, - these are not all the difficulties that gardeners face. Aphids on raspberries, caterpillars and all kinds of bugs are a nuisance, and in order not to be left with a dozen shriveled sour berries, raspberries must be treated for pests.
It is difficult to fight with a nameless enemy, but we almost always identify insects as “some kind of bugs” or “worms in a berry.” Therefore, we invite you to find out what they look like raspberry pests in pictures, and to know, how to treat raspberries against pests.
Let us immediately mention that most pests are adjusted to the cycle of two-year-old raspberries, and overwinter in the lower part of the shoots or foliage. Therefore, remontant raspberries, which are cut at the root for the winter, suffer much less from insects. And to make life easier for traditional raspberries, when pruning, do not leave stumps or fallen leaves.
Raspberry pests and their control
Raspberry-strawberry weevil
These raspberry pests “work” in the spring. They are very fond of young leaves, and when raspberries throw out buds, they lay one egg at the base of the bud (one individual can lay up to fifty eggs). Having hatched, the larvae gnaw through the entrance to the bud, eat it out from the inside, which is why it dries out or darkens, and falls off. If such a bud is broken, you can see a tiny white larva with a yellow head. Subsequently, the larvae pupate, and in mid-June a bug hatches from them, which closes the circle and begins a new cycle. During the season, the weevil on raspberries can reproduce two or three generations, with the 2nd and 3rd ones affecting the berries and stems (leaves with a hole in them are one of the signs that your raspberries are suffering from the weevil). The insect overwinters in the upper layers of soil and fallen leaves.
Raspberry-strawberry weevil: prevention and control
Since this pest has a wide specialization, treating only raspberries is not enough - you need to start with strawberries. In early spring, before the snow melts, areas of strawberries and raspberries are shed with hot water from a watering can (70-80°C). This will not harm the roots in the frozen ground.
It is difficult to fight the raspberry-strawberry weevil once it has already colonized the garden bed. Spraying with chemicals during flowering and fruiting is not carried out. In this case, you can try get rid of the weevil by spraying with folk remedies during flowering or bud formation:
For a bucket of water – 1 tbsp. tar and three tablespoons of soap (for dissolution);
Tansy flower decoction
2 tbsp. l. mustard powder per 1 bucket of water (let the solution stand for several hours)
2 tbsp. l. soda for 1 bucket of water
But, ideally, spraying raspberries against pests should be carried out before flowering with either karbofos (50 g per bucket of water), or Iskra, Confidor, Actellik and other insecticides. Raspberries are processed in the same way after fruiting.
Raspberry stem fly
The main damage to the plant is caused raspberry fly larvae- white worms. The adult lays an egg on the ground, near the young shoot. The larva that hatches from it bites into the tender stem and spoils it from the inside. If you notice that the crown of a young shoot has dried up on top, then you will definitely notice a small hole 5-10 centimeters from the ground - the entry point of the raspberry fly larva. Having broken the affected stem, you will see the culprit itself. If by the time it is “caught” it does not have time to escape, with the beginning of flowering the worm descends down the stem, buries itself in the ground for the winter, so that in the spring, in May, it can begin its growth again.
Raspberry stem fly: prevention and control
First of all, as soon as you notice the wilting of young shoots, urgently cut them below the entry point of the larvae, take them away from the site and dispose of them. This will significantly reduce the number of pests in your raspberry garden.
Since the raspberry stem fly overwinters in the ground, as a preventive measure you can loosen the ground (but carefully, raspberries have shallow roots) with the addition of ash (about a half-liter jar per square), or mustard or pepper powder. Fly does not like tar, so it is recommended to add it to mulch (for example, soak sawdust with a tar solution).
As for treating raspberries against stem fly with chemicals, this measure is permissible only in cases of total damage to the raspberry tree. The bed is treated before flowering, when the shoots have grown no more than 15 cm. Actellik or karbofos can be used as an insecticide.
Raspberry beetle
You take off a ripe, delicious berry, and there is a white worm. This is the larva of the raspberry beetle. They begin to fly at the end of spring, feeding on earlier berry bushes and weeds, but as soon as buds appear on the raspberries, they bite into them, also affecting the leaves. At the base of the ovary, in the flower, adult beetles lay eggs. The larvae that emerge initially live outside, but quickly move inside the berry, eating the fruit and the berry itself. Raspberries grow tasteless and often rot. Thus, both adults (damage buds) and larvae (damage berries) cause harm. The raspberry beetle overwinters in the soil.
Raspberry beetle: prevention and control
Fighting this raspberry pest complicated by the fact that we see the results of its activity when the raspberries are almost ripe. In this case, spraying the berries with any chemicals is prohibited, and all we can do is collect the pest manually. The sooner you notice it, the less damage will be caused to the crop. Early in the morning, preferably every day, the ground under the raspberry tree is covered with oilcloth and the crop is crushed. It’s labor-intensive, but there’s no way out.
