I have an ornamental pear and an edible pear tree in my yard and they are both doing the same thing. The tips of the branches are turning brown, almost black. It is all over both trees, but just on the tips. Do you think someone has sprayed and they are getting sick from that? What can I do about it? We haven't sprayed anything in our yard, but I can't say that about my neighbors.

  I don't think it is a chemical problem. I think you have fireblight. Fireblight is a bacterial disease that is spread during bloom by pollinators. There is no spray cure for it now. Preventative sprays during bloom with streptomycin or agristrep can give limited control, but when weather conditions are good, the disease spreads rapidly. For now, your only recourse is to prune out the damaged tips. The symptoms start looking burned on the tips of the branches, with the end flagging over like a shepherds crook. The disease will stop spreading when temperatures reach 85 degrees, but it won't go away. Cutting out the damaged branches 6-8 inches beneath where there is visible damage can help. Use a bleach solution to clean your pruners in between cuts, as you can spread the disease mechanically if you cut into diseased tissue.