Pests & diseases › Cane Borers
Cane Borers
Beetles whose larvae tunnel inside raspberry, blackberry and rose canes — causing tip wilt and cane death.
Symptoms
- Sudden wilt of cane tip (top 6 inches)
- Two parallel rings of punctures around the cane below the wilt
- Larva inside the cane when split open
- Whole cane dying back
Lifecycle
Adults emerge in spring, lay eggs in pairs of rings around tip.
What to do
- Cut affected tips back to clean wood at first sign of wilt
- Burn or bag prunings (don't compost)
If it's bad
- Carbaryl on emerging adults
Stop it coming back
- Inspect canes weekly in spring
- Aggressive sanitation of pruned canes
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.