable
concentrate but it comes in a handy "ready to spray" quart
jug. Just hook it up to your garden hose, turn it on and
your ready to go. It's odorless, very effective against
codling moths and you get good coverage from each quart.
   Which ever liquid treatment you choose, be sure to use
a good SPRAYER to do the application. We have several which
will handle this job well since getting good coverage is
important. One other thing. If you decide to use the Permethrin,
get some SPREADER STICKER to add to the tank mix along
with the concentrate. Spreader Sticker will enable the
Permethrin to "spread" over the tree, leaves and fruit
that much better so that you get a dispersal when the
spray hits targeted surfaces. This is important when
treating most plants and apple trees are no different.
Eggs and larva can be hiding in the most obscure places and
though they don't do this intentionally, simply spraying
to the point of runoff does not mean you have saturated
the plant. Any larva which are on a remote part of the
plant during this treatment will assuredly escape unless
they crawl over some area which was treated. Don't give
them a chance - add some Spreader Sticker.
   One last option is for anyone that prefers dusting to
liquid sprays. PERMETHRIN DUST uses the same active ingredient
as the sprayable and is very gentle on the plant as well.
It too will provide a week or two of protection and larva
which crawl through it or adults which land on it will
die so it will help get the ones that got away. Apply it
with a DUSTIN MIZER to get maximum coverage and treat
no less than once every two weeks one week following
adult activity.
   Since codling moths will remain active for different
lengths of time for different regions of the country,
it is important to follow these guidelines throughout
your growing season. The one thing for sure is to have
Codling Moth Traps out during the whole season. Once
you start seeing adults, the extent of treatment needed
will depend largely on your individual goals or how
much you want to protect your tree. Liquid spraying
will help you achieve these goals and maximize your 
yield and when combined with a good layout of traps,
codling moths will have to find some other tree in
which to live!
   
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