Sex pheromone traps determine need for codling moth control in apple and pear orchards

For several decades growers of pears and apples in California have controlled the codling moth by coating the fruit with chemical insecticides from petal fall through harvest. This preventive approach was necessary because growers lacked effective methods for determining codling moth activity and abundance in their orchards. While this approach has provided effective control, repeated applications of heavy dosages of broad-spectrum, persistent chemical insecticides have been expensive and disruptive to the environment. Beneficial organisms are destroyed which help regulate the abundance of other pests such as spider mites, aphids, and pear psylla. Released from their natural enemies, these pests frequently reach damaging levels, requiring additional pesticide treatments for their control.