A-spraying we will go...

Today was clear and dry, and - most importantly - not windy! so I took the opportunity to get out the pressure sprayer. For the last two years plants in our garden have been affected by Stephanitis pyri - small bugs which research says affect mainly pear trees; we don't have a pear tree but our apple, medlar and quince trees have all been affected. I've sprayed all these using a product I bought in Spain - Oleotion; this has an oil and an insecticide which get mixed together. I sprayed with this last year in the winter, and the problem was not so bad as in the previous year - but we still got bugs.

Worst of all is a big shrub in the front garden, a cotoneaster. This is the most difficult to deal with, as the bugs live on the undersides of the leaves, so can't be got at with the spray. I think I will have to prune this right back otherwise we won't be able to wipe out the pests.

The bug is known in French as "tigre du poirier" so I've taken to calling them the tigers in the garden.