Fruit moth pheromone

The pheromone contains the scent with which the females attract the males to mate. The males, attracted by the female sex pheromone, end up on the glue plate. One pheromone capsule is effective for 6 weeks. After that, the pheromone lure must be replaced.

What does the pheromone trap do?

A pheromone trap is a means to monitor and control the number of harmful fruit moths. Males that are captured can no longer fertilize females. Less fertilization leads to less egg laying and therefore fewer harmful caterpillars.

This method offers good protection when the population of harmful moths has been reduced. It is because there are fewer or even no moths flying in your area that the damage becomes minimal or even nil. You must therefore hang the pheromone trap for several years to achieve the desired result.

Thanks to the pheromone trap, you will know exactly when the flight of the fruit moth starts at your place. If you want to spray a remedy against fruit moth, you can do this with precision thanks to this monitoring.

When to hang out the pheromone trap?

The pheromone trap must be hung out before the fruit moth starts its flight and until the end of the flight in the case of storage apples and pears.

Observations show that in Belgium the fruit moth has flown out on 21 April at the earliest and has flown until September. These start and end dates vary depending on the heat of the year in question. Over the last 10 years it has been seen that the start and end dates of the flights are becoming increasingly farther apart, in other words, the fruit moths are flying for longer and longer periods.

Knowing this, it is important to hang the fruit moth pheromone trap from mid-April. This way you are certain that the flight has not yet started. You keep the trap hanging until September if you have stored apples and pears. Extra pheromone capsules can be purchased separately.

Can I hang a pheromone trap later than mid-April?

Definitely! The peak in the flight of the fruit moth is situated from the second half of May and the first half of June. It is therefore certainly interesting to hang a pheromone trap during this period. The following year you hang the trap from mid-April.

How many traps should I hang?

Hang 1 trap per 5 low-stemmed fruit trees. The fruit trees must be situated within a radius of 25 metres around the trap. In the case of adult high-stemmed trees, hang 1 pheromone trap per tree or per two trees, depending on the infection pressure that is present.

Hanging too many traps is not good. So never hang multiple traps in one tree. This way, moths are attracted en masse, but they no longer find the traps because the pheromone scent is omnipresent.

Where is the fruit moth pheromone trap hung?

Hang the pheromone trap at eye level in an airy place so that the pheromone scent can spread well. The easiest way is on the side of the tree. Do not hang under a dense canopy of leaves or in a strong wind.

Storing pheromone capsules

Store the pheromone capsule in the freezer in a closed jar to retain the pheromone scent as much as possible. You can use pheromone capsules that you store in the freezer the year of purchase and the year after. Never store pheromone capsules at room temperature for a longer period of time, as this will cause the pheromone to lose its effectiveness.

Storage apples, what now?

This package 'deltaval fruit moth' contains two pheromone capsules as standard. This is sufficient to catch the fruit moth for 12 weeks. In case you want protection until mid-September (storage apples) you will need to purchase two more pheromone capsules.

Buy pheromones separately

Since the delta trap can easily be used for three years, you can purchase the adhesive bases and pheromone capsules separately in our webshop.