Forum Topic

Box hedge caterpillars emerging

Warning for those trying to maintain box hedges - have seen the first caterpillars emerging this weekend.

Alison Gascoigne ● 2025d4 Comments

Thank you for this. I will get out the spray. Mine have barely recovered from last year’s infestation.

Susan Jennifer Thackray ● 2024d

Little blighters they are, we lost to very mature box hedges to this blight. Slowly spreading countrywide alas.

Chris Vessey ● 2024d

Time to cut your losses, dig them up and throw away.  The bugs are not going away and to keep spraying seems counter productive as killing all other insects too.  We dug our up 2 years ago after carefully picking the blighters off but they came back with a vengeance later in the year.  A reputable garden centre told us we were wasting our time trying to same the our box.  There are some good alternatives, sad that it is to have to do this.

Niki Scrase ● 2024d

The spray stuff worked well on my two box shrubs (pretty big now) a couple of years ago, along with the pheremone trap.  Last year I didn't really bother as although someone on here said birds don't eat box caterpillars, last year the sparrows on my garden certainly did, the box shrubs are right opposite my office window and birds were in there picking the caterpillars off constantly.  This year there is a lot of lovely light green young growth on them. I hope it's the same this year as long as I can stop my hunter cat getting the birds...otherwise it's back to the spray again.

Claire Moran ● 2024d