[Fleecewife]

I know we have discussed this on here before and I said that I try to keep them under control by squashing every little sawfly larva that munches on my gooseberry leaves.
However, I am about to plant some new bushes and was wondering if anyone has an effective, non-chemical method of controlling them which is not so high input as squashing them?
I was wondering if growing the bush on a 'leg' ie a single stem for the first 6" or so, then putting a grease band round it, would stop the larvae from climbing up out of the soil.  Has anyone tried this?
Or would something simple like soap spray affect them?

[ellisr]

I find putting rhubarb leaves in water and letting them stew then using the water and watering all over the plant and leaves really helps with bugs

[Hermit]

Sounds a good idea, garlic is supposed to do the same.

[ellisr]

yeah but garlic is a valuable crop where as rhubarb leaves are just waste.

The rhubarb leaf juice works well on cabbages, brussels, peas and beans etc but avoid lettuces if you can. It keeps the nasties that try and eat the veg before you at bay and is FREE

[Fleecewife]

I've got MASSES of rhubarb     If it works against cabbage caterpillars it should also work on the sawfly larvae so I will give it a go.  I also have some of last years garlic which is past its best so I will add some in.

[Sylvia]

But in the evening, please after the bees have gone to bed I give my bushes a good old shake every morning and my banties eat the catterpillers.

[Fleecewife]

But in the evening, please after the bees have gone to bed I give my bushes a good old shake every morning and my banties eat the catterpillers.

Don't worry Silvia, I love my bees too (in fact I will start another thread as I want to say something about that).   My hens do scratch around under the bushes but they have such a huge area in which to free range that they clearly miss most of the sawfly larvae, as plenty are left.  One year the wasps ate them all, but I couldn't get to the gooseberries to pick any, because of the enormous wasps nest in the branches of one bush.

[chairmanphil]

it seems like good pruning really improves this as well. i use the John Seymore way of cutting them and it keeps them at bay. they do hate a breeze the little blighters

[Fleecewife]

Ah - interesting    My gooseberry bushes have been totally scalped this year as they were very overgrown so I will see if that workas for them, and I will pay more attention to pruning the new ones, which will be in a more open situation anyway.

[Penninehillbilly]

a gardening program suggested wood ash round the base, when you shake the bush they can't climb back up.
BTW, my hens won't touch them.
I used to use mild washing up liquid solution, they would all start wriggling so you could see them, then drop them in a bowl of soapy water, however it is kinder to make it a quick end, we may hate them, but it isn't their fault they are sawfly caterpillars
Look for pin pricks in the leaves. hopefully you can catch the whole batch under one leaf.