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Honeydew - aphid - ants

paula_ellisrobertspaula_ellisroberts Posts: 1
edited June 2021 in Problem solving
Very sticky sappy kind of mess all over ground on patio, bins, grass. Had no idea what it was so googled and found out aphids, ants, honeydew.  However, this is on my 20-25 foot Birches - 3 of them. I’ve now placed ant traps at the base of the trees and ordered a tree tanglefoot insect barrier to smear round the trunk - not arriving til 5/7/2021. Is there anything else I can do? 

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  • luis_prluis_pr Posts: 123
    edited June 2021
    Some friends of the family had white birch trees but they would normally do almost nothing for aphids unless the infestation was severe. Birch trees typically suffer from aphids infestations so they bought several types of beneficial insects like lady beetles, green lacewings, .... I think they were also going to try parasitic wasps but I do not remember what happened with that idea. I think they used horticultural oils once when they complained about too many aphids but, the trees at the time were not 20-25 feet tall like yours. If management with natural enemies is insufficient and low toxicity chemicals proves impractical, consult with a landscape company to provide additional suggestions and even do regular "maintenance" that might reduce the problem in the future.

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