Grease bands for winter moth
Updated: 22 October 2026
You walked out in late April and the apple leaves look lace-like, or the June set is thin, and you want to know if a sticky ring would have changed it. Grease bands for winter moth work on one route: the wingless female that crawls up the bark to lay eggs. They do not catch moths that fly in, and they will not undo chewing already on this year's leaves. The [grease bands for fruit trees](/hub/garden-supplies/grease-band) page lists the amazon.co.uk rolls checked on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase from that page can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
You walked out in late April and the apple leaves look lace-like, or the June set is thin, and you want to know if a sticky ring would have changed it.
You walked out in late April and the apple leaves look lace-like, or the June set is thin, and you want to know if a sticky ring would have changed it. Grease bands for winter moth work on one route: the wingless female that crawls up the bark to lay eggs. They do not catch moths that fly in, and they will not undo chewing already on this year's leaves. The grease bands for fruit trees page lists the amazon.co.uk rolls checked on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase from that page can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Pests named | Stated length | Stated width | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Provanto Provanto Boltac grease band, 5 m | Winter moth, ants | 5 m | Not stated | 8.2 | about £5.95 | View offer |
 Defenders Defenders grease band, 1.75 m × 10 cm | Winter moth, ants | 1.75 m | 10 cm | 8.4 | about £6.94 | View offer | |
 SWISSINNO SWISSINNO grease band, 5 m × 5 cm | Ants, caterpillars | 5 m | 5 cm | 7.5 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
Which moth a grease band can touch
Winter moth females have no working wings. In Britain they leave the soil from November into mid-January and walk up to lay in bark crevices and among the buds. The caterpillars feed from late March into early June, and the Royal Horticultural Society puts a full-grown one at about 25 mm. We did not run a trial.
A grease band is the sticky ring that interrupts that walk, which is the control BBC Gardeners' World illustrates when numbers are high. The ring only helps if it is complete, so band the stake as well as the trunk. Mottled umber and March moth climb later, so a band from October to mid-April covers more than winter moth alone.
What a band will not stop
Codling moth females fly. They lay on leaves and young fruitlets in summer, and the larva tunnels into the apple, so glue on the trunk never meets them. The Society says grease bands give no protection against codling moth or plum moth. Maggoty apples in August are a different problem from lace-like leaves in May.
Shop listings often say moths without that split. One Provanto review and one SWISSINNO review in this amazon.co.uk set suggest the band stopped codling moth, and both are shopper impressions rather than proof. Chewed spring leaves with a clean fruit set point to winter moth, and maggoty fruit with clean spring growth points away from it.
Fruit trees and ornamentals
On an apple, plum, pear or fruiting cherry, a heavy hatch can take the blossom and the young leaves. Gardeners' World says large numbers can cut the crop and small numbers often do not. If your tree was almost bare by early June and set almost no fruit, an October band is proportionate. If a few leaves are holed and the tree still crops, skip the ring.
On ornamentals the Society would rather you left the caterpillars, because tits feed them to their chicks. Light chewing on an ornamental cherry or a birch is a reason to do nothing, not to wrap the whole boundary. Brush-on grease is the alternative on the grease band or fruit tree grease page, and length and width sit on the grease band buying guide.
When to fit it, and when this year's fruit is already lost
Fit the band in October and leave it until mid-April when winter moth, mottled umber or March moth is the target. The later species keep climbing, so a band taken off in January leaves them a clear trunk. Glue added in March, after the first holes, misses eggs already in the bark.
This year's fruit is already decided once the leaves look lace-like. Height, overlap, the stake and removal are on the how to fit a grease band page. If the apple or plum was stripped last spring, measure the girth, include the stake, and fit before the end of October.
Common questions
Do grease bands stop winter moth?
They can cut egg-laying by wingless females when the ring is complete from late October to mid-April, stake included. They do not kill caterpillars already feeding. A gap, or a band fitted after the climb, leaves the eggs in place. Use one where this moth has already been a problem, not on every trunk by default.
Will a grease band stop maggoty apples?
Not if the maggots are codling moth or plum moth. Those females fly, and the Society says a grease band does not stop them. Lace-like leaves in spring are the winter-moth sign. A grub in the apple in late summer is another insect. A Provanto or SWISSINNO review that claims clean fruit is a shopper's impression, not a trial.
When do winter moth females climb in the UK?
They walk up from the soil between November and mid-January to lay on bark and buds. Mottled umber and March moth keep climbing later, which is why the ring wants to stay from October to mid-April. Caterpillars feed from late March into early June, and a full-grown one is about 25 mm.
Should I band an ornamental cherry or a birch?
Usually no. Where the tree does not crop, the Society suggests you tolerate the caterpillars so tits can feed them to their chicks. Band an ornamental only if the same tree is badly defoliated in repeated years. Light chewing on a silver birch is not the decision you make for a fruiting apple that failed last June.
Do the caterpillars matter for nesting birds?
Yes, on trees whose leaves you can spare. Winter moth larvae are spring food for tits, which is why a modestly chewed birch can stay without glue. A fruit tree stripped last year is where the crop can come first. Banding that one apple does not mean treating every shrub in the hedge.
Can I fit the band in spring and still save this year's fruit?
No. Eggs already in the bark are beyond a new ring, and winter-moth females have usually finished by mid-January. A March band might still meet a late March moth, though it will not restore this crop. Plan October, and take height and the stake from the fitting page rather than rushing glue onto a tree already in leaf.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources for timing, bark and wildlife, plus the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf prices read 19 October 2026. Updated 22.10.2026.
- RHS, grease bands and tree barrier glues (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- RHS, winter moth caterpillars (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- BBC Gardeners' World, how to deal with winter moths (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Garden World, fruit tree grease (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, section 1 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 5 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Ashridge Trees, how to apply grease bands (retrieved 19.10.2026)