How to Get Rid of Sawflies

Do you need to get rid of sawflies? Sawflies are a type of insect that is related to wasps and bees. However, this insect, although similar in appearance, lacks the ability to deliver a sting. 

If you notice that you have an infestation of sawflies on your houseplants, on your crops, or on the trees surrounding your home, there are a few things you can do to rid yourself of the infestation.

• Spray down the infected plants with a heavy stream of water. This is a non-chemical way of removing both the adult sawfly and their larvae from your plants.
• The other non-chemical environmentally friendly way to remove the infestation is to manually remove the adults and the larvae from the plant by hand. If the infestation is excessive this will not be the route you will want to take. The manual removal of sawflies is typically only effective if you catch the problem early.

Handling a Larger Infestation of Sawflies

If you are not lucky enough to catch the problem early on, you will need to go another route to get rid of the problem once your infestation has grown:

• Treat the plant or plants with an insecticidal soap that is specifically made to combat sawfly infestation. You can also treat your crops with acephate.
• If you choose the soap or acephate method to treat the problem, you will want to make sure that you apply the solution directly on the larvae rather than to mature insects. This is because the solution has more affect on the larvae of the sawfly then on the adult insects that are already mature.
• The other thing you can do to prevent re-infestation of the sawfly is to make sure you take care of your plants and trees. You should plant trees where they will thrive in soil that is neither too moist nor too dry.

You should also take every step you can to control infestation of the sawfly and take steps immediately to treat them should you see them.

What Is a Sawfly

Now that you know more about getting rid of sawfly infestations, you might want to learn more about what they are and what they do:

• The sawfly is distinguished in appearance from the wasp or the bee due to the unique connection between its abdomen and thorax.
• The sawfly obtained its name primarily from the appearance of the female fly ovipositor. The ovipositor of the female sawfly has a saw-like shape to it.
• The female sawfly uses the ovipositor to inject eggs into the stems and leaves of houseplants.
• If the population of sawflies is large enough, the infestation can cause major damage to local crops and forests.
• The female sawfly lays the eggs in the stems and leaves of many types of plants.
• Once the eggs hatch, they enter the larvae stage where they feed on the plants they have been bred in.
• The larvae resemble that of a caterpillar, but there are some differences that can be identified which make them different from butterfly larvae.
• Once the larvae hatch, they are herbivores with a large appetite. They will attack the plant with great voracity which causes extensive damage to the plant and kills it or keeps it from growing.
• As the larvae mature and grow into adults, they become less picky and feed not only on the nectar of plants, but also develop an appetite for other insects as well.

So, now you know both why it is so important to eliminate sawflies and how to get rid of them.