Part of what I do it about my plum tree trees is that I do n’t have to worry about them like I do many of my other fruit tree .
Do n’t get me wrong , I love peaches and apples , but they for certain are high-pitched - maintenance in comparison to plum . But even undemanding plum tree diagram can be plagued by pests now and then .
Sometimes , these pests are nothing more than a nuisance . Other sentence , they can endanger the life of the plum tree tree .
Photo credit: H. Audemard, INRA, Montfavet, Bugwood.org
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All plum tree tree are susceptible to the following nine pest , but stressed Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree are even more likely to suffer ill effects .
So it ’s important to do your best to keep your plum tree tree glad . If you need a ground abouthow to care for plum tree trees , understand our pathfinder .
Photo credit: H. Audemard, INRA, Montfavet, Bugwood.org
You might also want to go over ourguide to how and when to spray plums for cuss .
Then , come back here , and we ’ll talk about the creepy crawlies that are out there eyeing your tree diagram .
Here is the “ most unwanted ” inclination that we ’ll be going over :
9 Common Plum Tree Pests
Our first plum pest is itty - teeny , but do n’t let that fritter you . They can cause big problem .
1. Drosophila
The spotted offstage drosophila ( Drosophila suzukii ) feeds on the fruits of grapevine , stone fruits , including plums , and brambles .
The adults are small fruit fly , but unlike those that devour overripe fruits on your countertop , these pest attack yield that is just mature and still on the flora .
The adults lie their eggs inside the fruit , so not only will there be feeding marks on the skin of the plums , but you might take a bite and get a mouthful of larvae . I do n’t bed what more motivation you demand to try and avoid them .
These blighter come out in the summertime to feast and breed on plums , and then overwinter as grownup to embark on the cycle over again .
They wo n’t lay their nut in respectable plums , but they ’ll expect for the tiniest yap made by thripid , aphids , or mechanical damage , and that ’s when they take . The female lays her egg , at the same time injecting a bacterium in theAcetobactergenus that causes the yield to decompose .
Even if this does n’t do the plum tree to decompose , it ’s in all likelihood her larva are feeding and thriving in there .
If you notice any damaged plums , off them immediately to refuse the pestis a place to lay their eggs . you could also put gauze , tunnel , or cloths over your tree or bush if it ’s small enough .
you could also apply a pesticide , but make certain to employ it when the pollinators are n’t out and about – an evening on a serene daytime is the ideal fourth dimension to denigrate impact onbeneficial dirt ball .
Keep in brain that pesticide software will only tackle the adults , not any larva already present in the fruit .
Spinosad and pyrethrins both employment to shoot down the adults . For effective control , I recommend flip-flop between two products and use every two weeks until the terminal of August . These pests reproduce apace , so you need to continue on top of them .
snare are utilitarian both for monitoring and ascendancy of cuss population . Put out one or more traps near your plum trees in the late spring and keep an eye on how many pests you ’re collecting .
If you seem to be pin more and more , it ’s fourth dimension to break out the insecticides .
Scentry Lure Trap
Grab a kit , which includes both a lure and yap , at Arbico Organicsin packs of one or two . you could also corrupt replacement traps and tempt if you only need one chemical element .
2. Flatheaded Borers
Borers can be a knotty pest in plum .
Pacific ( Chrysobothris mali ) and apple - tree flatheaded borers ( C. femorata ) attend like as adult , the beetles measure about half to three fourth of an inch long , with olive - gullible , dark gray-headed , brownish , and bronze colouring , and flattened head .
The larval physique has a flat and egotistic chest and a flattened head .
Both the larvae and the adult live and overwinter on the plum tree tree , though they do move in and out of the dirt surround the planting area .
They typically place stressed trees , and the grownup eat up through the barque and into the sapwood , where they disturb the bast , or the wheat - like structures that move H2O in the tree .
A wakeless infestation can completely girdle ramification or trunks . These pests tend to hang out on the sunniest side of tree diagram , so look for non-white depressions and girdled branches on those areas first .
The symptoms can look standardised to damage from other borer specie , with frass - filled hole , discolored depressions , and weeping sap . You will also see dead branches and free bark .
woodpecker have it away these pests and carpenter ants eat the larva . But if you are facing a large plague , bank on innate predators is n’t enough .
The first gradation is to do what you could to keep your plum tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree sound . Remember , these plague are pull to weak or stressed specimens because they ca n’t feed on trees that have healthy , grow tissue full of sap .
You should also strip up any weeds and debris from around your plum tree tree diagram to expose the larvae and beetles and deprive them of overwinter situation .
you could also employ sticky traps wrapped around the trunk to capture any grownup or larvae climb up or down the bole .
Sticky Blue Adhesive
you could grab a roll of sticky spicy adhesive on four , seven , or 11 - foot width and 328 - foot lengthsat Arbico Organics .
Examine the trunk for holes and use a knife to edit out aside a petty mo of the bark at the country . Then , use a wire to stab and remove the larva .
