Preventing Insects from Attacking Your Peach Trees Preventing Insects from Attacking Your Peach Trees
Peach trees are susceptible to insects and other pests that can attack the leaves and fruit of your tree. Preventing insects and other pests from attacking your peach tree is important to ensure the life of your plant and the fruit that it produces. Vigilant maintenance of your peach tree to check for insect attacks and other infestations is the best way to detect their presence and take steps to prevent further attack.
Attacks by the Peach Tree Borer
It is important to understand that the most common insect attack to your peach tree is by the peach tree borer. It grows from a gray-yellow and white larvae with a brown head that bores into the trunk of the peach tree. It becomes a winged adult that resembles a wasp with clear wings and a yellow striped trunk. The larvae are laid in the winter and emerge as adults in the spring to late summer.
The borer enters open wounds on the tree and where any gummy extract exudes. This can cause the death of live tissue in the peach tree. The way to prevent further damage is to dig the larvae out by hand and remove dead wood and bark. You can do this when you prune the tree in the spring. Any insecticides that you apply to the peach tree should be in accordance with the insecticide usage policies of your local community.
Peach Tree Attacks by Japanese Beetles
Japanese beetles are also known to attack peach trees, feeding on the leaves and leaf stems of the peach tree. They are about the size of dime with a brown colored body that shimmers green. When the Japanese beetle attacks leaves, it retards the peach tree’s ability to grow and produce fruit. This retarded growth will lead to the peach tree discontinuing the further production of fruit and may even lead to the death of the tree. You can use insect traps hung away from your peach tree as a way to avoid the infestation of Japanese beetles.
Other Insects Attacks and Treatment Options for a Peach Tree
Mites, fruit moths and aphids are other insects that are known to attack the peach tree. These insects can mask a fungal or bacterial infection of your peach tree, so that it is important to periodically inspect the tree to see when degradation or discoloration of the leaves and trunk is taking place. Insecticides should be a last resort, and traps and manual efforts to combat the effect of insect infestations should be encouraged.
A local horticulturalist at a local college or county extension program can provide some alternative methods for combating insect attacks and provide products or methods that can prove to be effective. In many cases these services can be provided at a nominal cost or for free, depending on the community in which you live in.