If you remembered the danger of the raspberry beetle before its activation, before flowering the bushes can be treated with karbofos, Confidor, Decis. Since the pest lives on weeds before raspberries, make sure that there are as few of them on the site as possible. The soil must be loosened (shallow). You can also protect raspberry bushes from beetles if you cover the raspberry bush directly during flowering with a nylon mesh with very small cells or spandbond. All berries with larvae are collected and taken away from the site.
Raspberry gall midges
Two types of gall midges attack raspberries - stem and shoot. The first species produces only one generation per season, laying about a dozen eggs on the lower part of young shoots; the hatched yellow or orange caterpillars bite into the stem, form a swelling, in which they overwinter. The shoot gall midge on raspberries gives 2-3 generations per season, and the larvae overwinter in the soil, at the base of the shoot. The main signs that this raspberry pest has visited your plantings are cracks in the lower part of the stem, swellings, crevices, and cracks in the bark. They are usually discovered in late autumn. The stems of plants affected by gall midges grow underdeveloped, and the berries on them become small.
Shooting raspberry galitsa 
Stem raspberry galitz 
Stem raspberry galitz Gall midges on raspberries: prevention and control
Immediately after fruiting, inspect your raspberry tree, and if you find any hated growths—galls—cut them out of the stem. If there are few lesions, you can cut the stem completely. Before wintering, the raspberry plantings are looked through again - by this time new growths may have “ripened”. Quite often, gall midges are transmitted with affected planting material. Chemical treatments help little, since they cannot “leak” into the gall. For prevention, it is recommended to treat raspberries twice with 0.1% karbofos or Actellik, and carefully dig up the soil around the bushes in the fall and spring.
Aphids on raspberries
This pest comes to raspberries in the spring, before buds open, and occupies the bush in June-August. Settles in aphids on raspberries, mainly on the tops of shoots and on the undersides of leaves. Female aphids lay larvae on shoots, where they overwinter. As a result of aphid management, raspberry leaves turn yellow and curl; flowers may not bloom or fall off; shoots grow short and deformed; leaves and stems become covered in sugary aphid excrement. In addition, aphids carry many viruses, including mosaic.
Aphids on raspberries: how to fight
In general, they fight aphids on raspberries in the same way as on any plant. It should be remembered that this pest prefers shaded, dense plantings, where there are a lot of weeds and little loosening of the soil. How spray raspberries against aphids? First, try: infusion or decoction of tobacco, tansy, potato or tomato tops, calendula, onion peel, yarrow. It is advisable to add 3 tablespoons of soap to each infusion - for better adhesion, then you can treat raspberries against aphids only once a week. And if there are few insects, try to “knock” them off the raspberry tree with a fairly powerful stream from a hose, and then spray them with the mentioned herbal infusions.
If you prefer chemical treatment of raspberries against pests, before flowering or after fruiting, spray the bushes with the same “Aktellik”, “Fufanon”, “Antilin”, “Karbofos”.
Mite on raspberries
There are two types of these arachnids found on raspberries - spider and raspberry mites. If there is a web on the raspberry (on the underside of the leaves), then it is a spider mite; if the underside of the leaf is covered with light oily spots, this is a raspberry mite. Spider mites on raspberries become active in May, demonstrating a peak of settlement in hot, dry weather; they spend the winter in leaf litter or weeds, and raspberry mites spend the winter in bud scales. The affected leaves first become marbled, then dry out and fall off.
Raspberry mite infection is very similar to a viral disease 
Spider mite 
Symptoms of spider mite damage to raspberries 
Mite on raspberries: prevention and control
Remember that mites are not insects, but arachnids, so treating raspberries against mites is carried out not with insecticides, but with acaricides (or insectoacaricides). Suitable preparations are Fufanon, karbofos, metaphos, colloidal sulfur. Since spider mites affect so many garden crops, you won’t solve the problem by fighting the mite only on raspberries - you need to treat the entire garden. If there are a lot of mites, the plantings are treated several times - after fruiting and in the spring, before buds open. Trim old raspberry shoots in a timely manner.
Raspberry bud moth
Brown butterflies with white spotted wings on raspberries are adult bud moths. But it is not they that cause the main damage to the plant, but their larvae. Before the buds open, the larvae bite into them, destroy them from the inside, after which they penetrate the stem and pupate there. The result is a dead bud and a barren stem. When the raspberries bloom, you can see the aforementioned butterflies on the raspberries, laying eggs in the flowers. The emerging caterpillars on raspberries eat the fruit and migrate down the stem, shoots and overwinter in the bark on the lower parts of the stem in cocoons and stumps left by you after pruning. In the spring, shoots inhabited by bud moths will not be able to develop.
