In addition to the usual suspects among wood pests, 2 species of insects have specialized in willows. Find out here which pests are involved, how to recognize and combat them.
The willow leaf beetle likes to eat the corkscrew willow
Willow borer - moth with voracious brood
Throughout Europe, the willow borer mainly targets pastures to lay its eggs under the bark in June and July. The pests are recognizable as grey-brown moths with a wingspan of 6-10 cm. The reddish caterpillars are up to 7 cm long and bore through the wood. Feces and the red-colored nails fall out of the oval feeding passages. The caterpillars go on their feeding sprees for up to 4 years, which even the robust corkscrew willow cannot survive unscathed. The moths themselves do not eat.
Effective control agents are not yet available. The moths and caterpillars should be collected in the early infestation stage. Since the larvae penetrate deep into the heartwood, it takes a great deal of luck to catch all the pests. In order to prevent further spread in the garden, you cannot avoid the complete removal in the worst case.
Willow leaf beetle eats the bushes bare
They are tiny at 6-9 mm and still have a big appetite for the leaves of a corkscrew willow. Willow leaf beetles are easily identified by their 20 black spots on their yellow and white elytra. Wherever they appear in large numbers, there is the greatest danger to life for young willow trees, because the trees do not recover from defoliation, even in the ideal location. Proceed as follows to combat:
- Collect the rigid beetles early in the morning
- Use an approved insecticide under high infestation pressure
Various products are available for use in the home garden, which put an end to the willow leaf beetle. Proven products include Calypso pest-free from Bayer Garten and Natur Bio pest-free with rapeseed oil.
tips
If aphids dare to attack the shapely leaves of your corkscrew willow, you can save yourself the use of chemical insecticides. In practice, the soft soap solution has proven itself as a biological control agent. For 1 liter of water add 1 tablespoon of pure soft or curd soap with 1 dash of spirit. Sprayed on the leaves every 2 days, the plague quickly comes to an end.