Gooseberry Sawfly

[cheddarpaul]

Evening all. I have about 12 gooseberry bushes on my lottie. The middle 2 bushes have just been ravished by the dreaded sawfly - what I want to know what does this mean to me?

1) Is it too late to spray the rest with derris spray (and by the way, looked for derris spray in B&Q yesterday but couldnt find it - does it have a brand name)?
2) Are the gooseberrys on those bushes worst hit still OK to eat (they are hard so I imagine they will be only good enough to cook at best!)
3) How do I stop this happening to me again?

It's really cheesed me off tonight to see those lovely bushes almost stripped bare. Somebody, somewhere HELP!!!!!

Ta

[cheddarpaul]

[Robert_Brenchley]

Eat them and don't worry. I've had sawfly several times; I just squash them and the plants soon recover.

[Mrs Ava]

They stripped a redcurrant in my garden completely a couple of years ago, leaving all the ruby currants on show.  I thought the birds would have them, but they didn't, and they were fabulous and so easy to pick!  I thought the plant would be down on vigour the following year, but it was fine, and is still a good producer.

As for derris, I get mine from my little local nursery, don't know the name and it is in my shed on the plot - sorry.  I don't know how to stop it happening next year, enviornmesh in early spring maybe, or do the eggs overwinter on the plant?? hmmmm