So the next trap we're going to look at
is one for codling moth.
Codling moth, as we mentioned, is
the insect that lays its eggs on apple and pear fruits.
And the caterpillars bore in and make the wormy fruit.
So in this case, we're going to try to catch as many
of the adult moths as possible.
And researchers found that molasses
is an attraction to the codling moth,
so we're going to use a 1/4 cup of molasses, and again,
making a 10 to 1 solution with water to molasses.
So I'm going to add 2 to 2 and 1/2 cups of water to that,
and then I'm going to add in 1/4 teaspoon of yeast.
And the purpose of the yeast is just
to help the molasses solution ferment more quickly,
and it releases more volatiles, and the codling moths
are attracted to that.
You can use any kind of container to put this in that
has a wide, open top, such as a small plastic bucket or bin.
In this case, I took a gallon apple cider jug
and cut the top off, and that will work just fine.
And then you need to poke two holes, again, with a knife,
or I used a soldering iron, and then
I used a wire hanger to put through that,
or you can use a piece of twine, or heavy string,
anything that will hold up.
It is fairly heavy.
And then we're going to hang this in the Apple tree.
And the codling moths will be attracted to this,
and fly in, and land in the molasses solution,
and die in there.
And over a period of several weeks,
you'll catch a lot of them.
And then you can just dump this out, and refill it,
and continue.
You want to hang traps in the orchard from approximately late
May through early September in northern Utah,
and you start three to four weeks earlier in southern Utah.
A tool like a codling moth bait is usually not a stand
alone control, that is that it won't provide enough control
to use it just by itself.
And so usually, you need to combine this
with other types of methods.
And we call this approach integrated pest management,
or IPM.
So another way that you can help lower codling moth populations
in your home orchard is to, again, use
the corrugated cardboard with the ridges.
You want to put the ridges toward the trunk of the tree.
And we can use something, like a staple gun,
just to simply apply it.
So wrap it around the trunk, and put in a staple to hold it.
You want to apply these beginning in about mid
to late June, and continue trapping
with the cardboard traps for the larvae through early September.
And what happens is when the larvae exit the fruit,
they climb up onto the trunk to spin their cocoons and pupate.
And they really like this cardboard protection,
and so they'll climb up in there.
And you'll see a lot of webbing, a lot of cocoon spinning.
And so you can pull these off about every two weeks
and replace them with the fresh cardboard strip.
And this way, you can help remove a lot of larvae
from your home orchard.
Another IPM tool that the homeowner can use
is to bag fruit.
You can purchase commercial fruit bags
through online garden supply centers,
or you can use small paper bags of your own
that you punch a hole in the bottom and slip over the fruit
when they're quite small.
At this point in time, my fruit are still too small here.
You want to wait until they're about a half inch in diameter
before you add the bag, and the bag
will keep the codling moth out.
And then you remove the bag just a week or two before you're
ready to pick the apple, and the sunshine
will color up the fruit, and you'll have a very nice
looking fruit to eat.
Another tool that we use as insecticides, and insecticides
are part of IPM.
But with the IPM approach, we strive
to use as few sprays as possible.
So the Utah Pests website has an IPM advisory
specifically for tree fruit growers and home orchardists,
and it tells you the timing for when the codling moths are
flying, when the eggs are starting to hatch,
and this is the key time of when you
need to apply an insecticide to prevent the fruit from becoming
infested.
So you can access this information
at the Utah Pests website, which is www.utahpests.usu.edu.