Home › G › Gooseberry and Currant

Gooseberry and Currant

SAWFLY

(Nematus Ribesii). This is a well-known enemy to the gardener, from the damage the larvae do to Gooseberry and Currant bushes, completely stripping them of their leaves. The eggs are laid in spring, on the under side of the newly-expanded leaves, and are hatched in a few days. The caterpillars are of a peculiar bluish-green colour, with black spots on the segments and yellow markings by the head and tail. They have as many as twenty legs. When full grown, they descend into the earth, and either at once assume the chrysalid state, and thence become perfect flies, or else hibernate till the following spring, before making their final changes. The following are a few of the remedies given for the extermination of the pest:

Tobacco Powder. This, dredged over the bushes, at night and early in the morning, will dislodge the worms, and they can be trodden on or picked up by hand and destroyed.

Soot and Lime. Equal parts of dry soot and air-slaked lime, mixed together, and dusted over the foliage whilst in a damp state, and when the caterpillars are small, will help to keep the plants clear. When the leaves are fallen, they should be raked together and removed or burnt. A good dressing of soot and lime must then be applied to the ground, which should not be dry at the time, and the same operation should be repeated in spring.

Hellebore. Freshly-ground White Hellebore, dusted over the trees while the foliage is damp, is a certain exterminator of the caterpillars. The following recipe is equally efficacious: Dissolve 1lb. of size in a gallon or two of hot water, and to this add 1lb. of Hellebore powder. When the water becomes nearly cold, mix thoroughly, and add enough cold water to make about sixteen gallons. Apply with a water-pot or syringe. At the end of a week, thoroughly wash off with clean water, as the powder is poisonous.