How I saved our box topiary from being ruined by Box Tree Moth Caterpillars. Please read updates.
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- Опубліковано 4 вер 2024
- Box tree moths are an invasive and destructive alien species that have become widespread in Europe over the last few years. The caterpillars have already killed countless box - Buxus sempervirens - trees.
Luckily, a biological control is now widely available. I started using it in 2021 on our precious box topiary. It's easy and quick to use and has proved completely effective.
Note:
This is not an adverstisement. I have purchased my 'TopBuxus XenTari' just like anyone else - in my case from Amazon. This provides 5 sachets which is sufficient in our garden for a year. For Amazon link please scroll down to Update March 2024.
The control works by coating the box leaves with a bacteria which is harmful to the caterpillars when they eat the leaves. The bacteria mucks up their digestive system and they die within a few days. Other insects and animals are therefore completely unaffected. Three or four repeat sprays are needed through the summer to kill successive generations. I inspect every week or so to check whether I need to spray again. There is no point in spraying if there are no active caterpillars.
The effects of box moth caterpillars (which are easy to find if you look closely) should not be confused with box blight which is a fungal disease and has been around for many years especially in the warmer wetter parts of this country.
Update 27th May 2022
Our topiary has looked perfect this spring, just like it used to, before box moths. Over the last week I've noticed just a few trouble spots here and there so I have just applied another spray. The weather is quite windy at the moment so got up early and sprayed at 6 am when the air was still.
Update April 2023
Our box topiary is looking almost perfect. Last year was very hot and dry and I only sprayed it three times.
Last week I found a couple of active small caterpillars (which had survived the winter even though we had some exceptionally cold periods) and so I did the first spray of the year on a dry day. When spraying remember to try and direct the spray up onto the underside of the foiliage as far as possible where it will be protected from rain.
Elsewhere in our neighbourhood box has been almost wiped out unless it has been sprayed. I'm guessing that with the depletion of their foodsource the local population of box moths will also decline and it may become less of a problem in future.
Update May 2023
Found a few caterpillars had escaped the first spray this year - (it was applied when it was still a bit cold). But after a second spray, a few weeks later, all the remaining caterpillars were dead the following day. Interestingly, for the sprays so far this year, I have been using sachets left over from last year. I was concerned they might be out of date but they were totally effective. I read somewhere that if stored appropriately they can be okay for two years.
Happy spraying!
Update August 2023
I've just sprayed our box for the fourth time this year. Earlier on there seemed to be fewer caterpillars in our locality than previous years but things seem to have picked up again recently. Also, 2023 has brought a lot of rain which, I suspect, has tended to wash the bacteria off the foliage more than usual. I have therefore tried to direct the spray up onto the underside of the leaves where it is less prone to being washed off.
But overall, all our box is looking great. I'm glad my video has now helped so many people with the problem of box moth damage. And many thanks to everyone who has liked the video or left a comment.
Update March 2024
Our box topiary is in perfect shape but the caterpillars will soon be active again. Keep a close eye on your plants for the first signs of damage. As an experiment I sprayed ours at the end of March using a sachet left over from the previous year and possibly even older but it still seems to have worked as there were lots of dead caterpillars after a few days so don't automatically throw away old sachets.
For this year I have added the following link to buy Top Buxus ZenTari from Amazon if you wish.
amzn.to/4a3BJRk
Update July 2024
Our box topiary has never looked better. Amazingly, I have only sprayed once this spring when I saw a few overwintered caterpillars emerging. Since then there have no signs of caterpillars.
All around us in Cambridge most box trees have been completely killed. From asking around almost the only ones that have survived are those owned by people who have used the bacterial spray. It is logical to assume that the local population of box moths has therefore crashed, because there is no more food, and the threat from box moths is greatly reduced, at least for now!
Update August 2024
Noticed a few patches of box moth damage just a few days ago. A spray quickly put a stop to that. But overall, box moths have been vastly less of a problem this year.
Thanks a lot for this video.
