I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

All I can think of is one of the systemic poisons. :(

Because they get absorbed by the tree it may not matter so much about coverage.

You could just get rid of the cases as you come across them. Do you know of any natural predators? Might be worth going over to ScribblyGum on this one.

making sure the tree is well watered and maybe some B&B or native fertiliser should help with the recovery

bubba louie said:

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

All I can think of is one of the systemic poisons. :(

Because they get absorbed by the tree it may not matter so much about coverage.

I figured that was about the best way but I’ve never used systemic sprays before. I’ll just have to learn won’t I?

Dinetta said:

You could just get rid of the cases as you come across them. Do you know of any natural predators? Might be worth going over to ScribblyGum on this one.

Can’t pick the cases off D because most are about 6mt high up. I have taken the lower ones off though.

bluegreen said:

making sure the tree is well watered and maybe some B&B or native fertiliser should help with the recovery

Water isn’t a problem. We’ve have a ton of it. The tree is already coming into leaf again so that’s not a worry. Just need to get rid of the case moths.

pomolo said:

bubba louie said:

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

All I can think of is one of the systemic poisons. :(

Because they get absorbed by the tree it may not matter so much about coverage.

I figured that was about the best way but I’ve never used systemic sprays before. I’ll just have to learn won’t I?

for large trees you can drill a hole in the trunk and inject the poison into that and the tree does the rest.

bluegreen said:

pomolo said:

bubba louie said:

All I can think of is one of the systemic poisons. :(

Because they get absorbed by the tree it may not matter so much about coverage.

I figured that was about the best way but I’ve never used systemic sprays before. I’ll just have to learn won’t I?

for large trees you can drill a hole in the trunk and inject the poison into that and the tree does the rest.

I was hoping that way would work. Thanks BG. I will consult with a nursery man.

pomolo said:

bubba louie said:

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

All I can think of is one of the systemic poisons. :(

Because they get absorbed by the tree it may not matter so much about coverage.

I figured that was about the best way but I’ve never used systemic sprays before. I’ll just have to learn won’t I?

I’ve got a stash of confidor that I only use in times of desperation.

Remember to get rubber plugs to seal the holes you drill.

roughbarked said:

Remember to get rubber plugs to seal the holes you drill.

That’s a handy tip RB. Thanks. I will seal the holes.

pomolo said:

The tree is already coming into leaf again so that’s not a worry. Just need to get rid of the case moths.

and the problem is?

what removed the leaf in the first place? Did the moths eat the foliage or did the caterpillas?

pain master said:

and the problem is?

you drive home a strong case ;)

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

and the problem is?

you drive home a strong case ;)

I think she is worried that more trees will suffer

pain master said:

pomolo said:

The tree is already coming into leaf again so that’s not a worry. Just need to get rid of the case moths.

and the problem is?

what removed the leaf in the first place? Did the moths eat the foliage or did the caterpillas?

It had to be the grubs in the cases that ate everything. The tree is recovering and growing new foliage now but the case moth larva are still hanging on there. They will surely eat everything again if I don’t get rid of them. All that aside from the fact that they are moving on to new trees.

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

pain master said:

and the problem is?

you drive home a strong case ;)

I think she is worried that more trees will suffer

That I am BG.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

pomolo said:

The tree is already coming into leaf again so that’s not a worry. Just need to get rid of the case moths.

and the problem is?

what removed the leaf in the first place? Did the moths eat the foliage or did the caterpillas?

It had to be the grubs in the cases that ate everything. The tree is recovering and growing new foliage now but the case moth larva are still hanging on there. They will surely eat everything again if I don’t get rid of them. All that aside from the fact that they are moving on to new trees.

I should have also added to the above post that moths don’t eat the foliage anyway. AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies.

pomolo said:

AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies. AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies.

Actually they do sup on nectar and they collect water.

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies. AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies.

Actually they do sup on nectar and they collect water.

I’m not sure why they collect it but it seems reasonable to think that it is their method of air-conditioning.

It maybe a case of native grubs (and moths) and native trees doing a normal cyclical thing, just prolly not noticed by you in the past because the conditions have not been this “ideal” before.

If you put a systemic into the system now, you may not be applying this at a time when it is going to be productive. Your horse may already have bolted?

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies. AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies.

Actually they do sup on nectar and they collect water.

I knew they took in nectar but they don’t eat leaves do they? It’s their larvae that cause the damage. Even the numbers that I had on my lepto didn’t go near killing it. It just looked awful. I don’t want it to happen to the trees in the house pad.

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies. AFAIK moths don’t eat at all. Same with butterflies.

Actually they do sup on nectar and they collect water.

