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Barbados Cherry is under attack! Ahhhhhhhhhh!

 
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Okay, spring is here.. I went out to check on the growth of my Barbados Cherry tree.. It's covered in growth alright.

Any suggestions? I was thinking I should dust with DE as soon as things dry out but those little scale (Aphids?) things don't move around.. yet. They just sit there..
There doesn't seem to be any damage to the leaves.. yet - but I'm sure this tree will be devoured in short order given the quantity and diversity of the bugs inhabiting it's new growth.

I decided to leave it alone for now in hope that predators move in to clean up some of the mess. I did see a few Lady Bugs and a Golden Tortoise Beetle milling about but they weren't actively eating anything.

I'll probably go out this weekend to manually remove some of them if the population hasn't been reduced by other means.
IMG_20140404_082035_166.jpg
Barbados Cherry tree
Barbados Cherry tree
IMG_20140404_081848_738.jpg
Aphids?
Aphids?
IMG_20140404_081954_029.jpg
Aphids?
Aphids?
 
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Location: Virginia,USA zone 6
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Spray the tree with soapy water. add 2 teaspoons of liquid dishwashing soap per quart of water. Soak the little buggers and they should start dropping like "flies."
 
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My Barbados cherry tree is a veritable monster. Constantly putting out cherries almost year around. I have never had aphids on it not one time. But I have some other pest that attacks the fruit inserting their larvae in it. As much as my tree puts out fruit, and it's completely covered right now, I never get to eat the fruit. You can see where the fruit has been pierced, usually in multiple places. Every single fruit including the larger green ones. I'm chopping it down this season as it is right next to my peach tree and last year my peaches were attacked. Does anyone else have this problem with their fruit getting injected with bug babies?
 
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It sounds like you're talking about the Caribbean fruit fly (Anastrepha suspensa).  They are a common fruit pest here in Florida and are known to attack Barbados cherry.

Suspect you had good predators around to keep aphids in check.  Aphids absolutely love this tree.  Neem and soap spray only decrease their numbers but don't wipe them out.  Tree can still grow but it's annoying seeing the growth tips getting attacked.
 
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