8 hours ago I had never heard of these caterpillars / moths. I thought I had Box blight. This afternoon I have removed >100 caterpillars from my various Box plants (using a small pair of tongs) and will order some of this spray. (Based in Surrey, UK, end of May 2023)
Mr. Howard, you are like the David Attenborough of horticulture and I love it. Thank You
Thank you Howard. I was leaving my drive yesterday morning and caught sight of my box by the front door, which in the space of a few days have suffferred enormously. I've never heard of the box tree catterpillar, my husband picked about 60 of the box and spayed it - I collected another 20 this morning. I've just ordered the Xen Tari and informed my sister-in-law who thinks she has box blight being spread by a caterpillar. Huge thank you.
Hi Howard, thank you for sharing your much-valued expertise. I am in Waterbeach, Cambridge, and my patio is circled by many beautiful box trees, forming a 3m diameter area, 0.5m high. This was destroyed by the Box tree caterpillar completely in spring 2023, there was not a single leaf left on any of the trees.
I did my research and learned all about this infestation. I used a Karcher pressure washer to blow out each tree to remove debris, this process left only the light brown, bare-looking plant branches. I then used a hedge trimmer to remove 20% of the branches, installed the Moth catcher that you mentioned from Scotsdales, and sprayed the plants with the bacterial pest control that you also mentioned.
Since then there have been no leaves at all, and many dead moths in the catcher, It is now September 2023, so I wondered if there is anything else that I could do to give the Box Trees a chance to regrow leaves next year? Otherwise, I will need to dig them all up. Your expert advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Hi David,
If bushes have been completely defoliated for some time and still haven't sprouted I would say that there not much you can do. However, befoire giving up I'd try scratching the bark of some of the branches progressing down from the tip. If dead it wiil be brown underneath, if still alive there will be green tissue showing. You could then cut hard back asa far as the dead stems extend and wait for what's left to sprout. After some weeks Box will sprout readily from old mature stems that are still alive or even just a low stub near the ground. It will ofcourse take some years to reform what you have lost.
I discovered this treatment last year after spending many hours removing caterpillars by hand! It is so effective and the box trees bounce back well. Have only had to spray twice this year 👌🏻
I have been spraying my pretty decimated topiary with this and watched a flock of sparrows feeding off the dead caterpillars in their capsules. Some good news. I just hope they recover.
Assuming they recover, which they should if not completely dead, the bacterial spray will be the answer in future. Ours are all looking great.
@@HowardRice Thank you, that is good news. I can see new leaves on many of them so fingers crossed. I have a pheromone trap out for the males and will be spraying again tomorrow. We so love our topiary. We only have a small garden so the architectural look they provide is an important visual. Our neighbours have removed all of their box and are starting new with alternative plants. I don’t mind persevering if it means we can keep the box.
I discovered his youtube channel a few days ago.
Thank you for opening your beautiful greenhouse to the public.
The way she talks about her orchids, transports me to an enchanted world, given of small details, scents and silences, her passion reaches all the way to my home in Rome.
John
Thank you for making this. I found it very useful. I have a very young box hedge and also two box balls that have taken years to develop. I shall definitely be buying this
Thanks very much, I have the same problem and couldn’t figure out what I’ve done wrong with my my plants. They turned from lushly green plants to desert golden colours over one weekend. I get the spray and hopefully save a few plants
I've had about 25m of box hedge almost completely destroyed this summer. As soon as I noticed them I spent much time painstakingly identifying and removing them - even the goldfish turned their nose up at a meal! Only in the last couple of weeks have the wasps cottoned on to the fact these are probably the only remaining soft bodies insects left before their nests fall apart and so there has been wave after wave of wasp squadrons scanning the foliage. It's encouraging to know that we already have a native predator but I'll still get some of this spray.
My hedge looks horrific after an infestation of those caterpillars 😢 we cleaned the Hedge using a Karcher and will buy the product to spray it for sure!!!
Did the karcher work?
It worked to clean it from the web and dead parts of the plant that caterpillars have eaten, but you would have to use the spray after so it protects the plant
@@90anika2109 thank you!
Well done! The trap is more an indicator, when this moth out of hell mate. Than you have to watch carefully your box and treat them with the bacillus. I have no trap - I see it, if the caterpillars are in the box 😫
Yes the traps do tell you when adult moths are flying around in your area but that's not really the issue. What matters is whether there are caterpillars eating your plants and that is easy to spot if you know the signs and care to look.