I’m not sure why they collect it but it seems reasonable to think that it is their method of air-conditioning.

That’s taking a butterfly head on so to speak.

pain master said:

It maybe a case of native grubs (and moths) and native trees doing a normal cyclical thing, just prolly not noticed by you in the past because the conditions have not been this “ideal” before.

If you put a systemic into the system now, you may not be applying this at a time when it is going to be productive. Your horse may already have bolted?

I hear you PM and you could be right. At least I now know what to treat it with if the problem rises again.

pomolo said:

pain master said:

It maybe a case of native grubs (and moths) and native trees doing a normal cyclical thing, just prolly not noticed by you in the past because the conditions have not been this “ideal” before.

If you put a systemic into the system now, you may not be applying this at a time when it is going to be productive. Your horse may already have bolted?

I hear you PM and you could be right. At least I now know what to treat it with if the problem rises again.

you are right to be cautious pom, some native trees can handle a touch of defoliation from a caterpillar or 6 and they will spring back almost as if the tree were merely pruned, but sometimes when conditions are supreme, a stand of trees may suffer a total attack and may never regenerate.

Now I don’t want you to lose all the Leptos on your block and for you to come back to us and say “Oi, what happened!”.

Let’s talk history. Are all your Leptos in the one stand, or are they all individuals around the property? How old are they? Have you seen case moths on them before, and to what extent? How did your Leptos react to the weather this year?

pain master said:

pomolo said:

pain master said:

It maybe a case of native grubs (and moths) and native trees doing a normal cyclical thing, just prolly not noticed by you in the past because the conditions have not been this “ideal” before.

If you put a systemic into the system now, you may not be applying this at a time when it is going to be productive. Your horse may already have bolted?

I hear you PM and you could be right. At least I now know what to treat it with if the problem rises again.

you are right to be cautious pom, some native trees can handle a touch of defoliation from a caterpillar or 6 and they will spring back almost as if the tree were merely pruned, but sometimes when conditions are supreme, a stand of trees may suffer a total attack and may never regenerate.

Now I don’t want you to lose all the Leptos on your block and for you to come back to us and say “Oi, what happened!”.

Let’s talk history. Are all your Leptos in the one stand, or are they all individuals around the property? How old are they? Have you seen case moths on them before, and to what extent? How did your Leptos react to the weather this year?

There is a stand of 4 that have been there a long time. They are on their last. We have planted 4 new L cardwelii to take over their position because the older ones served us well as cover for shade plants.

The L longifolium (with case moth infestation) is on it’s own although it has suckered quite a bit. I have noticed the odd case moths on a lot of natives but this latest lot was in plague proportions. They were noticeable late last summer and a lot weathered the mild winter. During that time I hand picked off hundreds. I think with a normal winter when we get a few frosts most would have died but this time they survived.

Leptos did really well because of the good rain we got during early winter I think. We have 2 (far apart) mature L brachyandrum trees that are looking beautiful, weeping and grageful and I certainly don’t want the grubs to get to them. I have seen cases on them occasionally but they have never turned into a problem like on the L longifolium.

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

encourage the parrots to land and drink there with a ‘nectar’ bowl.
one local peppermint gum was almost totalled by case moths but the parrots devastated the case moths in their turn.

pepe said:

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

encourage the parrots to land and drink there with a ‘nectar’ bowl.
one local peppermint gum was almost totalled by case moths but the parrots devastated the case moths in their turn.

I knew I missed you Pepe. It’s a new idea to try anyway. Thank you.

pomolo said:

pepe said:

pomolo said:

I have a 6mt Leptospermum longifolium tree that has been invaded by a plague of smallish case moths. They have de nuded the tree of all foliage but it is slowly growing back again now.

I have a number of Leptos growing and now these larvae are starting to move to new pickings.

I would like to hear suggestions on how to get rid of these “things.” All the trees in question are tall so spraying would be difficult.

I’m ready to listen to whatever anyone suggests.

encourage the parrots to land and drink there with a ‘nectar’ bowl.
one local peppermint gum was almost totalled by case moths but the parrots devastated the case moths in their turn.

I knew I missed you Pepe. It’s a new idea to try anyway. Thank you.

aw shucks – you liar – i wasn’t gone long enough to be missed. LOL

pepe said:

pomolo said:

pepe said:

encourage the parrots to land and drink there with a ‘nectar’ bowl.
one local peppermint gum was almost totalled by case moths but the parrots devastated the case moths in their turn.

I knew I missed you Pepe. It’s a new idea to try anyway. Thank you.

aw shucks – you liar – i wasn’t gone long enough to be missed. LOL

Am not! I did, I did, I did miss you. Now I’m enjoying your holiday snaps.