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Yup, that’s aphid spunk. Def a busier year for it. All my tree work mates are posting videos clawing them out their eyes
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I'm far from a gardener but have plants in the garden that were here when I moved in that get covered with aphids. Predators do a decent job or sorting it out unless there are ants protecting them. Have a look for a patrol of ants on the trunk.
I have a big Acer with no ants and loads of ladybirds, then some other leafy thing with loads of ants, loads of aphids and zero ladybirds.
I'm sure I read at some points about soapy water deters them?
edmundro
yafe
@stevo_com
Anyone else getting mad sap under maples/sycamores? I love the field maple out the front of my house but the front path and car are constantly "glazed" at the minute. Walking round the neighbourhood, it's not every tree so I decided to try and read about it as I thought it was the weather doing something funky with the leaves. Turns out, from a few sites/forums I found, it's not actually sap but the sugary secretions from aphids feeding on the sap. I wonder if the recent conditions have been favourable to aphids but less so to their predators. Tempted to get a box of lady birds and chuck them at it. It's totally harmless, just annoying.