What's eating my gooseberry?

Gooseberries are most seriously damaged by gooseberry sawfly, whose caterpillars can strip a bush bare within days. Aphids blister leaves, birds steal fruit, and gooseberry mildew (often following pest stress) coats shoots. Net the crop and scout leaf undersides weekly from April to catch sawfly eggs early.

Pale green caterpillars devour leaves from the middle of the bush outward, reducing the plant to bare stems surprisingly fast in warm spring weather. Inspect under leaves weekly from April; hand-pick caterpillars and egg clusters; spray with pyrethrin or spinosad if numbers are high.

Pale yellow to red blisters form on the upper leaf surface where aphid colonies feed on the underside, distorting and puckering foliage. Apply insecticidal soap or neem oil to leaf undersides at bud burst; encourage natural predators such as ladybirds and lacewings.

Peck and strip developing and ripe berries; damage can be near-total on unprotected bushes. Cover with fine-mesh netting supported on a frame once fruits swell; anchor edges to prevent birds getting underneath.

Colonies cluster on shoot tips, stunting new growth and causing leaf curl; heavy infestations reduce fruit set. Pinch out and dispose of infested shoot tips; spray with insecticidal soap; avoid excessive nitrogen fertiliser that promotes soft, attractive growth.