This happened for me with pears. I skip them if I am applying neem. I swear by the solid product used as paste for peach borer prevention and as an adjunct with borer removal. I stuff the holes full in case I missed one.
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Catnip and thyme oil is a biological pesticide for pear fire blight
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Fire Blight is a bacteria.
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Catnip and thyme oil contain bacteria that fight fire blight
Thyme oil had average 43% control per this Good Fruit Grower article. It is interesting to read about biopesticide that has been used.
Those who grow pomme fruit organically could look into this.
@scottfsmith have you tried any of these products?
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I did look into them a long time ago but never actually tried. I don’t remember why, it may have been expensive.
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Yeah, pears are sensitive to neem oil. Karanja oil is sometimes used as an alternative on pears.
Have used karanja oil in the past, but it’s not as readily available as neem. You can mix it with neem oil (replacing about half of the usual neem in the mixture with the karanja); the combination seems to increase activity against cucumber beetles (and probably other pests).
As an aside, neem seed meal is an excellent fertilizer. Will really push growth on plants such as rhubarb. Kinda pricey, though; so I don’t use it often. (Wish we could get it at Indian prices!)
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