I’ve never seen so many bites!
We had a weird spring, started early, got hot, chilled, then got hot again.
Timing the spray was hard because when the trees bloomed it chilled and everything stopped.
I sprayed to the maximum Immunox and Triazicide, but it seems it had no effect.
At least 60% of my fruit got hit.
I had an exceptional bloom this year, I wonder if that’s why?
I live in a forest and I’m sure there are ample numbers of these PC and very few fruit growers in my area.
Anyone else seeing a PC explosion?
Also had a population explosion of rodents. Woodchucks, squirrels and chipmunks. Its been a shooting gallery this year in my yard. What is going on!?!?!?
still hasn’t reached up here yet. neither has SWD. the unusually cold nights lately are probably going to help keep them from progressing north again this year. unfortunately for the ashes up here EAB is showing up everywhere along rt 1 here. I’m seeing big swamp areas full of ash with their tops dying. they only discovered them here 2 yrs ago. they must reproduce quickly. maybe our big woodpecker population will help control them but not counting on it. damned invasives! the eastern larch that also grow in swamps here will probably take over these dead ares as they like wet conditions as well.
Winter was mild so fewer died is my guess. The curc was not super bad here since it was cold most of their season (it did get bad right at the end as it finally warmed up), but the squirrels are out thick. It seems like there are even more deer as well.
Speaking of squirrels, I had better head out to bait my traps!
My apples have been hammered by them this year…but everything else is pretty clean. Typical year here but i always have dealt with heavy pressure. I still think squirrels are far worse. They’ll take almost ripe fruit…take a few bites and leave the fruit to rot at the bottom of a telephone pole…then grab another one the next day.
My plums have never set fruit. This year the newish Italian one has set a ton and it looks like the the others may do it as well.
Checking the developing fruit, there are lots of bites.
The only thing I could/ am willing to spray is surround, but no way to get any or a sprayer right now. (Ontario)
So far, I’m just cutting off what I can with a razor blade and removing some.
The young hybrid pollinator has been hit hardest. I’ve found a few fruits, in around bean sized, where they have been bitten and then there is a split right down their middle, including the pit gaping open. They are so tiny, I don’t see how one could fully mature in it, but is that what’s happening?
I sprayed once early and a ton of my apples got hit. Good thing is i’m not seeing a lot of active curcs in the apple drops (mine are all dropping or have dropped now). Curc bites heal up nicely most of the time. Couple pics from today… i feed the larvae to my tropical fish…they seem to enjoy them…probably taste like apple.
I thinned about 60% of my crop the day I wrote this post and the June drops are starting to come on fast.
Past couple of evenings I’ve been picking up the drops and putting them in a refuse bag and cooking them alive with mulch heat, I can think of no other deserving fate for these buggers.
A couple of the fruits look blown out like a bird knows there is a worm to eat. The rest are just scarred without an exit hole.
FWIW, I think the warm winter allowed a lot of larvae to overwinter and make it.
The squirrels and chipmunks just keep coming in waves each day.
I’ve blasted 95 Grey Squirrels and 41 Chipmunks since the first of the year, a majority of that is from the last 2 months.
Zoo, forest, same thing.
The Red Foxes eat well, not a single body remains the next morning.
My numbers dont count my neighbor’s numbers, mostly chipmunks for him, he must be over 60. Its an explosion of rodents. I wish all my neighbors felt the same way about controlling the population. My other neighbor had woodchucks living under her deck this year and also had a story for me of when she took a squirrel in to live with her. She puts out a giant tray of bird feed block but they’re all suckers for black oil sunflower seeds.
Ill be damned to go through the effort of growing apples only to be robbed in August.
