[hubballi]

I have had this bush for around three years and never had sawfly attack. Lovely berries but the leaves almost overnight have been stripped clean. Looked and indeed there were tiny caterpillars all over them. I gave the whole bush a jet spray and they seem to have gone. There are a few leaves left but I am concerned that the berries will now not grow any bigger or will they? They are turning red which is a surprise as the label shws them as green berries.

I watched GW a few weeks ago and Monty warned to check for saw fly crawling up the stems. I did check and kept my eye on it so how has this happened ?

[BabbyAnn]

If you have just jet sprayed, then all those caterpillars have landed on the ground and are making their way back up to carry on.  Sawfly damage really can look like an overnight mystery - one day a healthy looking bush, next down to a bare skeleton.  I think that's because the small caterpillars look so well camouflaged that you just don't see them, then they get big quickly with bigger appetites.  Redcurrant are also susceptible to the same kind of thing.

With regards to the fruit, they must be nearly ready by now?  So will just be a case of ripening off - the fruit may be a little smaller.  As for the red colour, the picture on the label means nothing - what variety did you buy?

[hubballi]

I can't remember what they were. I think they were from b and M or Wilko. I picked a few berries off earlier this month to give the rest a chance of getting bigger. A bit like thinning out. How do you get rid of sawfly then ?

[BabbyAnn]

How do you get rid of sawfly then ?

After 3 years of seeing my bushes stripped and the plants just not growing, I used an approved pesticide, and did another treatment the following year.  This not only killed off the offending sawfly but the 2nd treatment knocked future sawfly infestation on the head and thereafter the bushes managed to get growing again.  I think the original infestation came in the soil of the pots when I bought the plants.  That's not to say they won't get another infestation again but (touch wood) I've been lucky for the past 5 years.

[hubballi]

Ii'l just keep jet spraying them then because I can't see anymore and I did it 3 days ago. In my small garden I seem to get every pest known to man. Onion fly, carrot fly, saw fly, aphids, cabbage root fly, lilly beetle, scale and more ! Oh, and our garden is walled so how do you work that out the insects that are not supposed to be able to fly more than a foot or so ?

[willp]

Sawfly are an absolute pain in the proverbial - as said by BabbyAnn, an apparently healthy bush appears stripped overnight.

I usually keep a good eye out and pick them off when I see them - they are extremely well camouflaged on the bush. This works well for us as we only have the one bush - I feel sorry for anyone with more.
If you haven`t the time or have a lot of bushes, the pesticide route may be the only realistic option.

I suspect, that leaving nets off bushes as long as feasible - certainly removing them after fruiting is a good idea. The same birds that you`ve kept away from your berries will relish a chance to peck over for caterpillars.

I have also heard that mulching bushes early in the season with a good thick layer of wet newspaper covered with straw, leaves or W.H.Y helps.
The larvae pupate in the soil under the bushes and this will prevent adults from emerging in the spring - It will want to be in place by April.

Will

[Beetroot queen]

We have a problem with sawfly in our back garden, we ended up digging out the yellow raspberries as we just couldnt get on top but sawfly stay in the soil so its going to come back as i made a boo boo and picked up thornless backberries in lidl and put them in the same area.

My blackcurrants also have a few tale tale holes but i have yet to find an sawfly on them. When i looked all i found was tiny spiders underneath? 

I will spray as soon as i find the blighters as they are just awful, we are also not taking any soilmfrom home to the plot just incase.

[hubballi]

Ihave just gone over them and squashed as many as I could but its not easy. I have a black currant, white currant bush next to them too so I hope they don't start on those. Hopefully now I have killed most of them that will be the end.

[BabbyAnn]

Ihave just gone over them and squashed as many as I could but its not easy. I have a black currant, white currant bush next to them too so I hope they don't start on those. Hopefully now I have killed most of them that will be the end.

I have red, white and black currant bushes along with the gooseberry in the same bed - the white and black currant bushes seemed unaffected, but the red currant was a sawfly victim so you might get lucky.

[hubballi]

Surely putting something sticky on the stems of the bushes would prevent them climbing up ?

[Beetroot queen]

My blackcurrants have them, i had a super close look at them this afternoon after reading and responding here

[hubballi]

I am going to try this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/5551640/Organic-gardening-and-pests-the-gooseberry-sawfly.html

[mumofstig]

That says

To prevent gooseberry sawfly caterpillars

whether it will work once you've already got them, you'll have to let us know..................

[Aunt Sally]

I am going to try this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/5551640/Organic-gardening-and-pests-the-gooseberry-sawfly.html

Where will you get a a bucket of foxglove leaves, Hubballi.  Don't go picking wild ones !

[hubballi]

Plenty in my garden sally.