Maggot Barriers

Basically, here is the story: if you think you can put on the nylon socks at some point in the summer on apples or pears and expect them to be worm and maggot free, you will be sorely disappointed (and this is where the bad reviews are coming from). The procedure has to be done early when the coddling moth just emerges and the fruit is very small.We had a big success with this method. Here are the steps on how to make it work:1. First you need to start monitoring the coddling moth in early Spring (late April in Oregon but all depends on the number of warm days). Buy one of those coddling moth pheromone traps that will attract males and let u know they are ready to mate. The trap is not meant to eradicate moth just to let you know that they are here in certain numbers (see the photo). When you see the first moth in the trap that’s when you get to work.2. Putting on the little sock alone will yield only marginal results because some bugs will still get through. So the socks have to be soaked in kaolin clay that you can buy in a local nursery or order online. Kaolin clay irritates the insects and they avoid the areas that are covered in it. Some gardeners spray the entire trees with the clay solution .3. Find a YouTube video or a good set of instructions on how to soak the socks so they absorb maximum clay. Then the socks have to be fully dried (see the photos).4. Now putting on the socks: This procedure is usually done when the fruit is about a size of a nickel. So put the sock on and tie the end at the stem. It will take a few tries to get it right. When the fruit is so small it is not really hard to tie the knot (see the photo).You are done! The fruit will keep growing and stretching the sock. If there are heavy rains they will wash away some of the clay but most of ours stayed on the entire summer.NOTE: You still will have some wormy apples either because some already were infested when the socks were put on or the bugs still found little crevices to get through. Don’t forget that coddling moth may have up to three cycles in a warm summer so keep the footies on.This method is initially time consuming but definitely worth it so we are ordering two more footies this year.

I waited until harvest time to review these. They really work! I put on 300 plus socks on my apple tree after I thinned it while the fruits were still small, around an inch or less. They were easy to apply once I got the hang of it. The coddling moths did damage a small amount of fruit with the socks on, maybe 10-15 percent at the most. I had no apple maggot damage at all. The couple years prior most of the fruit was damaged and not usable. I also practice good sanitation by discarding any fruit as soon as it falls. I used no chemical controls. Very happy with a wonderful harvest this year!

I put these on too late in the season. Most of my apples already had maggots. When the maggots tried to drop out the apple to the ground to morph into a fly they were trapped and died. The apples I covered before they were infested are perfect and delicious! Only four stars because the nylon runs easily compromising the socks effectiveness. I wish these were a higher quality nylon that wouldn't tear or run so easily. It's important to have a re-useable product to help minimize the amount of plastics and synthetics in our waste stream!!

Fruit growers: until something comes along in a bottle that is not hazardous to the environment, these are your best bet. They totally work. Okay, so it's a complete pain in the butt to put them on...every piece of fruit. At the end of the season, pull them off as you harvest, put them in a lingerie bag, wash in the washer. Divide them up into several lingerie bags to dry. No problem drying in the dryer. Then store for next year.

Concept is good. Easier to get over large fruit as smaller ones are more apt to break off. Time will tell whether these work as advertised. I've already had a few small fruit that fell off into the bag and if you don't get the top tight enough, earwigs find their way inside.Update: I've found these pretty much worthless. Determined bugs can get through the mesh because it clings to the fruit. I made my own drawstring bags from curtain sheers and they work much better. Allowing the fruit to hang freely inside the bag.

These are great for protection apples. They are thicker than the thin nylon foot socks so they are easier to handle and well worth the $2 price difference. They stretch a lot so they should grow with the fruit. I held them in place with a clothes pin. Very good value!

Would probably not buy again. Purchased these for next year's apple harvest. When I opened the bag, the first three I pulled out all had runs in them. The next one didn't. Separated them into two piles and out of the gross, 49 had runs. Runs don't work for me. My area has both apple maggot and coddling moth. I don't know which does what damage, but I know even the smallest hole they get through. I used to buy old pantyhose and cut into 8 pieces and use twistems on each end. Works great! But cheap pantyhose is hard to come by so I bought these. I will try to salvage the ones with runs in them by putting two on each apple with the runs offset. Will know next year.Update 11-20-2020 They actually worked when I used 2 bags per apple and did my usual trick of securing them to the branch with a twistem. But that makes them more expensive. Will hunt for a brand that doesn't have runs in them.

After buying these and two other, seemingly, same products on Amazon that were not branded as maggot barriers, I can tell you these are in fact much better quality. The others being sold as foot socks or barrier bags were considerably smaller and lighter. I've use maggot barriers for over 15 years. They do work well and with a little care can typically be reused. We like to leave storage apples in the bags until brought in from the store room. Because these bags are heavier, they are worth the addition couple bucks over the cheaper ones as they will last longer and probably work better.