Winter Citrus Care
There are some pests and diseases which attack citrus trees that can betreated during winter. This helps to break the pest and disease life cycle, giving citrus trees a fresh start in spring.

There are some pests and diseases which attack citrus trees that can betreated during winter. This helps to break the pest and disease life cycle, giving citrus trees a fresh start in spring.
As citrus fruit continues to mature during winter, maintain fruit fly prevention measures. Spray Yates Nature's Way Fruit Fly Control over the lower foliage, or a band around the trunk, each week, until all fruit are harvested. It attracts and kills both Queensland and Mediterranean fruit fly, using a combination of a protein and sugar based bait and an insecticide derived from a naturally occurring soil bacteria.
Lumpy swellings along the stems of citrus trees are an indication of citrus gall wasp. Citrus gall wasp (Bruchophagus fellis) is native to warm coastal areas in New South Wales and Queensland but has also become an increasing problem in Victoria and also Western Australia. Its original host was the native Australian finger lime but can also seriously affect other citrus including lemons, grapefruit and oranges.
The galls not only look unattractive they can lead to poor plant health and reduced harvest. It’s important to be vigilant and look out for these galls and winter is an ideal time to act to reduce this nasty pest, before the adult wasps emerge in spring. There are no sprays registered for controlling citrus gall wasp in home gardens and once galls are formed the damage is permanent.
Prune off affected stems and place these sections in a sealed plastic bag and put them in the garbage (don’t put gall infested stems in the compost bin). Disposing affected stems before the adult wasps have emerged stops the life cycle and helps to reduce new infestations in spring.