Raspberry bud moth: prevention and control
In spring, mercilessly cut out and destroy suspicious stems. Such mechanical methods of pest control will help raspberry fields with single individuals of the bud moth. If the defeat is large-scale, use the same means as in the fight against the raspberry beetle. Do not forget that old, unpruned shoots are breeding grounds for many raspberry pests, including bud moths.
Glassware on raspberries
Quite large yellow-striped butterfly on raspberry, which begins its life closer to mid-summer, is a glass glass. At the base of raspberry stems, glass cases lay eggs; the white caterpillars that emerge from them climb into the stems and roots, causing them to become covered with growths. The caterpillars overwinter and pupate in the roots and stems, and by the end of June next year they turn into butterflies. Such shoots grow poorly, bear little fruit and become very brittle in the lower part.
Glasswort on raspberries: prevention and control
As you have noticed, the symptoms of glassworm infestation are similar to the work of gall midges or stem flies. Therefore, prevention and treatment of raspberries against the pest will be approximately the same: cut off old shoots in a timely manner, remove growths, since it is almost impossible to get to the core of the stem or root with an insecticide. For prevention, before the leaves bloom, raspberries are treated with karbofos (60 grams per bucket of water) and the treatment is repeated before flowering.
Leaf roller on raspberries
These pests on raspberries are not found as often as on other shrubs and fruit trees. There are many types of leaf rollers, and almost a dozen of them are found on raspberries. Adults are brown, yellowish or reddish butterflies. But leaf roller caterpillars about 2 cm in size cause particular harm to raspberries. They feed on the leaves, entwining them with cobwebs, which is why the raspberry leaf curls, although during flowering they also attack flowers, buds, buds, and later the fruits. Leaf rollers fly mainly from May to September.
Leaf rollers on raspberries: prevention and control methods
If the leaves on the raspberries are already curled due to the leaf roller, all you have to do is tear them off and remove them. But keep in mind that raspberries are not the most favorite plant of leaf rollers, so you need to start processing from fruit trees. This is done in early spring with the insecticides Fufanon, Actellik, Terradim, Calypso, Avant, Binom, etc. In the summer, fighting leaf rollers with insecticides is not only ineffective, but also dangerous to your health. Before flowering, leaf rollers can be expelled using folk remedies - wormwood infusion, tobacco infusion, potato or tomato tops. Although the fight against leaf rollers is a separate topic, because the life cycle of some representatives of this species is significantly different from others.
As you have seen, innocent-looking bugs on raspberries can cause significant damage to the crop. Cleanliness in the garden bed, timely loosening of the soil, burning of plant residues, preventive treatment - this is the guarantee that pests on raspberries, if they appear, will be quickly disarmed by competent agricultural practices.
Tatyana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board, correspondent of the online publication "AtmAgro. Agro-industrial Bulletin"
One of the most dangerous pests of raspberries, which can affect both the volume and quality of the harvest, is the raspberry fly. And in order to prevent massive damage to plantings, it is necessary to choose the right methods of combating this pest and use them in a timely manner.
The summer period of the raspberry fly coincides with the time when young shoots emerge: the pest gnaws through the stem and descends along it into the soil, where it hides for the winter
Characteristic
In May, when the substrate in the areas where the larvae are located warms up to +12...13°C, they pupate. Development in the pupa lasts about 7-9 days, after which adult flies emerge, whose years last from 8 to 10 days. In cold and rainy weather, the flight may take a little longer - up to 20 days. Under such conditions, most pupae die.
Emerging mature flies feed on flower nectar, dew and sugar secretions of other pest insects, after which the females lay eggs. They usually place eggs on the tops and in the axils of not yet formed leaves, young shoots and in the root shoots of raspberries.
The fertility of female raspberry stem flies is 60-90 eggs. Development in the egg takes from 5 to 8 days, after which the larvae emerge. Young growth bites into the middle of young stems and makes spiral and ring-like passages. The apical parts of damaged stems gradually wither, turn black and die over time. After 12-16 days, the larvae stop feeding. They gnaw through the stem and use the passages they make to descend into the soil for the winter. There they entangle themselves in a false cocoon and remain until spring.
On a note! The number of raspberry stem fly is limited by many predatory insects, especially ground beetles!
How to destroy a pest? We choose a drug.
Insecticides
If the number of stem fly colonies is large, then insecticides should be used.
Important! It is advisable to carry out the first spraying with insecticides during the period of mass emergence of flies!
