Box Caterpillar

[LIZS]

Is it worth trying to save the affected plants or removing them? Is it exclusive to box or might they spread to other plants?

Oh those horrible little bastards are out in force this year - Amazon sell XenTari which will kill them but they will then need tlc to grow back.

DH saved our box hedge for years, by going out every evening picking the catapillars off.

He died last year so no one has done it this year and the hedge is no more. Completely dead, no green at all.

It is strangely symbolic/significant.

However, I would say the hedge in your pics can definitely be saved.

Yes. You need to spray the little blighters with Resolva bug killer. I use a 20 litre pressure sprayer - worth the outlay if you want to give the hedge a good dousing without hand/wrist strain. Repeat 10-14 days later. Next year put up a box moth pheromone trap in day April so you get advance warning and can do a pre emotive strike. Don’t forget to feed and water the plants to help them recover.
I’ve had box for years without any problem. I think the casterpillars were ‘imported’ by a jobbing gardener I got into trim the hedges when I broke my wrist- he admitted afterwards that he’d never thought to clean the hedge trimmer between cuts🙄
sine if mine were truly decimated and down to brown twigs. They’ve all been successfully resurrected and are thriving.
For the record, I’ve not used any pesticides or weed killers in my garden at all apart from on the box, but I’m afraid there’s no alternative .

@RebOrHon So glad you posted answers. I have ordered the Resolva bug killer and it will be here Friday.

I was SO worried. Someone told me I had box blight and that I should pull all my young hedges out. Having been too busy to do so, now I know it is box caterpillar I am happy to put the work and effort in to save my hedges.

Can I water my hedges with something like Miraclegrow after I have sprayed the hedge?

@Smartsub your little story is poignant and full of love and care 💐💐

I use a foliage feed for box called TopBuxus. Again, use it in a spray. To give my hedges a boost I also raked in some old fashioned bonemeal around the base of the plants and watered it in.
www.topbuxus.co.uk

@Smartsub I’m so sorry. But please don’t give up on them, fed and watered it might come back. I swear that one of mine looked like it had been visited by malicious pixies in the dead of night. I couldn’t believe that a caterpillar could go so much damage so quickly. It was plucked bare; every single leaf gone and nothing left but a box ball skeleton. I didn’t pull it out but fed it and watered it. This year it’s covered in new leaves and is pretty much back to a perfect 70cm ball.

So sorry @Smartsub . Looks like they may be salvageable after all so will check what I have in the shed to go into battle. Thanks all.

I removed mine as it was too far gone before I noticed and was worried it would just keep appearing. It didn't effect anything else near it though.

I really didnt know what it was and posted on here to ask.

We had it badly in 2020 and took out quite a few balls. Last year wasn't so bad but this year is dreadful! This is part of a run of hedge which we've just taken out.

We live near RHS Wisley and they've pretty much given up on theirs too so perhaps some areas are worse than others?

We've got these caterpillars this year, like others have said our hedge was all of a sudden almost destroyed ☹️
I can't decide whether it's worth trying to save the hedge or whether it will just be a never-ending battle every year...

Hi, They will come back if you get rid of the box moths. I have mine sprayed every 6 or 7 weeks from April to end September as that is the 'lifecycle' of the moth. Our garden is completely full of box hedges, very formal and looks amazing year round. Its certainly worth spraying or getting a professional to spray. I get professionals to spray as you don't need to do it as often with their products.

Topbuxus is great for boosting their growth, but you shouldn't do it within a week of spraying.

www.topiaryarts.com/general/box-tree-moth-infestation-can-be-controlled-says-james-crebbin-bailey

jamestodman.com/blog/five-ways-to-beat-the-box-tree-caterpillar/

If you are not going to treat them please remove them as it is just a breading ground otherwise

@RebOrHon & @GU24Mum I'm also near Wisley and ressolva hasn't worked on mine. Still trying though.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday - our bad ones are out and on the bonfire pile. I decided that if the RHS couldn't save theirs down the road, I was probably going the same way. We're saving our efforts for the straight runs of (currently......) healthier bits : it was the balls which really took the hit.

We ended up ditching ours after 2 years of fighting it. They're rampant all over London and the SE. Lots of garden centres don't sell box hedges any more as a result.

I have found the only thing that works is Xen Tari which is specifically for box caterpillar. You can get it in Amazon. I spray it on every 4-5 weeks from April to end September. Have been using it for a few years and definitely works.

There was another thread on this a couple of weeks ago and several of us recommended Xen Tari

@deuxgarcons I sprayed this and still had caterpillars 4 days later 😖 I will try again as it said 2 initial applications. I also have a totally empty moth trap 😂

@gingaling yes give it another spray. I was late off the mark this year and had to do two sprays as they had already appeared. I get right into the inside and drench the box. I also take any off i see I think as they eat the sprayed leaves it kills them

I’m in East of England, I have a box hedge in my front garden it’s been there for around 10 years. I noticed a change in it a month or so ago and had no idea what it was , I thought it was just the dry weather! Since then I have been reading up and found out about the box caterpillar . I purchased Xen Tari and have sprayed it this week. It says two hours after spraying they will stop feeding. I will spray again in a week and see what happens. I’ve never seen anything like it , it looks dreadful but it’s worth a try .

We painstakingly picked the caterpillars off our lovely box hedge for 2 years box. It worked really well. The caterpillars wrap themselves up in the leaves surrounded by silk, which is hard for sprays to penetrate. Also they need to be spayed when all other bugs are active which kills them too. I couldn't bring myself to do it (use spray) as im trying to grow a pollinator friendly garden. Picking them off works very well but takes ages.
All the box in our area is either ruined or has signs of the pest. It is rampant.
This year we opted to remove the box and put in pittosporum instead. It is lovely too, grows quicker, and I don't have to stress over it and watch it like a hawk. And best of all, no spray required!
As someone previously mentioned, rhs wisley has given up on box. They have done a trial with box alternatives- there is a list on their website. Pittosporum is one, although this is a different colour to box

@JustKeepSw1mming I'd love to see a photo of what you have planted instead if you would post one? I am considering changing our box too. I don't want to let the caterpillars win, but it's extremely labour intensive with young DC to be constantly picking and spraying to no avail.

First treatment done. Garden centre advised once a week fir four weeks to break the cycle.

@LIZS what product are you using ?

Bug Clear Ultra. Local garden centre is sold out of the moth traps so seems particularly bad here (also SE).