Box tree moth trap and spray
Updated: October 2026
You hung a pheromone trap beside the box, moths are in the bucket, and the hedge is still full of webbing. A box tree moth trap and spray are two tools for two life stages, and the trap does not finish the job the spray is for. Products Compared looked at seven amazon.co.uk listings saved on 20 October 2026, with no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The [box tree moth killer comparison](/hub/pest-control/box-tree-moth-killer) is where the prices sit. Clothes and pantry traps were removed from the set and will not help this hedge. Use the trap to see adult flight. Use a foliar product, or your hands on a small plant, for caterpillars already feeding. Check the HSE database before you spray. A trap plus an unauthorised powder is not a safer combination.
You hung a pheromone trap beside the box, moths are in the bucket, and the hedge is still full of webbing.
You hung a pheromone trap beside the box, moths are in the bucket, and the hedge is still full of webbing. A box tree moth trap and spray are two tools for two life stages, and the trap does not finish the job the spray is for. Products Compared looked at seven amazon.co.uk listings saved on 20 October 2026, with no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The box tree moth killer comparison is where the prices sit. Clothes and pantry traps were removed from the set and will not help this hedge. Use the trap to see adult flight. Use a foliar product, or your hands on a small plant, for caterpillars already feeding. Check the HSE database before you spray. A trap plus an unauthorised powder is not a safer combination.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | What it does | Set-up | Larvae | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  BuxusPro BuxTrap box tree moth trap | Adult moths | 1–1.5 m, 4 lures | Does not clear webbing | 8.3 | about £16.99 | View offer |
 Gifts by L Green Guard box treatment, 50 g | Foliar powder | 5 g in 2 L for 30 m² | Aimed at larvae | 8.5 | about £9.79 | View offer | |
| Alternative |  BuxusPro BuxBarrier spray, 500 ml | Ready-to-use spray | 500 ml, no mix | Aimed at affected box | 5.6 | about £19.99 | View offer |
On this page
What traps catch and what they miss
The BuxusPro BuxTrap at about £16.99, 4.2 from 146 reviews, and the No More Mr Nice Guy kit at about £24.98, 3.8 from 14 reviews, are funnel traps with pheromone lures. They attract adult box tree moths, in practice the males that respond to that lure. They do not crawl into webbing and they do not poison a caterpillar. The BuxPhero refill at about £11.99 is four lures for a trap you already own. It is 3.9 from 11 reviews. One of those reviews caught a single moth while the box remained full of caterpillars.
Saved BuxTrap reviews show the other half. A dozen moths in the first few days, more than 100 in a week after a quiet start, and hedges described as saved when the trap was used with a spray. Buyers name XenTari in that pairing. XenTari is not one of the seven products and it is not given a price here. The sprays in this table are Green Guard at about £9.79, Habitat Harvest at about £14.99, and BuxBarrier at about £19.99, plus Buxus Support at about £13.99, which reviews describe as a biofungicide rather than a caterpillar insecticide. Pair the trap with a foliar product whose label matches the larvae, not with a second trap. Which powder or bottle is the conditional pick is on best box tree moth killer.
Mounting height and shade
The two kits do not tell you the same height. BuxTrap says 1 to 1.5 m above the ground, with about 5 cm of water and a drop of detergent, lure changed about every six weeks. No More Mr Nice Guy says 1.5 to 2 m, about 3 cm of water with washing-up liquid, an open position close to the plants, March to October, and one trap per 0.5 acres. On a terrace, copy the height from the box you bought and ignore the half-acre density. One trap by the hedge is the garden scale. Two traps, one at each end of a long run, is a reasonable extension when the hedge is a driveway rather than a pot. It is still not a spray.
Catches in the BuxTrap file are uneven at the start. Some buyers see moths in two days. Some see nothing for a week, or for several weeks, and then a sudden fill. An empty bucket is not proof the moths are absent if you can watch them around the foliage. Put the trap where you will actually look at it. The plastic is called flimsy in reviews, and some buyers needed other people's notes to assemble it. A trap on the ground, or a lure still in the foil, will not monitor anything.
When to spray after the first catches
The first moths are the prompt to inspect, not an automatic soaking of every leaf that evening. Look inside the bush for webbing, green caterpillars and black frass. If the leaves are clean, keep the trap running and check again in a few days. If larvae are there, that is the foliar moment, on a dry spell, at the rate on the label. For Green Guard and the £14.99 Habitat Harvest powder, the listing rate is 5 g in 2 litres for about 30 m², into the inner canopy. For BuxBarrier, there is no 30 m² rate. You spray the affected plants from the 500 ml bottle and you read the small review file, including the buyer who saw no kill. The spray steps are on how to treat box tree caterpillar.