There is n’t an effective insecticide treatment for the larvae once they get under the bark .
If your plum tree diagram is hard infested and has multiple dead or die branches , there is n’t much you could do .
you may try get rid of the most infested branch , but it ’s probably better to just remove the specimen exclusively .
3. Peach Twig Borer
Peach branchlet stone drill ( Anarsia lineatella ) are n’t super unwashed , and they can be a pain in the butt some years and no big deal in others .
The adults are moth with dappled grey and brown wings , but they are n’t the one that do the price .
The white larvae emerge in the spring from their nests on the plum tree diagram to burrow into the young , grow shoot tips . As they age , they turn dark brown with white banding and are half an inch long .
The twigs they burrow into eventually die , and transude sap out of the peak .
Then , the larvae pupate , adults emerge , and the bicycle go along with a 2d genesis . This meter , the larvae tunnel into the modernise yield , go into near the stem .
Since the larva become active based on environmental temperature changes , you ’ll need to talk to your local extension office to figure out when to deal your plant life .
To control this plum tree pest , spray your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with sleeping oil before they bud out in the late wintertime or early spring . This will smother some of the overwintering larvae .
Then , grab a product that curb the good bacteriaBacillus thuringiensisv.kurstaki(Btk ) .
Bonide Thuricide
Something like Bonide ’s Thuricide is a good choice and can be purchasedat Arbico Organicsin quart or gal quick - to - use or eight- or 16 - ounce dressed ore .
Spray according to the schedule suggested by your local extension .
you may discover more about peach sprig borers in our guide .
4. Peach Moth
The peach moth ( Grapholita molesta ) , which also go by the outdated name oriental fruit moth , has become an increasingly substantial trouble in North America in late year .
They can bring forth up to six generations per twelvemonth , which means a pretty steadfast infestation of the damaging larvae .
The adult are gray nighttime - flying moths about half an inch long , but once again it ’s the larvae that cause all the problems . They are white with a disastrous head and eventually mature to about half an inch long with pink consistency and chocolate-brown heads .
The larvae bore into the shoot of the plum tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and will also tip on the fruit , entering at the stem end or in protect areas such as where two fruits have-to doe with – you did remember tothin your plum , correct ?
If you ’ve ever dealt with codling moths on apples , the damage looks the same in your plums .
Beyond the impairment they do to the yield , infest twigs will also have wilted leave along with a gummed sap seepage out .
The plum tree responds by sending out lateral shoot below where the larvae stop tunneling , which imply a long - term plague can ensue in some strangely bushy trees .
Your local extension place will calculate the phone number of level hours between 45 and 90 ° F , which is when the larva develop . you’re able to reach out to them to retrieve out when this is and when to startle treating your plum tree tree .
Commercial plantation bank on sprayable pheromones to disrupt the breeding phase and have heavy succeeder , but it only turn on the grownup , not the larva .
5. Peachtree Borers
The greater peachtree or clearwing borer ( Synanthedon exitiosa ) is the most unwashed and destructive stone drill to impact plums , and they also attackalmonds , apricots , cherries , Prunus persica nectarina , andpeaches .
This is a nasty pest to have in your garden .
The adults are moth with semitransparent wing that adulterate up to an inch and a fourth when capable , and brand gloomy organic structure with an orange band . They are aboriginal to North America .
The females lay up to 600 ballock each in later give and in a week or so the bollock hatch and the cerise - brown to pallid white larvae emerge . They burrow through the barque near the soil level and into the cambium level .
When they ’re present , you ’ll see dying branches and promiscuous barque at the soil level . Leaves might also deform yellow and growing can be stunted .
You ’ll often discover sawdust - like frass , perhaps along with oozing cosh hail out of the calibre fix . Keep an heart out for pupal cases around the base of the tree diagram , too .
It help to keep any works , whether naturalize or weeds , away from the al-Qaeda of the plum trees .
You ’re go to need a multi - biramous access to cover a peachtree borer plague . The first is to expend good roundworm .
BothSteinernema carpocapsaeandHeterorhabditis bacteriophoraare effective against the larva .
NemAttack Beneficial Nematodes
Grab a combo clique of 10 , 50 , 250 , or 500 million of these helpful roundwormsfrom Arbico Organics , summate water , and apply the commixture to the torso of your plum Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
You really require to work out it into the fracture and possibility in the trunk .
Next , use an insect powder to vote out the eggs . You ’ll need a mathematical product that contain spinosad or pyrethrins and apply it every ten sidereal day starting in the summertime .
Monterey Garden Insect Spray
you could find eight - ounce , dry pint , quart , or gallon amount of Monterey Garden Insect Spray , which contains spinosad , at Arbico Organics .
6. Plum Curculio
agriculturalist in western US do n’t have to worry about the plum tree curculio ( Conotrachelus nenuphar ) so much , but those east of the Rockies postulate to be open-eyed .
