Crop protection specialists Agralan are encouraging gardeners and commercial growers to use pheromone traps to monitor box tree month populations.

The pest, established in the south of the UK since 2008, can devastate box plants (buxus) in gardens and nurseries and is difficult to control without continual vigilance. The moths spin web ‘tents’ around the foliage, making it difficult for sprays to penetrate. 

Pheromone traps catch adult male moths, alerting the grower to the presence of the pest and the need to spray with a suitable pesticide.

Between mid-April and October, traps filled with a lure specific to the box tree moth should be placed 1.5 to 2m above the ground where box plants are growing.

Traps and lures are available from Afgralan via the website.