Winter moths are a common problem for most fruit trees particularly apples,pears,plums and cherries.

The adults emerge from the soil between late autumn and midwinter and the wingless females crawl up the trunk to lay their eggs on the branches.The green caterpillars can be easily identified in the early spring, due to the dark stripe along their backs and the way they arch their bodies when they move.

The catterpillars feed on the leaves and flowers not only can this reduce the amount of fruit produced or leave it deformed.It can weaken the tree and make it more open to diseases and other pest attacks.

The most sensible preventive measure is to make a barrier so that adult winter moths (which can not fly) can not reach the branches.Try appying a sticky band of glue or grease around the trunks of the fruit trees and their stakes, to trap some of the female moths.

Place the bands 45cm (1ft 6inches) above soil level before the moths emerge latter this month.Although moth activity slows down after January some species are active until April, so you may need to reapply grease from time to time.Placing the sticky band is also useful for protecting your fruit trees against ants and vine weevil as well.

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