- "Spark". The drug is available in the form of tablets, which must be dissolved in a certain amount of water before use. To treat an area against raspberry flies, one tablet is dissolved in 10 liters of water and the bushes are sprayed with a fresh solution.
- "Karbofos". This drug works well against a wide range of leaf-eating garden pests. It is advisable to spray the working solution (60 g per 10 liters of water) in the evening at an air temperature of at least +15°C. You should fight the raspberry fly with this drug in the fall after harvesting, as it is toxic to bees and is prohibited for use during the flowering period.
- "Aktellik". Organophosphorus insectoacaricide of intestinal action, which is produced in liquid form and sold in ampoules of 2 ml and in canisters of 5 liters. The working solution is prepared from the contents of one ampoule diluted in two liters of water. In case of very severe infection, the concentration can be increased - the contents of one ampoule per liter of water. Like the previous drug, Actellik is toxic to bees, and therefore is not used during the flowering period.
- "Confidor". Systemic insecticide of contact action. When sprayed, the active ingredients of the drug penetrate the leaves and stems of the plant and spread throughout its entire body.
On a note! “Confidor” is resistant to washing off and works very effectively for 5-15 days even in the heat!
- "Agraventine". Biological preparation of enteric contact action, based on an extract from the soil fungus Streptomyces. Effective and non-addictive. For processing, you must choose a warm day. In hot weather, the effectiveness of the product against stem fly increases, but when the thermometer drops to +18°C and below, it weakens.
- "Fitoverm". Another biological insecticide that can help in the fight against raspberry flies. It starts working 5-8 days after spraying. It is not toxic to bees, so the first treatment can be carried out in the summer, but no later than a couple of days before harvesting the berries.
Important! Insecticide treatment alone will not be enough. In order to completely get rid of the pest, you need to carry out 2-3 sprayings!
The sequence of measures to protect raspberries
Once the raspberry stem fly appears, it is necessary to fight it for a long time, both in spring and summer, and in autumn. The general plan of events is as follows:
- in early spring, as soon as the snow has melted, you should carefully dig up the entire area and thoroughly loosen the soil under the raspberry bushes;
- at the end of spring - around May, when the mass emergence of flies begins, if the drug allows (remember about the toxicity for pollinating insects), we treat with an insecticide;
- during the budding period, we cut out damaged stems and dispose of them immediately;
- in the fall, after harvesting, we again dig up the soil around the bushes, spill it with Bordeaux mixture and, if necessary, repeat the insecticidal treatment. During this period, it is better to use Karbofos.
Prevention
As you can see, the raspberry fly is very dangerous, and the fight against it can take a long time. And in order to avoid troubles and prevent re-infection, it is necessary to act competently throughout the season. The quantity and quality of the harvest will depend on this.
Prevention is quite simple:
- regularly inspect the bushes in your raspberry patch and pay special attention to the condition of young shoots;
- if you know that there is definitely a raspberry fly in the neighboring area, then it would be useful to carry out preventive treatment with the drug “Karbofos” or “Actellik”;
- in spring and autumn, dig up the area and immediately collect all plant debris;
- Before winter, it is advisable to hill up all the bushes and cover the soil around them with mulch from compost or peat.
Remember, if you follow all precautions throughout the season, you can protect your raspberry tree from pest attack. And even if an infection occurs, do not give up, because now you know the methods of combating the raspberry stem fly. They are effective and easy to implement.
Raspberry fly brings a lot of inconvenience to gardeners and gardeners. This small insect is capable of destroying large plantings in a short time. The plants dry out, and it is impossible to stop this process, since the insect eats the branches from the inside.
That is why this small pest is called the crimson stem fly. The insect looks like a small midge. The insect's body is fluffy, and a pair of transparent wings has an oblong shape. The body of an adult pest is no more than seven millimeters in length. The fly lays eggs in raspberry flowers and buds. From them, the larvae descend along the trunk into the ground. The pest gnaws its way into the stem. This is what causes damage to the shoots.
The voracious larvae of the pest are no more than half a centimeter in length. They remain in cocoons all winter, and in the spring they begin to turn into flies. It is during this period that the young growth becomes voracious again and begins to rise from the ground into the raspberry stems. Already on the tenth day, female raspberry flies are ready to reproduce.
It is relatively simple to overcome a pest colony, even though the pest’s fertility is high: up to 90 eggs in one clutch. How to do this and what drugs or folk methods to use for this is described in the article.
Recognizing the pest
You can recognize the sworn enemy of any raspberry plant by the following signs:
- The raspberry branches, or rather its young shoots, drooped.
- Small, loudly ringing midges circle around the seedlings, appearing in the late afternoon.
- The set berries do not grow, but at the same time they begin to turn red.
As soon as at least one of the above signs manifests itself, you should begin processing the plant and combating the pest. If this is not done on time, then after the raspberries are eaten, the neighboring lands will become the food of the raspberry fly.
