What's eating my milkflower cotoneaster?

Milkflower cotoneaster is susceptible to aphids, woolly aphids, and fire blight bacteria, plus berry-stripping birds in autumn. Caterpillars of the hawthorn webber moth can tie shoots with silk. Scale insects appear on older wood. Deer and rabbits occasionally browse stems in winter.

White cottony tufts on stems and branch junctions; galls and bark distortion beneath Scrub tufts off with a stiff brush; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil; prune heavily infested shoots

Shoot tips bound in silk webbing; skeletonized leaves within nests in spring and early summer Cut out and destroy webbed nests before caterpillars disperse; apply Bt if populations are high

Hard brown or oystershell-shaped bumps on bark; slow decline of affected branches Prune badly affected branches; apply dormant horticultural oil in late winter

Rapid stripping of red berries in autumn, eliminating winter display Net if fruiting display is important; otherwise welcome as wildlife food source