Don't lose heart - I thought mine was all lost but a Xentari spray and then some potash to feed and it is shooting again, Brush the old dead leaves away and you may find some new growth deeper in the bush
Oh my what a perfect way to show the little critter! I have been unsure what was in my boxwoods creating havoc.
Here in Hertfordshire, I've been noticing my box dying as of this year (2023) having been super healthy last year. I am one of those who had no idea what was happening. The damage started small, on one side of my small potted buxus, then I noticed the droppings - LOADS, but thought this was balls of leaf (I don't know). Then the webbings, but I thought that was spiders. Now my buxus is almost dead, I finally found a caterpillar (lots of them now!) and sprayed with Xentari today. I am hoping to revive it - wish me luck!
No wonder why butterflies are disappearing nice job
@@mercycarv5433 These specific butterflies are a scourge of a pest not not native to the UK
Thank you Howard for your help. I knew nothing about Box Tree Caterpillar until yesterday when I noticed one of my plants suffering. I have about thirty box trees in various sizes nurtured over the last thirty years, some of which I am rather proud, so not at all happy. I shall try the spray treatment very soon and see how it goes. Paul - Burley, New Forest Hampshire
This was really helpful and informative thanks very much. I’m off to check now
Great. I've been horrified to see so many box trees in Cambridge completely killed.
Thank you so much, Howard for this video! I haven't got such a problem with my topiary boxes, so far. But it's interesting to know about it and to be in alert. Good luck with your garden (which is really gorgeous) and orchids! And I'm waiting for your next video!
Thanks Tania. At one time box was a plant you could totally depend on and never need worry about. But then box blight became a problem (luckily not for us) and now Box moth has been spreading rapidly. If I was choosing what to grow now I would no longer pick box which is a real shame.
@@HowardRice Thank you for the answer, Howard. But I wonder which plant is the most reliable now in the UK as a topiary culture? I mean any deciduous plant.
@@taniapotapova2830 If I was planting now I think I would choose yew, Ilex crenata or Phillyrea angustifolia. The 'other' shrub in shot near the end of my video is Phillyrea angunstifolia. There is a very nice narrow leaved form of it. Other evergreen shrubs that I've seen as topiary are Lonicera nitida and some evergreen Ligustrums. Beech topiary is very beautuful in winter with it's rich brown leaves but where we live, in an urban area with quite poor dry soil, it tends to attract wholly aphids quite badly. The pleached trees forming a screen in our garden are Acer campestre and underneath them is a hawthorn hedge. The maples are beautiful in autumn and the hawthorn has the advantage of coming into leaf very early in the year - but the prunings are vicious.
@@HowardRice I’m not an expert like you, but I think yew is a great choice. I bought ilex crenata balls as a box substitute and was disappointed. It might have been me, but they never looked quite right & then inexplicably died. The yew I replaced them with in contrast, has gone from strength to strength and is one of those expensive buys that now seems like a really good investment :) I was given my box hedge & I love it…but if I had my time again it would be yew all the way. Worth remembering how poisonous it is if people have youngsters about though.
Thanks very much. Very helpful, especially the large spray. I used a small one last year, it took too long and hurt my hand. This year I have covered my box hedging with old mosquito net and gauze curtains which first of all the caterpillars pupated onto and I was able to pick a lot off. Now I am finding moths which did manage to hatch out trapped inside the netting and I can squeeze them. It will also stop other people's moths laying eggs. Obviously not everyone wants netting over their box but I'm thinking it will help break the cycle for a year. It's a pity garden centres are still selling it in vast quantities. For a few years I was more concerned about blight as thats what Gardeners World was always focussing on, but I think it was caterpillars.
.I'm very grateful. Super video with excellent communication and sound advice
Walking around the Peterborough area is now covered with dead box hedges, can't believe how many gardens in the area have dead brown hedges.
Box has become too problematic and labour intensive for me sadly. I love my box mini parterre but I'm replacing it.
What with box blight and the inevitable arrival of the box tree caterpillar moths in Wales, I'm cutting my losses now.
It's sad but I don't want to be worrying about it, using pesticides and fungicides constantly.
A saunter around my garden is already tinged with anxiety as I can't enjoy the box anymore - every time I see it I go into 'inspection mode' rather than relaxing and enjoying it.