Effective methods of control
The most effective control methods and a list of the most effective drugs that can destroy or prevent the appearance of raspberry flies in a personal plot are listed below. For convenience, they are divided into three groups:
- Insecticides are chemical and biological substances that cause the death of insects.
- Folk compositions are infusions and natural substances, the action of which is aimed at expelling adult individuals from the raspberry forest and scaring them away.
- Electronic insect repellers are devices that act on insects using a high-frequency wave.
Which option will be most suitable should be determined by the gardener. You should base your choice on an assessment of the benefits and harms of each individual method.
Insecticides
Insecticides used to control raspberry stem fly can be divided into contact and enteric preparations. The action of the first type of means is aimed at eliminating adult insects. The second type of substance affects the larvae. Modern stores also offer complex preparations with an all-encompassing effect that kill both larvae and their parents.
Before using any of these drugs, you should carefully study the instructions for the drug, and also make sure that the expiration date of the drug has not expired. After using any of the insecticides listed above, you should thoroughly wash your hands and face with soap, take a shower and wash your clothes.
Folk remedies
Among the proven folk methods of combating raspberry stem fly, gardeners highlight spraying plants with a solution of ordinary baking soda. The rescue liquid is prepared at the rate of two tablespoons per ten liters of water. The liquid is sprayed on the bushes and soil around the plants during the budding period, when the pest tries to settle on the plant. Manipulation can be done daily. There will be no harm to plants from soda, but flies will not land on “tasteless” raspberries.
A solution of ordinary table salt has a similar effect, but you should not overuse such spraying, because salt, when it gets into the soil, can burn out the roots of plants.
In addition to spraying, you can repel flies with wormwood mulch. From this plant you can also prepare a bitter “tea” - a decoction that should be poured over the plant at the root. Phytoncides will destroy the larvae that have already managed to get to the roots of the plant. You can also water the soil with an infusion of red hot pepper, prepared at the rate of three tablespoons per ten-liter bucket of water..
Repellers
To combat the raspberry fly, you can use electronic devices designed to combat other types of flies. Among the many devices, you should choose those that are capable of covering large areas with a signal.
The frequency that the devices emit should be adjusted specifically to expel flies, and not cockroaches, bedbugs or ants. Devices for fighting mice and other rodents are also not suitable for fighting flies.
The advantages of this method of combating raspberry flies are:
- absolutely harmless to warm-blooded animals and people;
- ease of use.
Also in favor of using this method is the fact that the exposure time of this device is short-term and it should be turned on during the period when flies fly out to lay eggs.
The disadvantage of this method is its high cost, and also the fact that the device is not protected from moisture. The difficulty in using a high-frequency fly repellent is that you need to carefully monitor nature and guess the time when pests fly into the gardens.
Preventive action
You can prevent the appearance of the raspberry fly, which eats the stems and buds of young raspberry shoots, by taking preventive measures. They are:
- Digging and loosening the area occupied by raspberries. This should be done in early spring, as soon as the snow has melted.
- Treatment with bee-safe insecticides and other means that destroy or expel the pest. This treatment should be carried out once, at the time when the mass appearance of sexually mature raspberry flies begins.
- Sanitary pruning of infected stems. It is advisable to do this during the budding period. Sick branches must be disposed of immediately. It would be best to burn them.
- Digging up the soil and treating it with Bordeaux mixture from a spray bottle. Actions should be taken when the juice stops, which happens in late autumn. In the case where the affected area was large, the plants should be treated with Karbafos or another long-acting insecticide.
- Thinning of plantings and timely removal of fallen leaves.
In order to avoid attracting raspberry flies to your site, remember some generally accepted rules and avoid breaking them in every possible way. They are listed below:
- compost heaps should be located far from the beds;
- plants should receive regular feeding with minerals;
- In winter, peat or compost should be spread over the raspberry tree.
Preventive measures to combat the stem pest should be carried out annually even if the raspberry fly has not manifested itself on raspberry bushes. And all because this pest can take a liking to fresh plantings and fly in from a neighboring area where there are no more raspberries.
In conclusion, I would like to say that all methods of combating raspberry flies are simple to implement. By following the recommendations given in the article, you can maintain the health of your raspberry tree and, as a reward, get an excellent harvest of sweet, vitamin-rich and aromatic berries.
For those owners of their own plots who like to grow various berry crops, one of the most annoying pests is the raspberry fly - fighting it always requires a certain amount of time. However, there are some measures that can be taken to prevent the appearance of this insect on your territory or to immediately stop all the harmful effects from it. You will learn from this article exactly what actions need to be performed and when.
Who is the raspberry fly?
