Abstract BACKGROUND: The codling moth is the most serious pest of deciduous tree fruit (apples, pears, crabapples, walnuts, quince) worldwide. The high frequency of insecticide treatments per season has resulted in breakdown of codling moth control owing to insecticide resistance. As an alternative, integrated pest management includes mating disruption to achieve population suppression in orchards. Under this scheme, the sex pheromone of the codling moth, ( E , E )‐8,10‐dodecadien‐1‐ol (codlemone), is released from dispensers in crops to hinder mating by luring males. Increasing the attractiveness of codlemone formulations to codling moth males can be regarded as a key to increasing the efficacy of mating disruption. With this aim, the effects of adding plant volatiles on the behavioural responses of codling moth males to codlemone were tested. RESULTS: Adding R (+)‐limonene, linalool, ( E )‐β‐farnesene or ethyl ( E , Z )‐2,4‐decadienoate to codlemone significantly increases the proportion of males flying to the pheromone source in a wind tunnel. The response level is equivalent to that of males responding to females releasing codlemone. Using real‐time recordings, it is shown how these four plant products also shorten the response time of males to codlemone under the behavioural criteria time to activation, time till upwind flight is induced and time to pheromone source contact. CONCLUSION: Shortening the response time and increasing source location by males of dispensers releasing codlemone with R (+)‐limonene, linalool, ( E )‐β‐farnesene or ethyl ( E , Z )‐2,4‐decadienoate added would enhance mating disruption through better engagement of males with dispensers, to the detriment of females. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry