Boxwood borers eat their way through the boxwood and cause lasting damage to the plant. However, the caterpillars can be combated with natural home remedies.
The boxwood (Buxus), just like the controversial cherry laurel, is one of the classic hedges. The evergreen shrub is easy to care for and forms an excellent privacy screen. But anyone who notices brown spots in their box has most likely caught a pest - the box tree borer.
The caterpillar of this animal, which comes from Asia, eats its way through the plant from the inside out. An infestation is therefore often only recognized late. An important indication of this are isolated yellow-brown to transparent leaves. If you notice only a moderate infestation during the inspection, the caterpillars can still be picked off by hand. If many of the animals are already up to mischief in the bushes, that would be too tedious. However, chemical sprays are not absolutely necessary. Natural home remedies also help to combat boxwood moth caterpillars.
1. Fight boxwood borers with a high-pressure cleaner
The simplest home remedy against voracious boxwood moths is a high-pressure cleaner. The caterpillars are sprayed off the box with a strong jet of water and then collected. The high-pressure cleaner is the method of choice, especially for large boxwood hedges. Patio tiles can also be cleaned quickly with a high-pressure cleaner.
Before you start, lay out a tarpaulin around the boxwood or under the hedge and secure it with some heavy stones. Then direct the water jet from the high-pressure cleaner onto the hedge so that the water and the caterpillars land on the tarpaulin. Then collect the box tree moths from there. However, don't wait until the end to collect them - the caterpillars move very quickly. Therefore, interrupt the treatment after a few meters to collect the animals before they escape back into the boxwood.
2. Home remedy vinegar against boxwood borer
Another home remedy for boxwood borers is vinegar. The Ebersberg district office recommends the following mixture on its website: “Put a third of water, a third of vinegar and a third of oil into a spray bottle. Cover the soil under the tree and then spray the infected box until it is dripping wet.” After this treatment, the caterpillars would drop and can then be picked up. Finally, spray the plant thoroughly with a hard jet of water.
3. Algae lime – useful home remedy fights the pest
Algae lime
(Lithothamnium calcareum)
is another effective home remedy against the box tree borer. The white powder is approved for both organic cultivation and organic farming. To combat the boxwood borer, the home remedy is simply sprinkled on the plant at the end of April or beginning of May. The rain then washes the powder into the boxwood. According to
My Beautiful Garden,
significantly fewer boxwood moths appear after treatment with algae lime
. In addition, no new caterpillars should hatch from the eggs that have already been laid.
You can find everything about household and garden tips in the regular living newsletter from our partner Merkur.de. Login here!
Other popular home remedies, on the other hand, have often proven to be ineffective against boxwood borer infestations. Baking soda, which is often used against aphids or fungal diseases, was only able to briefly stop the caterpillars, but could not drive them away, as
Plantura Magazine
informs. There is also no evidence that coffee grounds (which are supposed to help against moss in the lawn) are effective against the box tree borer. Therefore, in the event of an acute infestation, you should rely on home remedies that have been proven to be effective.