My plum tree is being attacked by some form of green fly, which is making the leaves curl. Anyone have any ideas what these insects are and how can I get rid of them.
Thanks
David
They are aphids and they are a nuisance, but apart from spraying the tree with a systemic insecticide, there is very little you can do about it. Our trees are attacked every year. We tend to ignore it and, basically nothing much happens except that the tree looks a bit unsightly.
These are aphids - but you don't need to use insecticide to get rid of them. Provided you have access to a hose, you can spray them off with good old ordinary water. Aphids can't get back onto the leaves once they are swept off. Some eggs may remain, so doing it two or three times may be necessary. After that the numbers will be reduced, and natural predators will keep them down.
It is extremely unlikely that aphids are laying eggs at this time of year as viviparity results in much quicker population build up. More infestations will be more likely to come from wingless females missed by whatever eradication/removal methods are employed or by winged females flying in from other high population areas. Control measures may need to be taken repeatedly until the aphids go into diapause.
i have had some luck with soapy water and a bit of patience with quiet a few of the buggers ok it doesnt kill them out right at first but they dont like it and do clear off eventually (errr some times after they have had a belly full of your plant) but i dont really like insectacides etc they idea was not to be totally organic but to cut out the nastier side of stuff
well you can try it
carl
I think it was Ken Kew who had a similar problem with his cherry tree. My mum's plum and cherry tree suffer every year, and like Eric said, it doesn't look great, but every year mum has more plums than she can use (great for me!) and she has to fight the blackbirds for the cherries! The crops never seem to suffer so she just ignores them.