Box Tree Moth Caterpillars have become a growing problem for gardens in the UK. Our pheromone traps help to catch and kill the adult male moths. By catching males, mating and egg laying can be reduced and populations monitored for additional control measures.
Each trap is supplied with two pheromone lures, each lure is active for a minimum of 6 weeks. Although there are lures marketed to last all season, trials carried out by Dragonfli and the RHS at Hyde Hall gardens comparing box tree pheromone lure types showed the long life version caught far fewer moths than the standard lures, so in our opinion it is better to use standard box tree pheromone lures and replace about every six weeks to get maximum catch of the male box tree moths. It is also good practice to remove caught moths every six weeks.
The trap itself can be used for many years and replacement lures are available for additional coverage. If caterpillars develop a number of controls can be used together with pheromone traps to attack each part of the life cycle.
The moths lay pale yellow flat eggs that overlap each other in a flat sheet on the underside of leaves. The young larvae that hatch are greenish yellow with black heads. As the larvae/caterpillars mature the green body develops dark brown stripes and very mature larvae have thick black and thin white stripes down the body with large black dots outlined in white.
- By placing a species specific pheromone inside the trap, adult male moths are attracted to this scent and become trapped. This process reduces mating and egg laying leading to a reduction of future generations of caterpillars
- Each trap covers an area of 180 square meters, so long as traps are placed more than 20 meters apart more than one can be used in a smaller area
- Each trap comes with two pheromone lures, each of which lasts up to 6 weeks giving an initial 12 week protection.
- Replacement lures are available separately
- There are several generations of Box tree caterpillars in a season from April-October meaning traps should be set during this period
