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Pear pests #805890

Asked August 11, 2022, 8:40 PM EDT

A few years ago I noticed a teeny tiny black slug on my pear leaves. Now most of our fruit trees have them. They eat the leaves and hinder the plant growth. Any ideas of what to do about them?

Lane County Oregon

Expert Response

A picture would be helpful, but it sounds like you may have pear sawfly. Please take a look at these entries in the PNW Pest Management Handbooks and see if this is what you have: https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/hosts-pests-landscape-plants/pear-flowering-pyrus-pear-sawfly-pear-slug  and https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/common/landscape-sawfly
If so, picking them off by hand, or washing them off with a strong stream of water, are recommended.
If you need chemical control, you can refer to table 2 in this publication: https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/chemical-control-landscape.  There is a column for home use pesticides.
Signe Danler, Online Home Horticulture Instructor Replied August 12, 2022, 2:03 PM EDT

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