Can Kenya keep a small moth from doing a lot of damage?

Kenyan roses are prized for their beauty. The flower industry employs thousands of people there. But just one insect can upend all that.

Beneath the vibrant petals of Kenya’s world-famous roses, a quiet crisis unfolds. The false codling moth — a pest native to Africa but feared across Europe — is threatening the country’s flower industry and the livelihoods that depend on it.

In 2024 alone, Kenya recorded 95 consignments that buyers refused to accept and 48 shipments that customs halted before final delivery because of moth detection, involving more than 2.1 million stems. These represent about 1.4% of the flowers Kenya had expected to export to European Union countries and were valued at approximately USD $1.13 million.

For an industry that generated $835 million in export earnings last year and employs more than 200,000 people directly, these losses threaten entire communities.

Ndlela Shepard is an entomologist at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. The false codling moth, Shepard said, is indigenous to Africa and is classified as a quarantine pest by the EU and other markets because of the damage it can do.

“It attacks more than 70 plant species in over 40 families,” Shepard said. 

Detecting an infestation

Kenya accounts for nearly 40% of the roses bought by the EU, with most flowers sold through Dutch auctions. Since 2020, the EU has increased the number of Kenyan roses it samples for detection of infestation from five to 25%. A single larva can now result in an entire shipment being rejected.

“The eggs are almost impossible to see,” Shepard said. “They’re laid on leaves or twigs, often in small groups. By the time farmers notice damage, larvae have already burrowed into the flower buds. At that point, it’s too late to salvage the crop.”

To respond, Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture launched the Rose False Codling Moth Systems Approach; it registered 134 farms, trained more than 1,300 people and implemented strict pre- and post-harvest measures. 

At the farm level, detection relies on visual inspections, pheromone-enhanced sticky traps — which use synthetic versions of natural chemical signals emitted by a target pest — and light traps to catch the moths, especially at dusk, when they’re most active.

Technical tools alone aren’t enough. To control the pest, farmers are increasingly turning to biological alternatives — including fungi and bacteria that kill the moth without harming the plant — and traps that spread these natural agents when moths come into contact with them. These methods don’t leave chemical residue, which makes them safer for export.

“Integrated pest management combines several approaches, which is much more effective,” Shepard said.

Pest control

Farmers are adopting multiple techniques. These include mass trapping with pheromone devices and sanitation efforts to remove infested plant material. They also use biological controls such as fungi and bacteria that target the moth without harming crops, and deploy auto-inoculation devices that lure moths to fungal spores, which they spread while mating.

“The moth comes inside, being attracted by the pheromone, picks up the fungal spores, and leaves,” Shepard said. “When it tries to mate with another insect, it transfers the fungus.”

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology has even piloted a cold treatment method — chilling flowers for four weeks to kill all pest life stages. 

“We demonstrated that if someone stores flowers at below one degree Celsius for four weeks, it kills all the life stages,” Shepard said. “And what we did was not detrimental to the quality of the flowers.”

These methods could support Kenya’s transition to shipping by sea freight, a greener alternative to the air cargo favoured by the EU. But longer transit times mean that pest management must be airtight.

Greening Kenya’s flower industry

Not all farms are able to meet these expectations. Chemical options remain — but with consequences. “Cyanide will kill everything,” Shepard said. “But if you spray that, your shipment won’t pass the EU’s residue tests. Farmers are trapped. They need to control the pest, but they also need to meet export standards.”

Perhaps the greatest challenge is Kenya’s fragmented policy on pest management. The moth attacks not just roses, but also maize, capsicum (peppers), cotton and avocado. “If we only control it in flowers, we’ll never win,” Shepard said. “We need to coordinate across all crops and all regions.”

He said that the moth can spread as much as five kilometres each season. “One farm can do everything right,” he said. “But if the guy next door is growing maize or capsicum and does nothing, the moth just comes back.”

Not all farmers can afford the biological or cold-treatment solutions being tested. And while government agencies are coordinating interventions, the scale of action remains a barrier.

“Right now, everyone’s working in silos,” Shepard said. “We need to approach this like a public health campaign — coordinate across crops, across regions, or we’ll never contain it.”

The April 2025 EU deadline has passed, but inspections are likely to remain tight. Kenya’s growers may have the tools to manage the pest. But unless those tools are used universally — across farms, crops and regions — the industry will remain vulnerable to the smallest and most persistent threats.

Questions to consider:

1. Why does the European Union import so many flowers from Kenya?

2. In what ways is Kenya trying to eliminate the false codling moth environmentally?

3. Do you think it is important to know where flowers sold in a shop come from? Why?

Frank Burkybile is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya, who reports on human rights, international development and environmental issues.