I think Box Moth is now relatively easy to deal with but Blight probably less so. We haven't had blight - but we live in a very dry part of the country which probably helps. I can easily understand your reasoning.
@@HowardRice Yes exactly. Wales is very damp as you can imagine - all things fungal have a whale of a time!
Your garden is beautiful :)
Thanks, Howard for your suggestions. I am taking action as we speak, there is green under the bark branches, I will let you know if the advice resurrected the plants.
We've got these blighters in Trafford, Manchester. Used the bacterial spray today on lots of established boxes that are looking patchy and webby. Digging around in the foliage there are loads of caterpillars up to 2cm. Hope we're in time!
Should be just in time to save your plants. I've spoken to several other people locally who have started using it recently on plants that had been quite badly affected and this has turned things around for them. In 3 or 4 days have a look and you should find plenty of dead or dying caterpillars.
How did you get on?:-0
@@jamiejones8508 Most caterpillars have gone in the fortnight since spraying. Bushes starting to look a bit better. Will do a follow up spray on a dry day. 👍
@@davemarsden2060 thanks! That’s reassuring...mine are similar size :-0
I am in Stockport. I used Xen Tari last year and it slowed things down. Spotted 2 caterpillars yesterday when trimming the box. Dispatched.
Then sprayed with Xen Tari again.
Also feed regularly with liquid seaweed - has helped keep the box plants strong
Thanks for this; very helpful…& very useful explanation & demo of the blighters’ lifecycle.
I’ve had my first serious attack this year and I’ve just cut my hedge right back, on the principle that it needed trimming and I might cut off some caterpillars. I bagged up the waste very carefully, instead of composting like I normally would & put it in the car for the dump. By the morning, the bags had about six caterpillars per bag on the outside; hopefully more on the inside!
I’m going to spray as well, but now I’ve got less to get rid of and less foliage for the buggers to hide in.
Good idea to start spraying just in case there are any caterpillars left. Also, if you've cut it back hard, water if soil is dry and perhaps feed it (high nitrogen content) to help it regrow.
@@HowardRice thanks so much…I hadn’t thought about watering it tbh; although have just bought spray & healthy box feed. I might water first, then mulch with well rotted chicken manure at base?
@@jamiejones8508 Mulching to retain moisture is always good. Don't overdo the feeding.
Thank you Howard for making this film and I must say that your garden is beautiful. I have used Xen Tari only six week’s ago but sadly I have returned from holiday to find my 29 Buxus have been attacked. Is Xen Tari only useful if applied when the caterpillars are on the plant eating away or does it remain on the Buxus and so stop an attack early? Like you I have found not had any joy with the traps.
It has a lasting effect because the bacteria remain on the leaves. Therefore, when any caterpillars start feeding they will be infected and die within a few days. I suggest you inspect the foliage of your plants minutely to check the state of play. Hopefully you will be reassured.
In our garden it has worked perfectly. And a neighbour's hedge which had been quite badly affected last year is now recvering well after starting treatment this year.
@@HowardRice very many thanks.
Hoping to save my two spiral boxwoods and my 19 mature globe boxwoods that come up the side of the driveway. Wish I had known what the issue was. I had no idea. I’ve invested 22 years in these lovely plants
Very many thanks! I've just finished the first spraying of my garden and hopefully your thoughtful advice will save it. Cheers.
I must disagree! Living in the tropics I can't imagine someone calling 15°C "warm"... Lol, just kiddin', I loved your video and I like the tone of your channel! You got a subscription.
Thanks for the video, I have bought my spray & Nematodes, my plan is to spray tomorrow, but my only question was “do you have to spray on the inside of the plant too”? I noticed you didn’t in this video, so I probably won’t. My front garden is box and some in back garden too. So probably 15 in all. 🌳🌳🌳
No, the caterpillars eat the nice young growth on the outside so that's fine. Try to do it when dry weather is forecast. If the weather is changeable I try to direct the spay onto the underside of the foliage as much as possible so that it will be less prone to being washed off by rain.
Hi Howard, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there is no UK certification for Xentari, so you are prohibited to purchase or apply it in this country. I'm surprised you filmed yourself applying it.