The raspberry fly is one of the types of pests common in the vast woodlands and forest-steppe.
Appearance of a raspberry fly
External distinctive features characteristic of this species:
- an adult is an insect whose length can reach 7 mm. It has a gray body, black legs and a specific shaped head.
- larvae - pale white worms without legs up to 5 mm long;
- eggs are oval, white, up to 0.2 mm in size.
Important! The fertility of one individual is quite intense - in 1 season the female lays up to 90 eggs.
Features of life
One of the reasons why the fight against raspberry flies is difficult is that adult individuals gnaw shoots from top to bottom, reach the soil layer and lay eggs in it.
Important! This type of fly affects not only raspberry bushes directly. She also likes similar crops - blackberries, meadowsweet, meadowsweet. That is why, in order to prevent mass damage to your plantings on the site by this pest, you need to choose the right measures to combat the raspberry fly and decide how to get rid of it.
Over time, the eggs form larvae that overwinter in so-called false cocoons. Pupation occurs already in May, and the development of a voracious adult occurs quite quickly - within a period of up to 1.5 weeks.
This fly feeds not only directly on green stems, but also on nectar from flowers, as well as dew and sugar juice, which is obtained in the process of life by other pests.
Important! An option to combat the raspberry fly is to provoke attacks on it by predatory insects or ground beetles. Their help can be very useful, as it contributes to a significant reduction in the population.
How can you tell if a fly is infecting a bush?
Signs that your berry plantings have been visited by a raspberry fly and you have to fight it are quite obvious and visible to the naked eye. If you regularly conduct preventive vegetation inspections, you will be able to notice:
- change in the shade of the leaves - they become reddish, purple, yellow or bronze;
- shoots have specific grooves along the entire length or along the top;
- the stems begin to dry out, do not bear fruit or die completely.
Important! Please note that voracious individuals appear already from mid-May, so during this period you need to especially carefully monitor the condition of the bushes in order to get a decent harvest.
How to deal with raspberry fly?
Until recently, only one method of getting rid of the raspberry fly was welcomed - complete pruning of the bush at the root. But in this case, the volume of the harvest decreased significantly, and re-growth can not be expected for more than 1 year. But even these measures do not always save, since if the raspberry fly has already managed to reach the soil and laid its offspring there, the likelihood of the problem reoccurring is very high.
All these negative consequences of the fight have become the reason for gardeners’ constant search for new solutions on how to get rid of raspberry flies. And there is an alternative. There is a complex technology that is very widespread today, which includes not only direct measures to combat the raspberry fly, but also additional measures in the process of caring for berry plantings.
Measures to combat an existing pest
In order not to completely deprive yourself of the berry harvest and to deal with the problem as quickly as possible without completely removing the bush, proceed this way:
- Find all damaged shoots based on their characteristic features.
- Trim them to a length of about 50 cm or the entire damaged length, taking some of the healthy stem.
- Burn all cut branches immediately.
Important! Do not delay this procedure so that the pest does not have time to completely gnaw through the channel inside the stem and get to fertile soil for laying eggs.
Preventing the appearance of raspberry flies on the site
Preventive measures are an extremely important stage in the fight against raspberry flies. The volume of the harvest and the integrity of your plantings depend on how quickly, timely and correctly you act in different months from spring to late autumn.
At the same time, preventative care is not complicated, so there is no need to prepare yourself for painstaking and tedious work in advance. You just need to do the following:
- Periodically inspect the bushes and note the condition of the bushes.
- Carry out preventive spraying with special insecticidal preparations during shoot regrowth. Suitable for this purpose: Actellik, Karbofos, Ambush, Etafos.
- During the period of swelling of the buds, treat the raspberries with Iskra. A sufficient volume of solution is 2 liters per 10 bushes, and to prepare 10 liters of solution you only need 1 tablet. By the way, this remedy will effectively repel other pests from your berries.
- At the beginning of May, loosen the soil well and add 1 tbsp. l. nitroammophoska for each bush.
- In the fall, after harvesting, dig up and loosen the soil well, collect all fallen leaves and treat the bushes with Karbofos. Hill up the bushes and mulch them with peat or compost to prepare the bushes for the winter cold.
Spring is a favorable time for arranging a plot with raspberries. Regardless of the variety, it must be protected from diseases and pests, pruned, fed, and watered. Only with good care will raspberries produce a bountiful and tasty harvest.
Treatment of bushes is carried out at the beginning of the growing season and during budding (5-7 days before flowering).
During raspberry flowering, any preventive or therapeutic measures should be excluded. Processing the bushes during this period leads to the death of pollinating insects and, as a result, to a deterioration in the harvest.
