Telltale and bickering driving me insane!!

[DeathMetalMum]

Dd's 2.5 & 4.5 are driving me insane at the moment. Purposely getting on each others nerves, eg dd1 will poke/elbow (not actually hurting her) dd2 when she thinks no one is looking then complain when dd2 does it back. Dd1 will provoke dd2 and then complain, she hit me etc etc. Any suggestions how to handle the situation? I'm trying to ignore as much as possible but there are times when dd2 does hurt dd1. It's not all the time but I have noticed it happening more often and would like to reduce it if possible.

Just a suggestion, it worked for me once with a couple of 8-year-olds. Punish them both by sending them off to their room. That way one doesn't think it is unfair and she is always the one being told off and they can develop a bit of camaraderie.