strange insects eating cherry tree

Joey Meister

so i was looking at my cherry tree today and noticed there were alot of clear holes in the leaves. then i noticed what looked like black and green bird poop all over it, then the bird poop moved and i realized that these were insects and were eating the leaves. how do i get rid of these weird things, i don't want the tree to die as it was just planted this spring.

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James Taylor

I'm not sure what the pest insect is but the easiest way to get rid of them is to remove them by hand wear some gloves and simply squash them.

If there are too many i would try a horticultural white oil diluted with water and sprayed all over the plant, meaning both sides of the leaves. As the insects appear quite slimy they might respond to a simple spray of diluted washing up liquid.

If none of these techniques work i would try using a systemic insecticide, meaning it will be taken up by the leaf and spread throughout the plant. i would recommend a product which has Imidacloprid as an active constituent such as Confidor.

good luck

Bowani Siam

That definitely looks like the somewhat dreaded Pear & Cherry Slug.

There are a number of ways to get rid of them. The easiest as J.T. suggests is to remove them by hand (and feed them to chickens!). They will not, however, respond to a systemic insecticide. People I know (who for some reason attempt to grow stone fruit in Sydney's Inner West with average results) knock all the slugs to the ground and apply a layer of Vaseline around the base of the trunk to stop them comin' back up, then let the birds take their pickings.

Check this out:

Green Harvest - Pear and Cherry Slug Introduction

Good luck!

Joey Meister

Thanks for the info, i hosed some of them off tonight, i didn't want to touch them as i did not know it they would irritate my skin, know that i know i can just pick them off, maybe my pet birds can have a little snack now

Patsy

I have had great success using a tablespoon of grated soap (real soap) dissolved in hot water, then diluted with cool water and sprayed the leaves with this mixture. Another of my treatments is fine wood ash sprinkled on the leaves on a dry windless day. The slugs don't like that at all as it absorbs the moisture in their bodies.