What to process
Treatment is carried out both with chemicals (urea, copper sulfate, dolomite flour, Bordeaux mixture) and folk remedies (mustard, soda, boiling water, infusions of herbs and flowers).
To strengthen the plants, treatment with urea is carried out in early spring. Take 15-20 grams per square meter. Urea saturates the bushes with nitrogen and makes them less susceptible to disease.
Treating raspberries with copper sulfate helps avoid the appearance of fungal diseases (gray rot, anthracnose). The raspberry stems and the soil around the bushes are processed. For spraying, take 50 grams of vitriol per 5 liters of water.
During the growing season and during active plant growth, treatment with copper sulfate cannot be carried out. It accumulates in berries and stems.
When fighting anthracnose, rust and powdery mildew, treating bushes with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or iron sulfate, Topaz, Nitrofen helps.
The main reasons for the development of infections are high humidity and high acidity of the soil. Reducing watering reduces humidity. Acidity can be reduced using wood ash, slaked lime, and dolomite flour. Take 150 grams per square meter.
Mustard protects raspberries from weevil larvae.
For spraying, take 20 grams of dry mustard per 10 liters of water, mix everything and leave for 12 hours. Spraying the bushes is carried out in several passes.
Instead of mustard, you can take baking soda, dilute 2 tablespoons in 10 liters of water.
Treating the bushes and root circle with boiling water allows you to get rid of most pests. The procedure is carried out after the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up.
If the affected area is small, raspberry beetle larvae can be collected manually. Before flowering, the plant is treated with an infusion of wormwood and marigold. When using Agravertine and Agravertine, the treatment is carried out twice.
During budding, raspberries can be sprayed with tansy infusion.
For the infusion, take 350 grams of dry herbs or a kilogram of freshly harvested raw materials, 5 liters of water. The tansy is infused for a day, then boiled for half an hour, filtered and diluted with the same amount of water.
Mulching with pine needles protects against weevils and gray rot.
Main pests and diseases of raspberries with photos, descriptions and control measures
Pests
The main pests of raspberries are:
- stem gall midge,
- raspberry beetle,
- stem fly,
- weevil,
- spider mite,
- bud moth,
- raspberry nutcracker,
- raspberry glass.
The presence of swellings on the stems and shoots of raspberries indicates that the plant is affected by stem gall midge. Such shoots are pruned and burned.
For prevention, in early spring the soil is loosened to a depth of 5-10 centimeters and sprayed with karbofos or Fufanon.
When the buds appear, re-treatment with Fufanon or Actellik is carried out.
Aphids feed on plant sap and accumulate on the lower part of the foliage. To destroy the pest during bud break, karbofos or Actellik are used.
To prevent stem fly, mulching the soil around the bushes is used. Mulch makes it difficult for insects to escape from the ground. The first treatment is carried out after the snow melts, using karbofos. At the beginning of May (before flowering), treatment is carried out with Fitoverm, Actellik or Agravertin.
Raspberry gallworm attacks raspberry stems. The larvae feed on stem tissue and cause tissue cracking and swelling. The swellings reach 10 centimeters in length. Sick plants are removed from the site. To prevent healthy bushes, treatment is carried out with karbofos.
When raspberry bushes are damaged by a weevil, the plants are treated with karbofos, metaphos or Actellik. Treatment is carried out a week before flowering.
To combat bud moths in early spring (before the buds swell), the bushes are treated with Bordeaux mixture, Confidor, Iskra, Decis. When leaves appear, a 10% solution of karbofos is used.
The raspberry beetle damages the leaves, buds and berries of the plant. The berries become smaller and spoil quickly.
To protect against the raspberry beetle, the bushes and the ground around (immediately after the snow melts, pruning and gartering the bushes) are sprayed with a 10% solution of karbofos, Nitrafen, Decis, Konfidor, Iskra and covered with mulch.
When raspberry glass appears, the damaged stems are pruned and burned; the caterpillars damage the stems and roots and lead to weakening and death of the bushes.
Spider mites can be identified by white punctures on the surface of raspberry leaves. With severe damage, plants begin to wither and die.
When fighting spider mites, karbofos, phosphamide, metaphos, colloidal sulfur, Cidial are used. Spraying is carried out in the evening.
Diseases
Raspberries are affected
- anthracnose,
- rust,
- white and purple spotting,
- powdery mildew,
- vercillous wilt,
- gray rot,
- streak,
- mosaic,
- mycoplasma disease (growth),
- curliness,
- bactericidal root cancer,
- root rot.
Anthracnose (leaf curling) occurs when there is a lack of boron or potassium in the soil. With a lack of potassium, the leaves turn inward. You can correct the situation with the help of ash. The lack of boron can be compensated by adding a solution of boric acid.
