Topic: tiny black beetle things on my cherry tree

[joestig]

Cherry tree has given us a bumper crop of fruit this year, but the new leaves at the end of the tree are curling up and dying, and are covered in a mass of tiny black beetle things, very squishy and thousands of them. I've snipped off all the affected leaves I can reach, but there are lots more at the top I can't.

any ideas?

[Baccy Man]

Is it a 'Sunburst' cherry by any chance they normally end up covered in blackfly.

[joestig]

I'm not sure of the type, it was here when I moved in. But it could wel be a sunburst, they go dark red eventually, but right now they're yellow, orange and red, not unlike a Fender Strat "sunburst" colour!

anyway, it look slike blackfly, i'd never even heard of it before, but it's infested, they reall like the new leaves at the end of each branch, they're really sludgy and sticky.

Hosepipe or light detergent soultion no good, as the tree is pretty large, about 12-15 fott to the top.

Is it fatal?

[joestig]

pleas epardon my shoddy typing...

[manicscousers]

ours was affected with these last year, first full year growing..I've put a grease band around the trunk, stop the flaming ants taking the fly up..seems to have worked, they're on the blackcurrants now  :-\

[thifasmom]

i'm not sure what it will do the tree but if you give it sometime i'm sure the predators will find it. they'll take a little while to build up their numbers but when they do they'll clean the tree up nicely.