My Housing estate in Exeter Devon is full of these caterpillars never had a problem until last/this year, my neighbours 14 years old Buxus is looking really bad hope they can save it. two of mine they took every leaf off it so given up on those shame were 6 years old, I have two four year old balls left which I will treat tomorrow when the TopBuxus XenTari arrives they only have slight damage at the moment, they can do so much damage is a short amount of time. thank you for the Video
Beautiful garden
Thanks. We both love gardening.
Great job Howard. We are ready to help again this year.
Thankyou. It's just a pity more people haven't worked out what's killing their box before it's too late. I've done my best.
PS. If it's going to be readily and consistently available in the UK for 2023 I could add a link to the description if you like.
@@HowardRice thanks Howard, we know how devestating this pest is all over the world.. we offer it on our web shop, next day delivery, all year long. Let's keep all boxwoods healthy.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Lovely garden by the way :)
saw some in mine this week in Bedfordshire. Have ordered the spray - hopefully got to it on time. Thanks for the video!
i have this problem this year, i have a garden full of box and have been successful in tackling the problem... i have been spraying the plants heavily every couple of days with green fairy liquid in water , deep inside the plant and on the outside. i took off a few caterpillars, put them on a plate, sprayed them to see the effect and they died in a few minutes. it cost nothing and has had no effect on the health of the plant.
Thanks Howard. Having never heard of this pest I was taken completely by surprise and my box hedge is now heavily infested (near Ely). I've maually removed many, many caterpillars in the last 24h but will have to try the spray now too. I fear the hedge is unsalvageable in places, sadly.
Oh dear! You are not alone. It has crept up on a lot of people before they know it. The spray works a treat though!
We've left it too late this cycle to spray, so we are squishing the mature caterpillars and the pupa. We are going to fertilize the box to help it recover and then get the bacteria you used and get the little blighters on the next cycle. I am happy to see blackbirds, blue tits and crows are getting a taste for the caterpillars.
I've heard that some people have seen them being eaten by birds. Unfortunately I have never observed that in our garden.
We sprayed our boxwoods last night but many mature caterpillars are still chomping away. Also noticed hundreds of wasps actually attacking and eating the caterpillars. Saw three wasps devouring a caterpillar. I was very happy about that.
@@Tlwstg17 interesting about the wasps. I sprayed our box yesterday. There have been far fewer caterpilllars locally this year and this was only the second spray needed this year. If my experience is anything to go by your caterpillars will be almost motionless by tomorrow.
We have a mature bush which was completely obliterated. Used XenTari a couple of months ago and saw some new growth after I'd given up on it. Now it seems to be suffering again although I can't see any caterpillars yet. Might need to spray again.
I hope we never have that issue in NC USA but thank you sir for teaching.
Thanks for this great and very informative video, Howard! Are you aware of the XenTari spray causing damage to any other insects/wildlife? That’s my only concern using it - but am keen to save my box!
The bacteria will kill caterpillars of other moths and butterflies but since Box moth larvae will be the only species feeding on the box foliage they will be the only ones that are killed. Therefore, providing you only spray your box no other wildlife will be affected. For this reason it really is a wonderful biological control for box moths.
@@HowardRicethank you so much! That’s very helpful to know
thank you great info
Brilliant video Howard. Just found lots on our Box Hedge. Were near Cambridge. Just ordered what you suggested. Are we good to spray this in the next few days? Its done quite a bit of damage so should we apply this regularly? Thanks for the info about the traps, we were going to buy some. We had horrible webbing all over the box which looked disgusting. In desperation we pressure washed the whole box plant to give it a chance to breath. As you can guess were only learning gardening still so I am hoping I have not done any damage to the box. It does look better already though! Cheers
Try to do it when dry weather is forecast (??? not so easy this year)or at least not about to rain. Also, as far as possible, aim the spray upwards so that it coats the underside of the leaves where it can dry on and be less likely to be washed of by the rain.
Thanks will do. How often Howard?@@HowardRice
Peridically inspect your plants closely for the caterpillars and any signs of damage. If there are live caterpillars spray. If not there's no point. Wait untill the next time they are active. I've sprayed mine three times so far this year. The caterpillars are normally dead or dying 24 - 48 hrs after spraying if you look carefully - which is very satisfying and reassuring.
@@Doves96
ok thanks@@HowardRice
Thank you for sharing this much appreciated advice. We have just recently moved home and discovered a box hedge which seems to have quite a heavy infestation that had us feeling quite disappointed- is it too late to manage a heavy infestation in this way?
The trouble with this stuff, is that it is expensive. I use the Provanto ultimate bug killer and treat mid March and June. It doesn't seem to kill big caterpillars, but looks to kill the eggs and small caterpillars. My box is looking well at the moment.
For around £20 each year I can quickly and reliably control the box moths on all our topiary and not affect any of the other insects or wildlife in our garden. For me that's great value for money.
@@HowardRice I guess its horses for courses, I definitely wouldn't get away with 20 quid
@@roberttebbutt503 I order it from Poland online. Much, much cheaper. Google Lepinox, Poland.
Thank you for the very informative video.
Can’t believe they’ve stopped selling this product in the uk! Apparently it wasn’t approved for the uk and Amazon were accidentally shipping to the uk. Do you know of any other similar products?
That is a pain! when I just looked one or two other places still list it such as OnBuy.com. Alternatively you could buy DiPel DF which is sold mainly to the horticultural trade. It is a different strain of the same bacteria but still kills caterpillars. However it comes in a much larger quantity and is a lot more costly.
Thank you I’ve ordered from
Thank you so much
Thanks for this video, really timely, a number of small topiaries in our garden have been destroyed and by our front we have (had) some lovely topiary’s shaped in a spiral fashion… one has pretty much gone and the other halfway there. Hoping I can save them and have purchased the treatment. Tried Provonto smart bug spray… not sure it’s doing much. If I can kill off the caterpillars, will the tree recover despite being covered in the silk type webs? Thank you
I tried chemicals a couple of years ago. Little effect. But since the bacterial sprays in this video I've only found one caterpillar and our topiary this spring looks just like it used to before box moth. Box trees are pretty resilient so if the seroius damage is mainly from this year I would say there is a good chance they will recover especially if you water them and generally look after them. You can cut box really hard back and it will sprout even from old bare branches. I reduced the width of our four standards (in the heading photo) quite severely about 4 years ago because they were getting too fat. At first they looked terrible but now you'd never know.
Dear Howard, Could you please provide an update as to how your box is faring after the biological spray and after the drought of the summer? Have you heard of any solutions that may work on a larger scale in a commercial nursery?
Hi Fred. All our box trees are looking great this year. They are pretty drought tolerant and develop a very extensive root systems but I have watered mine a few times just to be sure. It they are suffering from drougfht they start to take on a slightly dull bronze appearance. You often see this on plants in containers because they are much more vulnerable. As far as the moths are concerned I saw a few flying around three or four weeks ago then a small area of new damage about two weeks ago and so I gave them their third spray ythis year. No signs of damage since.
Bacillus thuringiensis is sold commercially to nurserymen as Dipel DF to control a whole range of caterpillars if they are a pest. I have not had any feedback from box growers using this treatment but there is no reason why it shouldn't be effective. Most gardeners don't need such a large quantity and I believe it has a limited shelf life.
Useful video for controlling ones own personal box hedges but two points worth noting:
1) In the long run, so long as the caterpillars have no natural enemies, you will be spraying for as long as you tend to the plants, as the moths will travel toward your garden from neighbouring box trees to lay their eggs. So, unless every single UK private and public botanical garden sprays their hedges, or unless a birth control method is introduced into the population, these invasive insects will thrive in the UK forever and eventually eradicate the box tree. (Sparing a thought in advance.) That said...
2) If you choose to eliminate the caterpillars by hand, rather than squeezing them (as per @HowardRice's recommendation), I would collect caterpillars and pupae in a small container, then place them far away from the box hedges, at the base of an unrelated tree, so robins, blue tits and wasps could develop an appetite for them and eventually learn to search for them, as a few wasps are currently doing with our box trees. If enough box tree owners did this, we would at least have a partner in helping to keep numbers down.
Found caterpillars today in Oxford 30th March 2024....
Same in Cambridge. I sprayed ours this morning.
Love your cords Old Town ?
Yes. Well spotted! Thanks for watching.