This glum brown beetle is a lawful weevil with a farseeing honker and it is n’t very large , stay on under a third of an column inch long , but it does some earnestly oversized damage .
The adult hang out underground and in plant detritus during the wintertime .
When temperatures warm up in the spring , they cringe or fly up into the tree and start to feed on the tiny educate fruits .
As the fruits grow grown , the females poke holes in the skin and pose their testis . One female can lay hundreds of bollock . They also lay testis inapples , cerise , peaches , pears , and nectarines .
Once the eggs think of , the grubs get to work . The third - of - an - in - long bloodless grubs have small-scale brown headway , and they tunnel into the centre of the yield to feed .
This eating not only render the fruit uneatable , but it can also do yield fall .
To tackle these weevil , you once again need to engage a multi - pronged approach . First , lay a tarpaulin down under the plum tree tree and give it a good shingle .
The beetles do n’t have great traveling bag , so they ’ll topple out and land on the tarp . Do this in the morning time when they ’re still sulky from the night , and you ’ll have even better results . Then , fold up the tarp and dispose of the beetles .
You should always make clean up any fallen fruit because they could be fill up with eggs or larvae . Also , it aid to cultivate the grunge under the plum trees in the spring to uncover any larvae that have fall to the filth .
Finally , if this does n’t address the job , you ’ll want to spray repeatedly in the outpouring when the adults become alive but before they have a chance to lie bollock .
The first nebuliser should be applied when the flower petals fall down from the tree . The next should be a week later , and the final one a calendar week after that .
Use a production that hold in pyrethrins or the beneficial fungusBeauveria bassiana . Or better yet , both !
A Cartesian product like BotaniGard Maxx contains pyrethrins , which are made from chemicals found in chrysanthemum peak that are toxic to insect as well asB. bassiana , which parasitizes pest insects .
BotaniGard Maxx
find fault up a quart , gallon , or two - and - a - half gallonat Arbico Organics .
7. San Jose Scale
While other scale species might feed on plum , nine time out of 10 it will be San Jose scale ( Quadraspidiotus perniciosus ) that overrun your plum tree trees .
These pest are ellipse or disk - shaped and grayish in colour .
The adults are fairly flat and do n’t move , so you might not even remark they ’re on your tree diagram unless you look nearly . The mobile chicken ass-kisser ordinarily also go unnoticed .
These pests use their go down on mouthpart to fertilise on bark and twigs , injecting a damaging toxin as they do .
expectant infestations can cause the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to lose vigor and produce a reduced harvest or turn the fruit . It can even kill young or weak specimen .
It ’s commonly the sticky honeydew the pestilence secrete or the symptom on the plum tree tree diagram such as yellowing foliation , dry shoots , weak growth , or trim size of it and number of fruits , that tips us off that something is wrong .
If you peel back the bark on green , pliable branches , you ’ll bump red tissue underneath .
A treatment with dormant oil color in the belated wintertime can help suppress populations of this plum gadfly . you may also prune off heavily infested branches .
Once the adult mature , they are cross in a waxy covering that protect them from pesticides , so these are ineffective .
Learn more about how to grapple with scale in our templet .
8. Speckled Green Fruitworm
It ’s lime hydrate green and speckle ! It ’s the speckled green fruitworm ( Orthosia hibisci ) .
These pestilence winter in the dirt and are active in the leap , when the larvae emerge and feed on leave , flowers , and the developing fruit , leaving ragged holes and ding .
To identify these cuss , hold a shallow tray or slice of newspaper under the plum tree diagram and excite the limb . They ’ll fall right off .
Spray a merchandise containing spinosad orBacillus thuringiensiswhen the yield starts grow . Either intersection is highly effective against these soft - bodied dirt ball .
9. Western Flower Thrips
These flyspeck critter ( Frankliniella occidentalis ) are more of a nuisance than a major problem , though they can propagate disease that make much big way out .
However , in big numbers , they can induce serious terms to the fruits , especially in fragile - skinned cultivars .
The xanthous - chocolate-brown insect are about 0.05 of an inch long with clear annexe , though you ’ll have to get skinny to see them . The unfledged shape looks the same but miss wings .
These sap - sucking plum pests eat on the flowers and young fruit , stimulate scarring on the tegument . The feeding can also run to deformed fruit .
Unlike borers , which shroud inside the barque of tree , and exfoliation , which have a protective coating , thripid are queer , making them easier to get free of .
Grab your spinosad and apply it thoroughly to the trees at petal drop . That should take care of the adults and any eggs or houri .
Learn more about how to consider with thrips in our guide .
Stop Pestering Me!
I ’ll keep my digit cut across that you never experience plum pest , but since you ’re here , I ’m guessing that something is jaw your trees and it ’s causing concern .
Remember , continue your trees healthy will go a longsighted way toward keeping pests at embayment or helping them survive an infestation .
And formore data about growing and give care for plum tree , read these guides next :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
