[mdjlucan]

Insect spray What’s the best spray to spray my grapes my raspberries my gooseberries my black currents  before they bud Thanks

[Yorkie]

Which insects are on the plants at the moment?

[jezza]

Hello if theres no sign of insects on your fruit bushes it's a waste of time spraying, there use to be tar oils but they killed beneficial insects (Ladybirds etc) there are plant based insecticides   jezza

[mdjlucan]

I did not net  my gooseberry bushes up last year and I noticed that one of the bushes leaves  Was chewed pieces

[jezza]

Hello chewed leaves on a gooseberry Bush is usually  Sawfliy caterpillars, if they attack when the fruit are ripe it can be an advantage as the fruit are easy to see ,jezza

[Grubbypaws]

I did not net  my gooseberry bushes up last year and I noticed that one of the bushes leaves  Was chewed pieces

Possibly gooseberry sawfly larvae. netting doesnt really help much. When you find them you need to squash them as they will return if left alive. The adult flies find the gooseberry plants by smell so I have tried underplanting with garlic which seemed to work last year.

[Grubbypaws]

For greenfly and blackfly fill an old litre bottle with water and one teaspoon of washing up liquid. Either use a spray bottle or buy a spray attachment.  When you get them wet with this it kills them immediately by stopping them breathing. It is a little time consuming but can be very satisfying!