Recently moved into a new home and this past spring/early summer the plum tree (I think, Japanese or ornamental) looked like it was "raining" under it and much to my dismay I was told by a neighbour that it was aphid droppings. I heard that this is called "honeydew". I could not believe the mess it made on everything (cars, fence, plants etc) not to mention the wasps it attracted. Is there anything that can be done next year to prevent this??? Dormant oil? I don't want to harm the insects or other plants.
there must have been a severe infestation if the drippings were that bad!! could also have had a situation where ants were 'farming' them. hard to keep aphids off trees (flowering plants and small bushes are much easier to deal with) when using some kind of chemical thing - too labor intensive and too easy to damage what you don't want to! easiest thing to do is just take the hose and turn in full power and blast the buggers away. that'll keep them away for a few days and then just blast again with the hose when they start becoming noticeable again. generally, they're only around for a few weeks, so, shouldn't be all that much of a hassle.
You can keep the ants from "farming" the aphids by applying Tree Tanglefoot in a band around the tree trunk. Do this in the spring before the ants have a chance to carry aphids up to the leaves. This may not prevent aphids totally, but it should make them more susceptible to predation and easier to control.
Thank you, Vitog. I have seen trees with a "white band" painted around them and often wondered what the purpose was. I assume this is "Tree Tanglefoot"? I will certainly try this next spring!
Tanglefoot is usually not applied directly to the bark of young trees. The directions recommend a band of waterproof paper first and then the band of Tanglefoot, which has a light brown or tan colour. You may have seen a band of white paper, or something else. I usually wrap plastic tape around the trunk before applying the Tanglefoot. For older trees with rough bark, I've been applying the Tanglefoot directly to the bark, since it's difficult to close off all of the cracks and crevices with paper or tape.
I use plastic wrap (same as you would use to cover food) and put the tanglefoot on that. I believe I bought mine from Canadian Tire...certainly stopped the ants from getting up the trunk, but be sure there is no other access they can use (other shrub branches etc) because they will find it.