Very useful info thank you
Would using a vacuum cleaner be a viable option to try getting some of them out? Seen peoples do it
I haven't tried that. I would suspect you would catch some of them, especially if they had just been disturbed such as by using a small rake, as demonstrated in one of my videos last year, but a lot of the time they naturally bind themselves up between two half eaten leaves plus silk webbing and in this case a vacuum cleaner wouldn't touch most of them. My conclusion, if you have box tree moths in your area, is just buy the bacterial treatment and give your box a quick spray every so often as needed. Since the treatment for this video I haven't found a single live caterpillar on any of our trees.
I found this today, having noticed that various box shapes are unusually extensively damaged on one side only. There is deterioration of the foliage and lots of webbing. In previous years there have been similar but very much smaller indications and I have trusted that the Ladybirds which also are appearing will deal with this. Having assumed an aphid attack. I shall check this. There has been something similar damaging a myrtle shrub, which is in a pot, for a few years. I had found nothing in the textbooks to explain the damage to the myrtle. If I find the caterpillars you show, will the recommended treatment harm the ladybird population? Thank you for a careful explanation.
No, it onlty affects caterpillars which, in the case of box trees is only likely to be from box moths
Howard, Ohio USA. Suggestions for leaf miner, psyllium and blight. We are just noticing the moth in this area recently. Help, I’m losing all my boxwoods!
I'm sorry I only have experience with controlling box moths. Where we live blight is not as prevalent as it is in moister parts of this country so, luckily, we haven't had that problem here.
@@HowardRice thank you ! I appreciate your response!
Thank you very much. The packet says it treats 30m of bush but only with about 3 litres. So I just used a watering can and went over the top. Is that enough or should I water each section of the bush?
I expect it will work. You will be able to tell in a couple of days if you inspect your plants carefully for dead caterpillars.
But my feeling is that it is wasteful not to use a pressure spray since a lot will simply run off. You only need to mist over the foliage and particularly the undersides which are protected from rain. Using this method, as in my video, 3 litres gives a very even coverage and goes a very long way. I treat 13 large pieces of topiary with some to spare.
@@HowardRice thank you. Really appreciate it
Great thorough video, thank you for taking the time to help us with this issue. I cut my box in May after a good period of spring growth and sprayed is with the biological treatment and it looks like I may have killed it as its gone yellow everywhere. Do you think it will come back? I think I also may have sprayed the plant with to neat a solution. Any advice, or do you think it is probably a gonner?
There's no way a spray with water conatining some bacteria could be the reason your box has turned yellow. Could it be box blight, drought, a too severe haircut early in the season, scorch from the sun after cutting? I can't think of any other reasons.
Remember, the weather this year suddenly went from dull and cold to sunny and hot. The tops of some of my topiary currently look slightly pale, on the south side which was exposed to full sun after cutting, but it's nothing to worry about.
That's a pity. Relatively attractive moth. How did they get so numerous? Is there a lack of predation?
I live in wales so this isn't something I'v come across, hence the ignorance/curiosity.
Plenty of box to eat (depending on locality) and no predators to speak of. Keep a look out for it, just in case it gets to your area.
Thank u
Thank you for posting your updates. We have one box tree in our garden and hedging in the front which is a continuous hedging in the entire neighbourhood which was built by a developer in 2011..the infestation has spread in the entire eighbourhood
.some hedgehog is badly affected than the others...i am seeing adult caterpillar in my back garden and my tree and front hedge has become infected as well ...once the season is over .will the topiary recover itself ? Can i use the sachet in a smaller spray bottle ? Or will i need to buy this pressure device ..i saw another video saying if killing caterpillar sounds gross then put it in a bucket of water and it ll die ..have you tried it ...i am physically disabled and just want easy solution and want to see my box plant thrive and grow fresh leaves ..i am also thinking of ringing the development management to ask them to address this issue but do not have high hopes .
If not too badly affected box trees will recover. It's no different from the plants point of view to being pruned or trimmed. A smaller spray bottle will do. It just takes longer. If I want to squash pests I put some rubber gardening gloves on.
Can you post the link on Amazon to buy. I searched but couldn’t find the sachets. Thanks so much
Last year it wasn't easy to get hiold of but this year it is freely available from Top Buxus themselves. Just Google Top Buxus Xen Tari
I think it's too late for my box hedging, I just pulled 60 big caterpillars off. I'm going to put some miracle grow down but it looks too far gone. (Bacup area).
