What worms spoil honeysuckle berries and how to get rid of them

Honeysuckle is not only a beautiful plant that pleases gardeners with its decorative appearance, but also a healthy and tasty berry that is ideal for fresh consumption and processing. Unlike other fruit bushes, the harvest ripens early - gardeners harvest the first fruits already in June.

Insect pests can ruin the quality and reduce the quantity of the harvest. They appear on young and adult plants, spread quickly and can destroy all berries. We'll tell you what pests attack honeysuckle and how to remove worms from the berries.

What pests spoil honeysuckle berries and how to treat the bush

Honeysuckle is easy to care for, but requires regular prevention of its appearance. insect pests. If you do not devote time and attention to protective procedures, flies, aphids, and nematodes appear on shrubs.

Pests are capable of destroying the entire harvest of garden honeysuckle, capturing fruit trees and shrubs growing nearby. We will consider further what white worms live in honeysuckle.

Mealybug

Mealybugs are sucking insects. It affects the bark and leaves of honeysuckle; when it appears, the plant quickly dries out and dies. The mealybug is frost-resistant; its larvae overwinter in felt cocoons, which are hidden in the cracks of the old bark.

Damage to the bush is caused by females - one individual lays up to 500 eggs at the beginning of summer.It is difficult to notice a mealybug with the naked eye: the length of the miniature body is only 5 mm, it is covered with a waxy coating.

To get rid of mealybugs on honeysuckle, gardeners use professional preparations - Actellik, Inta-vir, Fitoverm. Intestinal contact agents are effective and easy to use. Before using the drug, gardeners are advised to carefully read the instructions and safety rules.

Attention! Processing Contact fungicides are applied no more than 2 weeks before honeysuckle harvest. Dilute the drug in a plastic container and spray honeysuckle early in the morning on a dry and windless day.

cherry fly

The cherry fly belongs to the variegated fly family and loves to feast on cherries, sweet cherries, and honeysuckle. Pest larvae develop in fruits and feed on the pulp.

Honeysuckle affected by the cherry fly becomes deformed, loses color and falls to the ground. The length of the insect is 3-5 mm, the body is black and shiny. The ideal place for a pest is berries starting to ripen. The fly can destroy from 30% to 100% of the crop.

As soon as gardeners notice a cherry fly in the garden, they build a trap. A plastic bottle with a cut neck is placed in the crown of trees and a sweet drink is poured into it, for example fruit drink, kvass, juice or compote. The cherry fly, attracted by the smell of the fermented drink, enters through the funnel and cannot get back out.

Another folk remedy, tobacco solution, also helps get rid of the insect. 400 g of crushed tobacco is poured into 10 liters of boiled water and put in a dark place for 24 hours.Then boil over low heat, filter, add 40 g of grated laundry soap. Both affected and healthy bushes are treated.

Root nematode

The root-knot nematode lives in garden soil and sucks nutritious juice from the roots. The length of the worm does not exceed 3 mm, diameter - 0.5 mm. The root system weakens and pathogens of fungal and bacterial infections penetrate it.

The root-knot nematode also carries viruses, which are very difficult to get rid of.

Damaged honeysuckle stops growing, the berries lose their taste and color, and the entire root rots. The penetration of the pest into the soil is facilitated by watering with ice water from open bodies of water, for example, swamps or lakes.

If worms are found in honeysuckle, gardeners water the plant at the root with the liquid preparation "Pyrantel". It affects both larvae and adults.

Repeated treatment with Pirantel is carried out after 2-3 weeks. Also get rid of pests The drug "Dekaris" (sold at the pharmacy) helps. One tablet is diluted in 2 liters of water and watered on the berry bush in the early morning.

Is it possible to remove worms from berries?

If after harvest Worms are found in fresh honeysuckle; summer residents use a proven method.

Prepare a solution of 50 g of salt and 3 liters of water. Immerse the affected honeysuckle there. After 40-60 minutes, the worms will crawl out of the fruit themselves and appear on the surface of the water. The liquid is drained and the berries are thoroughly washed under running clean water 2-3 times. For convenience, use a colander.

Conclusion

Root-knot nematode, cherry fly, and mealybug actively spread in the garden and feed on the cell sap of the plant, leaving behind wounds and cracks.The insects are small, therefore, in order to detect them, gardeners regularly inspect honeysuckle plantings and begin treatment at the first signs of damage.

They use professional preparations “Aktellik”, “Fitoverm”, “Dekaris” or folk remedies - a trap with juice or treatment with a tobacco solution. Spray the bushes on a windless morning. Repeated treatment is carried out after 2-3 weeks.