By Stuartj84
Wrexham,
United Kingdom 
Woolly Aphids are taking over my crab apple (malus hornet) tree. I bought crab apple tree about 3 years ago when we bought our first house and planted in a pot in the garden. Basically I didn't have a clue what I was doing and just put in a big pot with no drainage and didn't really water it either. It became waterlogged in the first winter and I thought it was dead but it started coming into leaf in the next spring so I planted it properly in the garden. While it did survive it didn't produce any flowers in the second year. Last summer it did flower but not that much and the fruits on didnt seem as good as the first year and I noticed that it had loads of fluffy white stuff on it and ants. I never did much about it other than blasting the fluff off with a hose every so often but it always came back. I've since found out that its woolly aphids and started spraying it with this stuff http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9414011&fh_view_size=12&fh_eds=%3f&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3C{9372012}%2fcategories%3C{9372020}%2fcategories%3C{9372098}%2fspecificationsProductType%3dinsect___slug_control&fh_refview=lister&isSearch=false
I've been spraying for a week now and fluff is still appearing on the tree and the leaves as a result don't look too healthy now. Sorry for the long post but the question is will I ever really get rid of the aphids and as the tree seems very badly scared from previous attacks will they just keep coming back? Did the neglect of the plant cause the aphid attack? Should I keep spraying the plant or give up on it or cut it back to where there are no scars on the tree (which would only leave a couple of inches above ground)?
4 Apr, 2011
Answers
If there is any way you can scrape the 'cotton wool' that protects the aphids prior to spraying this makes the spraying more effective. Sadly I lost an apple tree to these pests recently despite fortnightly spraying with Provado (buy the concentrate that you mix yourself - works out cheaper) but I think they had taken too much of a hold by then. Another treatment recommended to me was to brush/scrub the tree with methylated spirits.
5 Apr, 2011
Hi thanks for the replies. I think they maybe pretty well established in the tree. I didn't think they'd have survived the recent winter but obviously did.
I don't really like the idea of using strong pesticides as am trying to make a wildlife friendly garden and even if provado did get rid of them could they easily come back because of how bad the tree has been affected before?
If I did get rid of the tree and replaced it with another one would that be risking the new tree being attacked?
5 Apr, 2011
Previous question
« plant id please for the red coloured flower plant. thanks in advance.
Aphids are often attracted to plants under stress, and ants frequently bring them to their favored hosts so they can milk them for honeydew.
Once wooly aphids are well established on a tree--and they can even attack the roots underground--the only thing that can reach them is Provado, and that will take a long time to work.
5 Apr, 2011