I'm amazed they bother, either that or since this is the first year they didn't have many to eat and didn't know better. The only time I've had them wipe out my sour cherries was when the sparrows were living in my eaves and there were tons of them but few cherries. Now that I've fenced out the sparrows I only get a peck or two on the cherries. Now that they know better (assuming it's not a "sweet sour cherry") and next year when you should have more a scarecrow (plastic owl, snake or stuffed animal) may be enough to keep them away.

as noted ... we NEVER fix anything .. this late in the season ... on deciduous trees ... and your presumptions.. mark you as a newbie ... thank goodness you found us ... we can bring up the learning curve ... a good rule of thumb.. is for you to find latin names.. and then try to figure out.. if any given condition runs between such ... as in this case.. where the prunus disease.. does not affect malus ... to be successful with apple ... to grow ones that look like the ones in the store ... you will need to be spraying an apple tree 3 to 5 times per year ... there is a fruit forum.. and hopefully.. those peeps can help you ... finally ... late october is not the time to be looking for pristine plants ... everything is getting ratty ... as the trees wind down ... and in fact.. the whole garden winds down ... your only conern at this time of year.. is fall cleanup ... and IDing what need be done ... e.g. removal of all veggie greens... removes any bugs that might winter over ... so there will come a time.. to clean out that bed ... same with removing leaves from under certain tree for sure ... etc ... [and of course.. the converse ... perhaps that tree leaves .. holes or not.. can be incorporated into the veggie bed ... so improve your soil.. since the tree fungus may not impact the veg ... you can research that ... or someone else can firm that up ...i am simply giving an e.g.] good luck ken

I had a similar problem. It sounds to me like you have a Japanese Beetle investation. The reason you probably haven't spotted them is because they are only active for a few weeks in the summer months (June/July). The Larvae lives under your lawn and feeds off of the grass roots. There are bags that you stake in your lawn that attract and trap them. I've read that it's a double edge sword though. They trap your bugs, but they also attract more bugs to your yard. Two nights ago I used a insect yard spray that you hook up to your hose on my plum tree. I purchased it from Walmart but I don't know the brand. Anyway it seemed to do the trick ie kill them. Last night I sprayed the tree and lawn with soapy water in hopes of killing any remaining beetles in the tree and larvae in the ground. I mixed regular dish soap with water in a cup. I then attached the nozzle from the insect spray I had to the hose and used that to draw the soapy water up. Not sure if that helped but we'll have to see if they come back next year. I'll probably treat the yard a couple more times in the fall and spring.

I do see signs of some kind of leaf miner, but nothing else identifiable. Not leaf cutter bees nor Japanese beetles this time, though those pests can certainly be found on these plants (along with most other pests and diseases known to plant life).