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Fruit & Orchards

Help! Something is eating my blueberry bush!

16 years ago

I just discovered that some of the leaves on my blueberry bush are stuck together, when I pulled them apart, there was a trace of white web and lots of tiny holes in the leaf. What pest is this? And will insecticidal soap be sufficient to either kill it or drive it away? Also, what other plants is it likely to attack- I have some raspberries and a baby fig in that area. This blueberry bush is only about 3 yrs old and maybe 3 ft high. It actually had 4 or 5 blueberries on it last yr! Thanks for your help. Brandy

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Comments (3)

tcstoehr
16 years ago
Unless it's widespread, I wouldn't worry about it. This is probably a caterpillar of one of many moths that could be to blame. This happens to my fruit trees all the time and I kill the caterpillars when I find them, but the damage is so minimal I don't worry about it. I suggest you go out and see how many you can find and kill them by hand, and forget about the rest. Although, I'm no expert on blueberries and I live on the west coast, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
I don't think insecticidal soap will bother them, especially protected inside their little tents. I also suspect that this same insect would not be a problem for your raspberries and certainly not the fig.
brandyray
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, TC. Only a few leaves were affected. I think I will remove those and hope for the best. Brandy
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brandyray
Original Author
16 years ago
Guess what- I went back out and caught the miscreant at its work! a small green caterpillar w/ brown markings and long hairs. Caught 3 of them. thanks, TC! Brandy

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