Glenys wrote:
We have some wierd things living on one of our blackcurrant bushes!
I have enclosed the only pjhoto I could find of it on the web, but it
had no discription, so am still in the dark.

It looks abit like the shell of a wood louse, but under it is a thick
lump of what appears to be white gloop, but when it is disturbed, the
white bit pulls out like sticky silk/candyfloss fibre.

Any suggestions, eradications, and if there are any natural predators
we can introduce instead.

ThanX Glenys
Sheffield UK


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Filename: Untitled-1.jpg |
Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=16011|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

The photo isn't very close but from your description I would say mealy bug.
You need a contact insecticed with a soap or detergent to get through the
goo or a systemic as they are sap suckers. On a small plant, eg house
plants in pots, you can get them with a cotton bud dipped in metholated
spirits. Apparently there is now a natural control agent Verticillium
lecanii (a kind of fungus) but I have never used it and I don't know what
name it is marketed under. Perhaps ask your local nursery.

D