Sawfly on gooseberry bush this late

**cheops** · 13-09-2016, 12:17 PM

Why don't you try feeding birds in your garden all year round. I do and I am utterly convinced that is why I have had no pests, that despite having two gooseberry bushes I have had no sawfly caterpillars at any time this year. I also rather surprisingly have had no greenfly or black fly, despite growing nasturtiums, lupins, runner beans amongst other flowers and vegetables. I believe the regular appearance of blue and great tits have controlled these pests along with larger birds such as sparrows and starlings. Try it and see what rewards you get next spring and summer.

**Marb67** · 13-09-2016, 12:35 PM

Well I feed birds all year round and have an abundance of sparrows.

**cheops** · 13-09-2016, 12:45 PM

Hmmn, I'm a bit baffled.

**polly_ni** · 13-09-2016, 01:05 PM

I had the gooseberries covered with fine netting at the beginning of the year and managed to keep the fruit and the leaves. Took the netting off when I harvested the fruit and thought that was the end of it, but last week I saw that the bushes were bald. Maybe the beggars operate all year round and we just don't notice because once the leaves are gone they're gone. I might try leaving it on all year next year.

I feed birds all year round and all I get is tonnes of pigeon poo, everywhere!

**veggiechicken** · 13-09-2016, 01:09 PM

First the bad news :-
there are 3 generations of sawfly a year

The good news:-
August/September is the last generation of the three

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=517

**BUFFS** · 13-09-2016, 01:33 PM

I have 3 bird feeders hanging above the goosegogs and some of the birds land in the bushes, and they tend to hoover up the grubs of the sawfly, we have a lot of coal tits, blue tits, great tits, and loads of wrens, finches, robins etc, so we had one branch that got chewed and that is all the damage I can find. we seem to be getting a lot of thrushes in the last couple of weeks so hopefully the slug/snail, definitely the snail population, will be reduced, so things are looking up, I hope.... it is now peeing down again during this "heatwave", I may have to take my heavy fleece off this afternoon if it starts getting warm......

**chrisdb** · 15-09-2016, 06:43 AM

In the first couple of years after I planted mine I had to check for sawflr regularly, but last year they were lighter than usual and this year I've only had to squish them on one occasion and one bush.

My bushes are underplanted with strawberries, oregano etc. and there's a whole ecosystem down there including frogs that migrate out from the neighbour's garden.

Possible explanations for a good couple of years are:

1. Chance
2. They pupate in the soil, so maybe the cycle is being broken by wildlife at ground level?
3. Birds - dense growth of flowering plants means there's plenty of bugs and seeds to eat
4. Are there any insects that are predators of sawfly larvae or eggs?
5. Local issues - maybe the Notts population of sawfly has crashes the last couple of years

**cheops** · 15-09-2016, 08:23 AM

I would suggest its mainly reason 3. Your bushes are part of a healthy environment which has become a worthwhile visit for foraging birds. In their quest for their daily food birds visit and revisit worthwhile areas. When there are young sawfly about they don't last long and if they are not present your other vegetation provides other sweet-meats. Wrens have the low cover they need to feel secure as do blackbirds and thrushes. Tits will flit through the higher levels with beady eyes. Basically there is a great party going on with your gooseberry area and every bird want to gate crash.

**ESBkevin** · 15-09-2016, 08:59 AM

I feed the birds, they pull about the rotting woodchip in search of all the grubs, bugs and worms. They even pull at the manure heaps if you forget to put a cover on. Crafty things, but I can't say they resolve all my pest problems, perhaps because I have to net so much anyway.

**TrixC** · 20-09-2016, 07:27 PM

This is only my second year growing gooseberries and I've had terrible trouble with sawfly, I must have squished hundreds of them and the bushes have still been defoliated three times. If I'd have known what a problem they were I probably would have grown something else instead.

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Sawfly on gooseberry bush this late

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