The message
from "Bob" contains these words:


Last year I had hundreds of ladybirds living on a patch of Euphorbias. A
month later they had all flown away and the neighbouring plum tree was
swarming with aphids - so a fat load of good they were.

I've used no insecticides in the garden in the 3 years I've been here, and
the fruit trees are being eaten alive! In the past two years, all the
leaves had been sucked dry and had fallen off well before autumn. The
"natural balance" obviously doesn't occur at a point compatitble with what I
want from the garden, so I'm beginning to think that spraying may be
required to give my trees a chance!

Birds eat a LOT more aphids than ladybirds, I recommend that you
encourage more birds to attend to your fruit trees, by hanging peanut
and seed feeders in the trees to show them where the free food is.

Using this method I've seen birds clear huge seasonal aphid-hatches on
fir and viburnum, ib the space of a day or two.

Janet.