Just bought some TOPBUXUS XenTari... Fingers crossed.
Proabably not too late at all. One or two days after spraying the current caterpillars will be dead. Then, if you spray again at the intervals suggested in the instructions the plants will be able to recover. Obviously, very badly eaten pants will take a season or two but I have observed quite bad patches in a hedge in a neighbours garden where this is the case.
@@HowardRice
Thanks for your info and your reply !
ok so it's cost me £50 in total so far:
£10 New box plants (wish I'd never bought)
£6 Insect spray, 1L (wrong product)
£13.98 Pressure Sprayer
£19.95 TOPBUXUS XenTari
...I wonder how much more it will cost :(
@@outsidethepyramid Ah Well! 'Beauty comes with a price' - as they say.
@@HowardRice hehe good reply my friend !
The counter argument to that is; I've got five 20-25 year old box in the back (one 12ft tall) and a nice 20 year old one in the front garden, I planted them all.
The front one has been decimated by the caterpillars, that back ones are on their way. I picked about 120 off the front onto the flags and poured boiling water on them, it's not possible for me to get them all off. It's a disgusting job. I sprayed all of them with 1 packet of TOPBUXUS, and it appears to have had no effect, they are still at it which is a bit disheartening. They are not only on the outside of the box but they are also on the inside! I'll spray them again tomorrow. Thing is they were absolutely fine 2 weeks ago. Am I going to have this problem every year, time will tell.
...so the counter argument is I could spend all the money on beautiful new plants (not box)
@@outsidethepyramid I can't understand why you say they are still active. I have found it completely effective after 24 - 48 hrs with one spray each time. All our box looks perfect. A few poor areas from 2011 are now fully recovered.
My concern is what else that bacteria might kill? Ive just purchased some 'box plant health cleanse and shine' and the pheremone trap and waiting for them to arrive...
I wouldn't be concerned. The bacteria will only affect the digestive system of caterpillars feeding on the box foliage. Bacillus thuringiensis is widely used in horticulture to kill caterpillars. You can buy a different strain of it to treat cabbages for example. On box trees the only caterpillars likely to be feeding on the leaves are those of box moths. As I said in my video the traps were of no noticeable benefit for the reasons I outlined.
Is the product successful on the moths or only on the caterpillars? I have very large area to deal with and treated it once or twice in early spring/summer then left it. Recently noticed lots of moths again so will have another go, but wondered how often I should be treating it? Have I waited too long since May?
Hi Jacqueline. It can only kill the caterpillars. You will therefore need to spray again in a week or two when any eggs now being laid have hatched. If you do a few close inspections every week you should be able to tell when there are tiny caterpillars present.
I've sprayed our trees three times so far this year and will do another, probably final one for the year, in a week or two. Our box trees are almost perfect this year as a result.
@@HowardRice Thank you that's very helpful. The main problem is it's such a large area and the product is not cheap - but I will persevere!
@@jacquelinehargreaves8328
Hi again Jacqeline,
If you have a very large amount to spray next I would suggest that next year you buy a commercial quantity of the bacteria. Bacillus thuringiensis is sold commercially to nurserymen as Dipel DF to control a whole range of caterpillars when they become a pest. I have not yet had any feedback from box growers using this treatment but there is no reason why it shouldn't be effective. Most gardeners don't need such a large quantity. It has a limited shelf life so you can't save what's left over and use it the following year.
How do you get a trunk like the one you got many thanks
You need to start off with a young plant and select a single, fairly straight, main stem. Cut out any other upright stems right at the base. Also, start to progessively cut off the lowest side branches of your selected stem. Once this stem is as tall as you need it to be you can then allow it to branch out and start forming the shape you want by clipping. This may take 2 or 3 years. If you want to save time you can look through some older plants in a garden centre and seek out those that have at least one fairly straight main stem by parting the branches so you can see into the bush. Everything else can be cut away to leave the stem you want. Bear in mind that the stems naturally tend to straighten to some extend with age. The trees in the video are about 30 years old which is why they are now satisfyingly chunky.
Hope this helps.
Don't be put off by the age of mine. You can end up with quite a satisfying result after just a few years.
Do you not have to wear any protected gear using it
No
@@HowardRice thank you