Uploaded June 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The pear midge is an unmitigated destroyer and I wish it and several others like it were extinct.
We didn't time the insecticide spray right (it's difficult with our other commitments and weather issues). Should have hit pre-blossom and again post blossom. Anyway, the pear midge hit us hard, especially for some reason on the Winter Nelis pears which seem more susceptible that other varieties.
Pear midge is one of those pests which once you realise you have been struck by it, its too late to do anything. Your fruitlets are destroyed and that's it for this year. You can see how severe the damage is, although there are a few surviving fruitlets.
I am informed that running chickens under the trees reduces the problem by the hens scratching up the soil and eating the over wintering larvae before they hatch out into the little flies that lay the eggs that hatch into the maggots that destroy the fruit. We cannot do this, we don't live on site and there is a large and growing fox and badger population locally (thanks again, townie animal lovers!) so any chickens we kept here would be killed within days.
I won't post details of the insecticides we use, they are all legal and documented for inspection by authorities. The relevant information can be found. If using pesticides always make a written needs assessment, store safely, watch the wind, read the label, wear appropriate protective clothing and obey all relevant laws. However, please do not bore me with green propaganda about 'cocktail effect' and other imaginary fears about crop protection chemicals. When used responsibly these chemicals greatly increase food production and as a result have contributed significantly to the increased life expectancy we currently enjoy. Used insufficiently, the bad guys win as we see in this video.
Agriculture minus crop protection = famine.
The pear midge is an unmitigated destroyer and I wish it and several others like it were extinct.
We didn't time the insecticide spray right (it's difficult with our other commitments and weather issues). Should have hit pre-blossom and again post blossom. Anyway, the pear midge hit us hard, especially for some reason on the Winter Nelis pears which seem more susceptible that other varieties.
Pear midge is one of those pests which once you realise you have been struck by it, its too late to do anything. Your fruitlets are destroyed and that's it for this year. You can see how severe the damage is, although there are a few surviving fruitlets.
I am informed that running chickens under the trees reduces the problem by the hens scratching up the soil and eating the over wintering larvae before they hatch out into the little flies that lay the eggs that hatch into the maggots that destroy the fruit. We cannot do this, we don't live on site and there is a large and growing fox and badger population locally (thanks again, townie animal lovers!) so any chickens we kept here would be killed within days.
I won't post details of the insecticides we use, they are all legal and documented for inspection by authorities. The relevant information can be found. If using pesticides always make a written needs assessment, store safely, watch the wind, read the label, wear appropriate protective clothing and obey all relevant laws. However, please do not bore me with green propaganda about 'cocktail effect' and other imaginary fears about crop protection chemicals. When used responsibly these chemicals greatly increase food production and as a result have contributed significantly to the increased life expectancy we currently enjoy. Used insufficiently, the bad guys win as we see in this video.
Agriculture minus crop protection = famine.
