Is your car, sidewalk or deck covered with a sticky sap. This honeydew solution is a byproduct of a heavy aphid infestation in our trees. As the aphids feed they suck the sap out of the trees and secrete a honeydew solution. The ants are attracted to the honeydew and use it as a food source. If your trees are infected with aphids, you may see ants going up and down on the trunk collecting the sap produced by the aphids.

Are the leaves on your Honeysuckle shrubs stunted and distorted. Again, the culprit is the aphid. The Honeysuckle aphid has been a real problem in our area for the past few years. When aphids feed the leaves will curl up around them making it difficult to treat with an insecticide. The recommendation is to spray your honeysuckle every 10-14 days with Orthene. This insecticide is a systemic which is absorbed by the plant and taken up by the aphid as it sucks sap out of the plant.

Aphids (plant lice) feed on many different plants. These tiny soft bodied insects are seldom over 1/8 of an inch in length and may be green, black, gray, red, white or purple in color. They may have wings or be wingless. Aphids generally feed in mass on any part of the plant, but prefer leaves on the tender young stems.

Timely and thorough control is important for aphid infestation. On trees which are too large to be easily sprayed we must depend on natural controls such as the lady bugs. On smaller trees, aphids can be controlled with either Malathion or Diazinon. Orthene is not cleared for plants which produce edible plant parts. Other insecticides labeled for aphids such as Tempo can also be used, but only for plants listed on the label. The active ingredient in Tempo is available in Bayer Advanced Garden Multi-Insect Killer.  When using insecticide, mix and apply according to label directions. Read and apply all pesticides according to label directions.

This page was last updated April 2003

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