Q.Apple Trees
I have been living in my house for three years now and trying to get these old apple trees to not have these apple maggots (worms). I have used the spray method and the red spores, but I’m really having a hard time with them. I think they are about 15 years old. Is there another way to get good apples? Even organic too. I have nine of them in a row, so it is hard and expenive for the spray, etc. Is there like a homemade mix that you know of that I can put around or in a bucket hanging from a tree?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
You can take some small red balls--about the size of an apple--and coat them with a sticky material. Then hang your fake apples on your apple trees, putting about four per tree, at shoulder height. This baits the maggots and they stick to the balls, which can be discarded. Be sure to get rid of infested fruit already on the tree first. Another method you can try is combining 1 part molasses to 9 parts water , and adding just a tad of yeast. Pour into several wide-mouthed jars and allow them to ferment until the bubbling subsides. Then, you can hang the jars on some strong limbs on your apple tree.
