Help can also be found from the animal kingdom to combat the box tree borer. All the better. Because the Pest from Asia is no longer considered to be eradicable.
The natural enemies of the boxwood borer, an aggressive pest, include birds, insects and numerous mammals.
- sparrows (house sparrow),
- Great tits
- redstart,
- Chaffinches
- and wasps.
The pest’s adult moths are also a popular meal for bats. All of these native animals began eating the caterpillars and parents of the boxwood borer years ago. And that is a great success in controlling the pest.
It therefore makes sense to offer these natural enemies of the boxwood borer a garden that is friendly to them. This includes, for example, providing sufficient hiding places and food sources.
Boxwood borers cause immense damage
According to the Augustenberg Agricultural Technology Center, the occurrence of pests has remained at the level of previous years. Nevertheless, the box tree borer is increasingly causing enormous damage – sometimes even earlier in the year. This is not only bad for the environment, but also expensive. The damage that boxwood borers cause per tree is several hundred euros. “Even a small box tree costs more than 100 euros,” says the Association of German Nurseries.
The pests are therefore often combated at an early stage using biological means, especially in public parks and green spaces.
Caterpillars even survive the winter
Not even winter can harm the borer. It rests as a caterpillar in a cocoon and survives temperatures of up to minus twelve degrees.
The box tree borer is one of the so-called invasive species that benefits from two developments: climate change and the intensification of global trade.
