Guava moth
Dear Neighbours
Regrettably, the dreaded guava moth has become a permanent curse. If you have fruit trees on your property, you'll find the fruit (especially stone fruit like plums, peaches, etc) uneatable. The guava moth will even have a go at citrus.
You'll see a tiny pinhole bored into your fruit where the guava moth has laid its egg. The egg hatches into a grub, about one centimetre long, which destroys the interior of the fruit.
There is no adequate spray to combat this pest (introduced from Australia in recent years and gradually working its way down the North Island, having reached Hamilton so far). Nurseries recommend neem oil but unless you achieve total coverage of the fruit, it does not protect it.
The guava moth spells the end of the backyard orchard. Commercially, when it reaches the Bay of Plenty, it will be devastating to our economy. It has already caused orchardists in the north to remove their feijoas and some people are cutting down their plum trees.
There is one thing we can do to limit this evil pest. Please, please pick up windfall fruit and seal it in a plastic bag before throwing it in the rubbish. A bread bag will do the job nicely. Do not compost this fallen fruit as the grubs will still emerge, pupate and develop into new moths to continue their devastating work.
If you put the fruit into a bucket of water overnight, you will see the grubs when they emerge and they can be tipped down the sink. By destroying what we can of these pests, we can limit the effect of the next generation.
You will find that the fruit which drops off the tree early, with a smudge of ripeness on one side, is fruit already attacked by the guava moth which is in a hurry to emerge and find a convenient place to form its cocoon (from whence it will emerge as a new moth).
The only effective way I know of to limit this pest is the sealed plastic bag method. In this way, we reduce second generation numbers. Please give it a go.
Many thanks, David H.
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
-
61.8% Summer
-
36.7% Winter
-
1.5% Other - I'll share below
Loading…
