Noisette

Errr....old news? It was thriving before confinement, but haven't been down for a while. It was a haven in a country that's becoming inundated with burger/pizza joints!

There you go....no excuse for a less-than-impeccable garden, invite all and sundry (apart from infected Brits, obviously) , and fait comme tout le monde à l'époque de la morte noire ;-))

Spot on WB! Thing is...99% of the time, the 'chef cuisto' has consumed rather more jungle juice than the legal limit to be in control of a car, let alone a cooker! You give them countless books with precise instructions and lots of interesting things to do with courgettes...the result? Well let's just say that even the cats won't touch it! Especially the 'marinaded' dross that les grandes surfaces pass off for consumption.

Same for the concerts! Best take a deep breath and look forward to 2021 ;-) It'll be terrific if we're all still alive to make the most of it!

IKEA Bordeaux 'adjusted' it's prices exponentially after the makeover of the store, some time ago now. As you so rightly say, expensive tat! @ the OP, re. bathroom fittings from Castorama, it's worth noting that they're not particularly long-lasting. How to put this...;-) despite 'normal to light' use and decent maintenance, the bondes have rusted, the loo has cracked and some of the cupboard doors have discoloured while the housings stayed the original colour. Not due to sunlight or chemicals, I hasten to add. After just 10 years. Disappointing.

Hello mint, not a spray, but you could try a pheromone trap. It's the right time of year to use one. Available in all the GCs and most big supers, also through Amazon etc. You hang the plastic pyramid containing the sticky card and the pheromone capsule in the tree, it attracts the male moths, they get stuck, no hanky-panky with the females so no (or fewer) grubs in the fruit. It's worth changing the capsule after a couple of months, as advised, to get the second flush of males.

I really haven't got time to plough through the old posts, but if anyone else in 47 needs professional advice or help with their pool, the Berrone brothers (PiscinesSwindo) are very good. It's an unfortunate name ;-), at least if you're anglophone, but they're good, honest and experienced. No vested interest, just a happy customer. http://piscinesswindo.fr/index.php/nous-contacter/

[quote user="richard51"] Perhaps rather strong insecticide is another alternative.[/quote] I don't think so. Caterpillars are notoriously resistant to insecticides, as are a lot of insects now that they've mutated to shrug them off. Strangely, the bacterium doesn't have any effect on sawflies, which look just like caterpillars to most people. Natural predators are definitely the way forward, though. It's impressive seeing tiny parasitic wasps in action on a colony of aphids!

Were you by any chance a taxonomist in a former life? Or perhaps a taxinspector? ;-) Colombelle is one of the great undiscovered treasures of the SW. An interesting story lies behind it as it was considered too inferior to be made into Armagnac, the viticulteurs turned to the USA for advice on how to develop a decent dry white from Colombard and Ugni Blanc and Colombelle was born.....yum! Give me a minute and I'll try to weave a tenuous link with pesky caterpillars ;-)

Plants with the suffix 'Thunbergiensis' are named in honour of Carl Peter Thunberg. Thuringiensis indicates that it was discovered (for the second time) by a German scientist in Thuringia. There you go ;-) Mea culpa x 20. With a couple of Hail Marys thrown in. I blame the second glass of Colombelle. (Look it up!)

The solution to any caterpillar-related problem in the garden lies in a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis. It is specific to caterpillars (but not sawflies) and can be used both as prevention and cure. The powder is mixed with water in a sprayer and applied to pines, oaks, box or whatever, preferably before the infestation is advanced. It's one of the few effective products left on the shelves, probably because it's not a chemical and doesn't harm other forms of insect. It is a shame that it's not more widely publicised.