In early spring, raspberries are treated with Nitrafen solution against gray rot and anthracnose.. When the buds open, spray with Bordeaux mixture. You can use Fitosporin at any time.
If mottling, streaks, or spots appear on the leaves (viral diseases), they must be removed immediately. Pruning old shoots, thinning and fertilizing plants allows you to avoid these diseases. 
To avoid verticillium wilt when planting, the roots should be dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 10 minutes.. When leaf spots appear, Bordeaux mixture is used.
Raspberry chlorosis
Pests (mites, aphids, nematodes) penetrate the stems through cuts and breaks. These insects are carriers of viral diseases (chlorosis, jaundice). The leaves turn yellow, the stems become depleted, the berries become smaller and dry out quickly.
At the first signs of chlorosis, the plants need to be dug up and burned; healthy bushes and the soil around them are treated with protective drugs.
Mycoplasma disease leads to the formation of a large number of non-fruiting thin shoots with a length of 30-50 centimeters (about 200 pieces per bush). At the first manifestations of the disease, the bush is dug up and removed from the site.
Leads to yellowing of foliage. When transplanting or planting bushes, you need to pay attention to the roots. If there is swelling, they are removed, and the cut areas are treated with a 1% solution of copper sulfate. 
When raspberry curl appears, the leaves become very small, become wrinkled, and hard. The undersides of the leaves turn brown. The berries become sour, deformed and dry out. The plant dies within 3 years. Sick bushes are immediately removed and sent to the fire.
Spring treatment of raspberries from pests/Raspberry stem fly/Spraying raspberries: video
In addition to treating raspberries against pests and diseases, care includes:
- pruning,
- feeding,
- tying,
- watering and weeding.
To prevent raspberry bushes from getting sick, the roots and stems need to be protected from mechanical damage. Shrubs can grow in one place for no more than 7 years. They can be planted on the previous site after 4 years.
Planting should be done in fertilized soil. The seedlings must be healthy, strong, with a well-developed, powerful root system, without any damage.
Treatment with copper-containing preparations (1% Bordeaux mixture, Oksikhom, Abiga-Pik, Khom, Copper Oxide) saves raspberries from infections. In rainy weather, spraying should be repeated after 1.5-2 weeks.
To combat diseases of raspberry bushes, it is necessary to provide the plants with a high level of agricultural technology (correctly chosen planting site, fertilizing, timely watering, loosening, weeding, tying and mulching).
If raspberries dry out, there are reasons for this: lack of nitrogen, lack of moisture and dense planting. Eliminating problems allows you to improve the yield several times.
Pruning is done from the second year of plant life.
One of the more important stages of raspberry care is pruning.
First of all, shoots that are not expected to bear fruit (frozen, damaged and young) are pruned; they are cut at the root. If the shoot is partially damaged, it is cut back to a healthy place.
Regardless of planting, the bushes should not be thickened. With a bush form, 8-12 stems should grow, with a ribbon form, no more than 25 stems.
The second pruning is done when the raspberries begin to grow.
The tops of raspberries are pruned by 12-15 centimeters (to the first bud), this stimulates the development of the plant and lateral buds. The height of the stem should not exceed 1.5 meters.
The most necessary nutrients for raspberries are potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and organic matter.
- Potassium improves the yield and winter hardiness of plants.
- Phosphorus strengthens shoots.
- Nitrogen accelerates plant growth. Any variety of raspberry produces a good harvest in soil rich in organic matter.
To increase the yield, spring fertilizing is carried out in several stages.
Any type of raspberry feeding is done after watering and loosening the soil.
For the first feeding, after the snow melts (before loosening the soil), urea or saltpeter is used. Granular fertilizer is applied under the bush immediately after watering. Take 15 grams of saltpeter or 20 grams of urea per square meter. To enhance the effect, a glass of wood ash is scattered under the bush.
After loosening the soil, rotted manure, peat or compost is distributed on the site. The organic matter will serve as mulch.
In May, raspberries need to be fed with mullein. Mullein is filled with water in a ratio of one to one and infused for a week. The resulting infusion is diluted with cool water (2 liters per 10 liters of water) and poured under the bushes.
When laying the ovary, feeding is done with superphosphate. After this procedure, the bushes become strong, resistant to diseases, and productivity increases.
During flowering, 1 glass of superphosphate, a glass of ash and 100 grams of urea are introduced.
The mixture is diluted in a bucket of water and poured under the bushes.
Feeding raspberries with chicken droppings increases the yield and strengthens the plants. The litter is diluted in water in a ratio of one to five and infused for 5 days. The finished infusion is diluted one to twenty and used for its intended purpose.
Raspberries. The struggle for the harvest begins in spring: video
Proper processing of raspberries in the spring and good care allows you to get a bountiful harvest every year.