Gardener Protects Fruit From Pests Using An Impressive Clothing DIY

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Growing your own fruit should be a relaxing, rewarding enterprise, but too often it can feel like a perpetual war against hungry interlopers determined to chow down on your carefully nurtured bounty. There are numerous ways of discouraging these pests, but one gardener impressed us with a simple DIY method for protecting fruit, and all it requires is something you may already have in your closet.

Christy Wilhelmi, a gardener, author, and founder of the organic gardening website Gardenerd, shared a video on Instagram revealing what one of her favorite DIY pest control hacks. All this requires is an old stocking or pair of tights — in this context, sometimes referred to by gardeners as "codling moth maggot barriers" — which are repurposed to act as a defense against critters. Wilhelmi demonstrates this by wrapping several apples still hanging on her own tree in the stocking, then twisting the material around so that the fruit is tightly protected.

"That helps deter rats from chewing through the barrier to eat your apples," Wilhelmi explains. She goes on to clarify that this may not entirely prevent rats from accessing your fruit, but it will slow them down considerably. Because of this, she adds, "I can come out every day, and pick a few, and bring them inside." If you'd like to do the same, be sure to check out our recipe for Dutch apple pie so you can use those apples to their full potential.

While Wilhelmi specifically cites rats as the garden threat she is concerned about, this hack is also handy for protecting fruit from insects. As its name would suggest, it can be used to discourage codling moths, which can be highly damaging to an apple harvest and render the fruit inedible. Writing on the online forum of the UBC Botanical Garden, one commenter reported that the Seattle Fruit Tree Society had started using maggot barriers on their apples, pears, and Asian pears, writing: "We found that they were nearly 100% effective against apple maggots and 80% effective against coddling moths!" If this has inspired you to try out your own green thumb, remember to check out the 10 fruits and veggies you should grow in your fall garden. 

It is recommended that you wrap your baby fruit in spring, preventing insects from laying their eggs in the fruit. While repurposing stockings is the thrifty way to achieve this solution, you can also purchase them, such as these Maggot Barriers from Foot Sox, available on Amazon. Unfortunately, the threat of insects doesn't stop once your pick your produce and bring it indoors, so make sure to refresh yourself on our guide to the best way to get rid of fruit flies — remember, you grew the fruit, so you should be the one who gets to enjoy it.