Box Tree Caterpillars

[HerbieFluffyDumpling]

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, as I really don’t want to have to kill anything that lives in my garden.

I spotted a box tree moth on my window about a month ago, so I’ve been checking my plants regularly for caterpillars ever since. Today I discovered they’ve made themselves very much at home and they’re on my box hedge and plants 😩

I’ve spent ages picking the caterpillars off by hand, but it’s such a big job and I can’t reach right to the back of the hedge, so I’m sure there are loads still hiding in there.

Is there any treatment I can use that will get rid of the box tree moth caterpillars without harming other insects and wildlife? While searching for the caterpillars, I’ve noticed my plants are home to all sorts of spiders, native ladybirds, shield bugs, woodlice and snails, and I really don’t want to harm any of them.

The snails have already eaten everything they like in my garden, so they’re basically just sheltering now and strangely enough, I’m quite happy for them to stay.

I’d really like to keep my box plants if I can, as they were grown from cuttings from my mum’s garden and have sentimental value to me.

Any advice on a treatment that is effective against box tree moth caterpillars, but won't harm anything else in the garden would be really appreciated. Thank you!

There are many questions about this on GQT and the answer is nematodes may help but ultimately the hedge is probably beyond saving. I'm sorry.

You need to get it sprayed by a specialist. And quickly. I have a dog and it hasn’t been affected by the course of treatment. Contact your local garden maintenance person for a quote. You’ll never pick them all off by hand!

I had this issue some years ago and did the picking off by hand and also a box tree moth trap.

Shake the hedge and hand pick as many as possible and spray, or preferably buy nematodes, which will munch the caterpillars.

Topbuxus Xentari. It’s expensive stuff but the only thing I have found that works well. It is supposed to be safe for other insects.

Thanks for the the advice! As I've been looking out for the caterpillars, I'm hoping I'm still in time to save the hedge and plants, before the caterpillars have done too much damage. I can see hand picking would be a mammoth task, so I'll look into nematodes or spraying. Thanks again.

Xentari. It's expensive but it works. You need to act quickly though as the caterpillars can defoliate a hedge within a day or two. I've been using it for years (it's very difficult to eradicate them completely although my hedge is in a particularly awkward spot and the foliage needs really thorough spraying). No ill effects on other insects. It works very quickly though once applied and kills the caterpillars eating sprayed foliage within 2 hours.

If you're not on a hosepipe ban where you are, use a pressure washer to blast the things off. Then put out a quantity of bread cubes in the hope you'll catch the eyes of a local flock of starlings. Once they find the caterpillars, they'll eat the lot.