Do not wait for the trap to finish the generation. Eggs and larvae already on the plant are unaffected by how many males are in the water. EBTS UK ties serious feeding to warmer weather, around 15 °C as a practical note, so a cold week can pause damage and a warm weekend can strip a hedge. Southern UK seasons often have more than one generation. A heavy catch in July is a reason to look again in late summer even if the June spray seemed to work. Repeat after rain if the label says the coat will have washed off.
Maintaining the bucket
A trap that is not emptied becomes a smell and a poor record. No More Mr Nice Guy's own steps are the ones to follow for that kit: water depth, lid pegs, gloves when you handle the lure, and a cord through the lid. Empty it about twice a week when the catch is heavy, because a full bucket stops being a useful count. The BuxTrap file includes a buyer who emptied a full catch and kept going. If you leave a hundred moths in a few centimetres of water, you learn less from the next week's count.
Change the lure on the clock printed for that lure. Five weeks on the No More Mr Nice Guy kit, about six weeks on the BuxTrap listing, up to eight weeks on the refill listing, with a review that says six. Date the lure. Store spares below 30 °C. When the season the listing names is over, empty the trap, dry it, and keep it for the next March rather than throwing the body away. Refills at about £11.99 are the cheaper second season if the housing survived. If the hedge is still being eaten after a correct lure and a label-rate spray, identify the damage again, in case blight is part of the picture, or call a professional if the plants are beyond a safe DIY reach.
Common questions
Will the trap save the hedge by itself?
No. Both trap kits catch adult moths. Caterpillars in the webbing keep feeding. BuxTrap reviews that talk about a saved hedge also mention a spray, sometimes a brand that is not in this comparison. Budget a foliar product, or time to hand-pick, in the same plan as the £16.99 or £24.98 trap.
Which spray should I pair with a BuxTrap?
For a stated dose and a large review file, Green Guard at about £9.79 is the powder in this set, at 5 g in 2 litres for about 30 m², after you check the label and the HSE database. BuxBarrier at about £19.99 is the ready bottle if you will not mix, with only 16 reviews and a report of no kill. Do not pair the trap with Buxus Support unless that pack's biofungicide label is the problem you have.
How often do I change the lure?
Use the interval on the product you own. No More Mr Nice Guy says five weeks. The BuxTrap listing says about six weeks, and also 4 to 6 weeks. The refill pack says up to eight weeks, and a buyer says about six. Replace it sooner if moths are flying and the trap has gone quiet in warm weather. Write the date on the lid so you are not guessing in August.
Where do I hang it?
BuxTrap: about 1 to 1.5 m, with 5 cm of water and a drop of detergent. No More Mr Nice Guy: about 1.5 to 2 m, 3 cm of water, open ground near the box, from March to October. One trap is enough for a small garden. The one-per-0.5-acres line is a large-plot density, not a rule for two box balls. Check it often enough that a full bucket does not sit for a fortnight.
What if I catch nothing but I can see damage?
Trust the leaves. Webbing and caterpillars mean you spray or hand-pick now. An empty trap can mean a new lure is slow, the trap is in the wrong place, or the generation is already larval. BuxTrap reviews include blank weeks followed by large catches, and weeks that stayed empty. Damage on the plant outranks a zero in the bucket.
Do refills work in any moth trap?
The refill listing says standard moth traps, and the product is a box tree moth pheromone. A pantry or clothes trap in the kitchen is the wrong housing and the wrong pest. Use the refill in a box tree moth funnel you already run, such as the BuxTrap. At 11 reviews, treat the pack as a spare, not as evidence the hedge will clear.
When should a professional take over?
When you cannot reach the top of the hedge safely, when you need an authorised Btk application rather than a marketplace powder, or when blight and caterpillars are both stripping the plant. Keep the trap if it is helping you see the flight. Hand the spraying to someone who can use the product that is actually approved for that situation.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these seven listings on 20 October 2026. A listing is not treated as HSE authorisation.
- RHS box tree moth (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- EBTS UK box moth and caterpillar (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- BBC Gardeners' World box tree caterpillar (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE garden and home pesticides (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE pesticide product database FAQ (retrieved 20 October 2026)