Chemical control should be applied where a significant risk of infestation has been determined by monitoring and not as a routine.
- The main means of control is to apply an approved insecticide at or shortly after (within 10 days of) petal fall to coincide with the start of egg hatch.
- Thiacloprid (Calypso) which was previously approved for use on apples offered incidental control, but its approval was revoked in 2020.
- Synthetic pyrethoid insecticides such as deltamethrin may also give some control of apple sawfly but are not compatible with the IPM programmes employed by most growers because they are harmful to predatory mites and many other natural enemies.
- Growers should take advice from BASIS qualified agronomists before choosing a spray control product for apple sawfly.