8 fight pests on wine naturally | home remedies

The caterpillars of this moth already damage the shoots of the vines. They hibernate on the ground in the leaves or under the old bark and become active on the first warm days of the year. The warmer it gets, the more voracious they become.

• The first signs of damage can be seen at the end of March/beginning of April
• Buds are partially or completely hollowed out
• Caterpillars are 4-6 cm long and inconspicuous grey-brown
• they are good at camouflage

combat

The caterpillars can easily be picked up by hand from a few vines. That is why chemical sprays are not necessary in a private garden. If the weather also favors rapid budding, the damage done is limited anyway.

Red Spider – Panonychus ulmi

It is also known as the fruit tree spider mite. It also infests grapevines in the home garden. Because these red spiders are less than a millimeter in size, they are difficult to spot with the naked eye. The symptoms that appear from the flowering period of the vine are unmistakable and clear:

• Suck marks on leaves
• fine, light to brownish speckles
• first along the leaf veins
• later scattered all over the sheet
• shoot growth also decreases
• Grapes become smaller and paler

combat

The best way to fight the red spider biologically is with another tiny one. Obtain predatory mites of the species Typhlodromus pyri from the Internet. They will go hunting for the eight-legged friends for you. An old household remedy is the regular hosing down of the infested plant with water. It reduces the pressure of infestation, but cannot always completely combat the pest on the wine.

Vine weevil – Byctiscus betulae

This pest is relatively large and therefore hard to miss.

• the beetle is 5 to 7 cm tall
• its body shines metallically in blue, gold or violet
• April to September is their time
• Leaves are wilted by gnawing
• the own brood is then wrapped in it

Since each female has destroyed up to 30 leaves, the vine’s supply can quickly be jeopardized. That’s why we can’t wait.

combat

Check the wine regularly. Immediately collect any bugs you spot. It also helps not to plant a vine close to a deciduous tree. This means that an infestation can occur less frequently.

Dickmaulrüssler – Otiorhynchus

Even the vine weevil , which we know as a pest of other plants, does not spare the wine. The nocturnal beetles eat semicircular holes in the leaves, but they do not cause much damage. Their larvae, which live in the ground, are more dangerous. They gnaw at the roots and life-threateningly disrupt the supply of the plant. They also increase the risk of an accompanying fungal infection.

• Beetles hatch in May
• lay eggs until August
• after three weeks the larvae hatch

If you suspect an infestation, you should carry out a nightly check with a flashlight.

combat

A proven home remedy can help us to capture the beetle biologically. Place a pot filled with wood shavings under the vine. Also several. The beetles hide in it during the day and can then easily be moved out of reach. The larvae can be controlled biologically with roundworms. You can order suitable nematodes quickly and cheaply on the Internet. The months of April and May are optimal for this biological measure. Alternatively, you can spoil their appetite with neempress cake. This is incorporated into the soil where the neem oil, which is poisonous to insects, can spread.

Reblaus – Daktulosphaira vitifoliae

The appearance of phylloxera used to spread fear and terror among winegrowers. Because it comes in droves and is actually able to kill the affected vines. That is why an infestation of Daktulosphaira vitifoliae is notifiable, even if it is a single vine in the home garden. But first the phylloxera has to be recognized.

• Females are about 1mm long
• are ocher yellow and have wings
• Males have no wings
• their coloring is light yellow
• thickenings are visible at the roots of the vine
• Leaves show nodular galls

combat

For a long time, European grape varieties were helplessly at the mercy of this pest imported from America. Because it cannot be effectively combated either biologically or chemically, let alone with a household remedy. Then a solution was finally found: the grafting of endangered grape varieties on resistant rootstocks of American grape varieties. Cultivating a grafted variety is also the only way to keep damage caused by phylloxera tolerable for the home garden.

Rebenpockenmilbe – Colomerus vitis

As the infestation progresses, a white felt forms, which appears reddish-brown in red grape varieties. That is why it is strongly reminiscent of the fungal disease powdery mildew . It can happen to inexperienced owners of a vine that they act against the wrong enemy. So watch out for other signs:

• pock-like elevations on the upper sides of the leaves
• they can occur in spring and summer
• usually before the white felt

combat

The sight of defaced leaves may seem dramatic, but it’s just a visual issue that you don’t necessarily need to address. The wine suffers no serious damage. Four home remedies are waiting for this pest on the wine. Two biological home remedies rely on the help of animals, such as space mites and predatory gall midges. Another home remedy is to spray the vine with an 8:1 water to milk solution. Otherwise, the affected leaves are picked off and disposed of. If the infestation pressure is very high, you can use a commercially available agent based on rapeseed oil to combat grape pox mites biologically.

Kirschessigfliege – Drosophila suzuki

The spotted-wing drosophila is not to be confused with the native fruit fly. It is a species that was introduced from Asia only a few years ago. It multiplies so quickly that it has now also developed into a serious pest in winegrowing in this country, which does not disdain any grape variety . These external features are typical of this fly species:

• Size between 2 and 3 mm
• yellow-brown coloring, red eyes
• Males have a dark spot on the back of each wing
• the laying apparatus of the females is toothed

The dangerous thing about this fly is that it can lay its eggs in unripe fruit.

combat

Set up baited traps with apple cider vinegar as a lure to detect an infestation of the wine early. Already damaged grapes are picked and disposed of. Enjoy ripe grapes promptly, before cherry flies get a chance to poke small holes in them. So-called cherry fly nets, which are very close-meshed, offer good protection. In addition, a well-sunned vine is not particularly inviting, which is why you should carefully thin out a dense foliage.

Wespen – Vespinae

In some years there can be a real wasp plague in the home garden. Especially when there is a wasp’s nest near a vine, the grapes are flown to en masse as soon as they ripen. The berries are pricked at random and then begin to rot. The wasps can completely destroy your harvest, but the wine will survive.

combat

Since wasps are protected by law, you must not fight them with chemicals or with a household remedy that kills them. Likewise, resettlement is only permitted in exceptional cases. Protect the grapes from these insects with a fine-mesh net. Pick out individual damaged grapes so that the rot cannot spread further. Take comfort in the fact that autumn will leave the nest. So nothing stands in the way of a sweet harvest in the following year.

More pests on wine

The list of wine pests goes on and on. Therefore, if you cannot assign your observations to a previously described pest, you should also consider other causes. Among other things, there are:

• Crossed and single-stranded grape berry moth
• Eulenraupen
• Green leafhopper
• Vine Scale Insect
• Rebenthrips
• jumpworm moth

In the home garden there is also a risk that the scent and color of ripe berries will also attract some birds, such as the starling and the blackbird. They develop a large appetite and hardly leave a grape whole. Protect the wine by completely hiding it under a fine-mesh net.