Sticky spray from trees this spring

[Eric H-L]

I have been parking under the same trees for about 20 years. I get all kinds of debris on my van. Once a squirrel tail ripped off by a predator. This year there is something new, sticky like a mist coming down all the time. April, May and June. It’s hard to get off with water. Once I get it off it seems like it comes right back in days. My wife usually parks in the garage, but one night was enough to encase her car. I park under a Hackberry, she parked under an oak. She hates it on the cars. I don’t mind. I am more worried about our mature trees! Does this have something to do with multi years of inadequate rainfall? We have also lost a crabapple, maybe drought stress?

 

[vharrison]

A couple of years ago we had a similar situation on our island. The Gumbo Limbo’s were leaving a black sticky goo on cars. I can’t remember exactly what it was but one solution was inoculating the tree. You might take a sample of the leaves to your agricultural extension office and see what they say.

 

[lxskllr]

My black locusts do that. Dunno if it's an indication of anything. I assumed it had something to do with the reproduction process.

My black locusts are at end of life, and have fungus, so the spray being a pathogen isn't off the table.

 

[cory]

Wow! Just yesterday I saw that my bucket and chip truck, which park adjacent to a large red oak, were basically covered with tiny dots of very sticky material. My only guess is that is was aphid poop though the tree seems overall healthy.

I don't recall ever seeing such a severe and sudden coating of sticky stuff occurring.

 

[Nutball]

Hackberries sometimes do that. I don't know how. I cut down a sticky hackberry once. I've heard that silver maple can do it, but I have never noticed that.

I like the idea of aphid poop, it makes sense.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yup.

Wow! Just yesterday I saw that my bucket and chip truck, which park adjacent to a large red oak, were basically covered with tiny dots of very sticky material. My only guess is that is was aphid poop though the tree seems overall healthy.

I don't recall ever seeing such a severe and sudden coating of sticky stuff occurring.

Yup. Tree pooped on ya

 

[cory]

Geez it happened fast and hard and heavy

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Yes, aphid's poop. They drink the sap from the leaves and young twigs. They look after the proteins. But, as there is so few of them in the sap, they have to sip massive amounts of it. Comparatively, the sugar is much more present and the aphids ends with way more sugar than they need for their energy consumption. So they expel the excess under the form of tiny droplets of syrup. The ants are very interested by this by-product and that's why they take care of "their" aphids, like in a farm. The sooty mould is a black fungus living on this droplets and it covers everything with a dark shade, fruits, leaves, furnitures, patio...

 

[stig]

Honey bees like it as well.
In the heavily forested areas in Austria and Schweiz and in the Black forest "Schwartzwald" in Germany they make a very dark, almost black, extremely aromatic honey ,"Waldhonig",
which consists almost exclusively of aphid poop from conifers.
That is not a fact, the beekeepers advertice!

 

[cory]

Because you care, it's 'advertise' not advertice

 

[stig]

Thanks.

 

[cory]

I suspect 'advertice' is correct in a different language?

 

[stig]

Nope.
Just did a check and it doesn't work.

Worst thing for me: I can't even call it a typo, I honestly didn't know.

 

[cory]

 

[Ed L]

Dad has been bitching about it here too. Never an issue in 14 years.

Ed

 

[BeerGeek]

The red oak along my driveway did it to my pickup and family truckster for abouit 2 weeks. Lots of fun with the scraper cleaning the windows and sunroof.

 

[Eric H-L]

I appreciate the information! Now my curious mind wants to know, why are the aphids so numerous and active this year?

 

[Nutball]

Maybe the weather. Maybe agricultural chemical use has killed off their predators.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

The aphid's populations have an enormous growth rate due to their clonal multiplication. Extremely weak, but very low investments needed. Their only defense is making babies, millions of babies. Only the adversity around them keeps them at bay, relatively. A little difference in the surrounding factors at the beginning can lead to a massive invasion a few weeks later, just by enhancing a bit their survival rate. Crazy species.