If you’re using pheromone traps to monitor for box tree moth this season, it might be time to change your lures.
If you are using the gel/syringe lures that last 3 months and you set the traps up the first week of May like we recommend, NOW is the time to change your lures out.
You have two options:
- Replace with another gel lure to give you coverage for another three months (August, September, October).
OR - If you are monitoring for box tree moth outdoors only (not in a controlled environments/greenhouse structure) you can instead switch to the rubber septa lures that last a month. This means you’ll have to put a new one in now and another at the beginning of September to carry you through till the end of the flight period.
So yes, you can mix and match lures to fit your needs! The most important thing is to read the packaging and make sure you know how long the lures you’re using last for. There’s no point having a trap setup with a used up lure…
My trick is to write the date the lure EXPIRES on the trap (in permanent marker of course) so that when I check the traps, I know the lure change date is coming up and I can be prepared. Calendar reminders work too!
As a refresher, below are a couple slides from the BTM training video that summarize BTM pheromone monitoring. This information is also covered in the growers best management practices document: Click here for BMPs.
If you need to purchase more supplies, BTM lures are available through retailers like Solida and Royal Brinkman.
Thank you for all the great information you provide. I feel that we spend the entire summer battling bugs. We have used the boxwood tree moth with rubber septa and have only captured 1 moth in 3 swap outs. The moths are out there as we see them flying around all summer long. Any thoughts as to why the lure is not working. They were purchased from one of the firms you had recommended.
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Pheromone lures are not going to catch every moth in the population. They catch some and are therefore used as an indicator. One piece to that is that the pheromone lure for BTM is a sex phereomone so it only attracts males. The individuals you see flying (and not getting trapped) could be females. Also it’s challenging to have a synthetic lure that outcompetes the “real thing” but most companies are often looking at ways they can improve attraction with new formulations/release devices/pairing it with plant volatiles etc. So if we do get a new or improved lure to use in Canada we will certainly try those out!
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This was a timely, helpful and well-written post.
Thanks for the reminder.
-Kyle
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Thanks for the post, Cassie
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