For several years, the box tree moth, imported from East Asia, has been destroying large areas of valuable boxwood stocks in numerous gardens and cemeteries. The voracious pest is difficult to get rid of, so that in many cases the only option is to tear out and dispose of the infested boxwood. However, the contaminated and highly contagious clippings must not be put on your own compost or at the recycling center. So where does the waste go?

Boxwood branches can be disposed of in the compost

Where to put the clippings?

As long as the boxwood is healthy and not affected by fungal or bacterial diseases or pests such as the boxwood moth, you can easily chop it up and, mixed well with lawn clippings and, if necessary, a compost accelerator, dispose of them on the compost heap. In this form, the clippings are also very suitable as mulch material for ornamental and useful plant beds.

What to do if diseased boxwood needs to be disposed of?

However, if the box is affected by wilting or the dreaded dieback of shoots, perhaps even eaten bare by the box tree moth, you must never compost it or mulch other beds with the material. Pathogens and pests sometimes survive for years, only to strike again in the following years. The caterpillars of the moth, for example, hibernate protected inside the boxwood, while fungal spores survive for a very long time even under the most adverse conditions. So if you have to get rid of contaminated clippings, it is best to dispose of them

  • via household waste (residual waste bin)
  • via organic waste (organic waste bin or brown bin)
  • in appropriately designated containers at the recycling center (ask beforehand!)
  • or at a campfire (obtain permission from the authorities beforehand!)

If the boxwood is to be disposed of with the garbage, it is best to pack it airtight in a bag or similar. In this way, the pathogens cannot escape and possibly spread further.

Why am I allowed to throw the clippings in the bio bin but not compost them myself?

It is now advised not to compost the boxwood itself that has been infected with the boxwood moth, but to dispose of it in the organic waste bin. Their content also ends up in the compost, even if this is industrially dimensioned. What's the difference then, can't the Zünsler spread further here? No, because industrial composting plants heat the compost to temperatures of more than 55 °C for a period of several weeks. The moth does not survive this treatment in any of its stages of development, which is why disposal is unproblematic. On the home compost, on the other hand, the temperature development and hygiene cannot be kept nearly as close in mind, so that the animals can survive and continue to multiply happily.

tips

Combating the box tree moth effectively is a difficult matter, especially since it keeps coming back after recovery phases. If the pressure of infestation is high, it can make sense to forego the cultivation of boxwood altogether and instead select similar plants as substitutes.

Category:

Vegetable garden