Box hedge caterpillars / moths

[OhMyGiddyAunt]

Our box hedges are being decimated by box hedge caterpillars. I could cry 😟

You can see where one side of the hedge has been destroyed and they're working they're way through to the other side. It's like watching a slo-mo animation. It's gone beyond picking off the caterpillars or treating them as there are so many of them, and so much hedge. The hedge is looking dead on the side they've eaten, right through to halfway through the depth of it,

I think the only option is to rip them out and start again but are they likely to return to the same spot or is it likely that some eggs would be left lying on the ground or nearby ready to hatch and start munching again?

Are there any alternatives that won't get eaten? They're not high hedges but I need to grow something between knee and hip height to define areas along a path etc

Are they totally gone that they won't recover?
We use nematodes on ours - have to do it twice a year. Ours were almost decimated a few years ago but have since recovered

Treatment can work wonders, even when they are infested and there are only twigs left.
We suffered this 2yrs ago, we treated the next day and the caterpillars were gone a day or so later. Last year the plants were still looking a bit sorry for themselves (although there was definitely new growth), this year they are glorious and back to how they were (just a bit out of shape as they haven't been trimmed yet).

I cut our box balls back to stumps last year to clear it, and they grew back nicely - only to be demolished again this year. I think I will find an alternative plant. Neighbours have box but don’t really garden, so there is basically a caterpillar farm about 20 yards away.

I really think they're beyond saving.

It's quite a big stretch of hedge and to be honest I don't think I can be bothered to find the time to tackle it as it sounds like it's a long process and I don't want to spend the rest of my days in a battle with the little bastards!

Not quite sure what to do about ripping the hedges out though as there are so many on there.

@Kumqwhat lol at caterpillar farm!
Must be frustrating though.

I haven't seen any box hedges near us so no idea where ours came from. I guess the moths travel though

My DH used to keep it under control by picking them off. The year he died, I left the hedge to it's own devices and the hedge died too.

I just cut them down to the ground and left the dead roots to rot, as digging them out was a huge job and beyond me at the time.

This stuff works https://www.onbuy.com/gb/p/topbuxus-xentari-box-tree-caterpillar-insecticide~p21268281/ you do have to reapply. Mine all seemed dead last year and are all back! We did chop down the small ones but we have a big box hedge which we thought was gone but it’s all come back.

ps don’t know if that’s the place to buy the killer - just that that one defo works.

Yes, we use this and it really works.

I planted shrubby lonicera instead of box

My neighbour used this too and has a lovely box hedge, I think it needs reapplication though. I gave up on mine and ripped them out this year as I couldn't be bothered keeping on top of it

I'd rip it out and replace with yew. If it's not the caterpillar it's blight.

I have this problem too, it happens between April and October. During these months I spray every few weeks with Xentari as mentioned above. I buy from Amazon. How they can eat so much in so little time is crazy! Once sprayed they stop eating within 30 minutes.

You'll probably get on top of the caterpillars only to get box blight. Double whammy with box: can't win.

As above Xentari works - the same brand sell box feed which is brilliant too. I had a big infestation and used this and all but one box survived. Worth a try!

Yes, this is what worked so well for us.👍

Thanks everyone.

Never even thought about other pests getting to it even if I eradicated the caterpillars. 🫤

Buxus sempervirens is really prone to pests and diseases - good alternatives would be Ilex crenata or Taxus baccata, which can be clipped into low hedges or topiary.

I just looked at my box.

AAARGHHHH😯😫😳👿

That is all.

Have they got yours too?

Definitely get xentari. Amazon sell it. Definitely

It's just a small topiary one in a pot, so I don't think it is worth saving really.

Lonicera nitida is a good alternative.

So is ilex crenata.

Everyone around me has lost their box in the last few years and replaced with alternatives that look just as good now

I lost all my box a few years ago and didn't replace..
My neighbour has an immaculate trimmed box across the full width her plot which I think she protects with regular applications of nematodes