In general, it’s best to speak to your GP first if you have any chronic medical conditions or are taking other regular medication. If you develop side-effects from the use of tea tree oil or have a skin or anaphylactic reaction, always inform your GP and make sure this information is added to your medical record. We’re going to apply some grease to the base of an old cherry tree that we have here on the nursery. So this'll protect it against the winter months and March moths, which crawl up the stem and then lay their eggs in the crevices around here, and then they just kind of hatch out and the larvae just kind of get into the buds, get into the fruit, everything like that. So that's what we want to stop. Fruit Tree Grease will trap the female, wingless adults providing a good indication to the level of infestation on each tree. Hands were cleansed with the test solution for 60 seconds and rinsed for 15 seconds.' says Dr Lee. 'The tea tree oil preparation was safe and did not cause skin damage.' 9. Tea tree oil can help treat of MRSA

If you use grease bands, all you have to do is wrap the band around the entire circumference of the tree. They should be placed about 18 inches above the ground for the best results. Tea tree oil has been used throughout history for many reasons as it’s believed to have antibacterial properties. Terpinen-4-ol also appears to increase the activity of your white blood cells, which help fight germs and other foreign invaders ( 3). Fruit tree grease often sold in bracelets termed “fruit tree grease bands”, is a pesticide-free way that you can keep pests, namely winter moth caterpillars, away from your pear and apple trees in the early spring. In a controlled study, people with nail fungus used straight tea tree oil or an antifungal medication for 6 months. At the end of the study, about 60% of people in each group experienced partial or full resolution of the fungus ( 19).Tea tree oil also has a moisturising effect, whereas many other acne treatments have a drying effect on the skin,' she says.

You can buy fruit tree grease bands, also known as gel bands, in your local garden store. Using gel bands is not difficult. You don’t need any special skill to wrap them around the trunks of your fruit trees. Simply place them around the trunk about 18 inches (46 cm.) above the ground. Mix tea tree oil with water and vinegar to make an all-purpose cleaner for your home that’s free from chemicals. If a fruit tree has problems with severe defoliation or reduction of fruit crop by winter moth or a related species, this can be minimised in subsequent years by the use of grease bands. Winter mothcaterpillars canfeed on developingfruit buds of fruit trees such as apple, plum, pear and cherry reducing the amount of fruit produced though where possible we do recommend tolerating their presence. On ornamental trees the damage shouldbe tolerated as it will not affect the long term health of the plant. The caterpillars are an important part of the biodiversity trees support including as a food source for nesting birds in the spring. It couldn't be easier, all you need is an old paint brush. Watch our video on applying grease here. Gardeners want to keep their fruit trees healthy and produce as much fruit as possible. There are different possibilities for keeping fruit trees healthy. One is by using grease bands, so when should you put grease bands on fruit trees?We spoke to Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy and LloydsPharmacy Pharmacist Anshu Kaura about tea tree oil benefits, uses and potential side-effects: What is tea tree oil? However, other markers of infection such as viral titres, and the length of time viral cultures remained positive, were the same in both groups. ' The best time to put grease bands on fruit trees, or to apply fruit tree grease in general, is in the fall. Try to get this chore on your calendar to be completed by the end of October.

The cleansing powers of tea tree oil are down to its naturalantibacterial and antifungal properties. Likewise, people with sensitive skin may experience irritation when using undiluted tea tree oil. If your skin is sensitive, it’s best to mix tea tree oil with an equal or greater amount of olive oil, coconut oil, or almond oil.Due to its bacteria-combatting capabilities, tea tree oil makes a great natural cleansing ingredient for hand sanitisers. Sensitive skin and blemish breakouts Spots normally pop up when our skin produces excess sebum (natural skin oil) which can cling onto dead skin and cause spots. Putting grease bands on a fruit tree is not challenging, but the difficulty level depends somewhat on the tree type.