Pests on a Japanese Maple

Thanks to everyone for all your tips and suggestions.

I've started by putting some ant powder around the base of the tree. I also started to remove the aphids by hand and after 20mins I had only done one branch - It would take hours to do the whole tree!! So I think I'm going to resort to spraying them with something...

I did wonder how one would source tomato leaves from.....? Anyway, due to time and sourcing constraints I think I'll go down the commercial pesticide route.

Looking at the range on B&Q they have Scotts, Earth Matters, Verve and Provado. Which of these is best? Or is it just a case of picking one which say it kills aphids? Whilst in B&Q last night I noted that one of the above mention products kills 'wooly aphids' - will this work? I don't recall any others claiming to kill any other varieties of aphids....

 

One interesting idea I have come across is to put some jam or sugar solution in a container in the tree, so the ants have access. The theory is that the ants will use this as source of sugar, which is what the aphids provide, and stop "farming" the aphids. They may even remove the aphids as these could be seen as competition for the food source. I have tried it a couple of times and it seems to work.
In the tropics some acacia species host ants and provide nectaries secreting a sweet substance for the ants in return the ants remove any pests from the tree.

 

But that's his land and I would not treat my garden in such a toxic manner.