Gypsy Moths Are Everywhere!
Gypsy Moths Are Everywhere!
Are you one of the many people finding yourself saying this and having trouble finding a solution? Well, you’re not the only one - in fact we’ve been saying this ourselves trying to find a way to fight back - and I think we’ve found one!
Product Shortages
This year we have seen product shortages of everything and anything relating to garden pests, caterpillars being no exception. BTK and Tanglefoot were nowhere to be found, and as a result many of these caterpillars turned into moths; and are now moving into their mating phase before they create their nests for the winter. Pheromone traps do exist specifically for these moths, as well as many other pests, such as Japanese Beetles for example. The Traps work by releasing a sex-pheremone in the air to attract the pests to the trap, instead of your plants you’ve worked hard to grow. Unfortunately, these Gypsy Moth traps have seen the same fate as the BTK and Tanglefoot for the caterpillars - out of stock and nowhere to be found.
The Solution
In trying to find a way to possibly get some of these traps in stock, we have had people like you come in and report that their Japanese Beetle traps have been working for the Gypsy Moths as well. So, we tested this. We set up a trap for Japanese Beetles on a Thursday near the rear of our property, and waited. It didn’t take long to see results, not even a few hours later the trap was already busy at work collecting moths, with more swarming around it trying to find their way in. By the end of the weekend, the trap was full of moths and already ready to be replaced. The test was a success!
Conclusion
For sake of transparency, we used the Green Earth brand of Japanese Beetle traps that we carry at the store, as they are a double-lure. The double-lure aspect is very important, because it is very likely what was attracting the moths rather than the sex-pheromone present in the trap (because, obviously, Gypsy Moths are not Japanese Beetles). What makes it a double-lure is the Floral-lure portion, meant to attract female Japanese Beetles as well as the Males, to totally remove the prospect of the Beetles mating. The floral-lure also has the side effect of attracting additional insects - which is why it works so well for Gypsy Moths.
We’ve also made a short video documenting our experiment, as well as giving validity to our claims. We should say, we aren’t sure how effective they would be if you’re having problems with both Beetles and Moths, but personally, I do not see why there would be a problem other than having to change the bags more often.
This also wouldn’t be exclusive to Japanese Beetle traps, and pheromone trap should work the same way, so long as there is either a Gypsy Moth sex-horomone, and/or a floral-lure present in the trap