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Managing Aphid Honeydew on Garden Plants and Large Trees

Clear, sticky honeydew coating hostas, peonies, patio, and a large overhanging linden tree comes from aphids feeding above. On big trees, foliar spraying is impractical; natural predators (lady beetles, lacewings) usually keep aphids in check.

Options

For shrubs and perennials: spray insecticidal soap or neem oil weekly.
For the linden: soil drench with imidacloprid (Bayer Tree & Shrub) in spring provides systemic control.
Hose off honeydew from surfaces; it washes away with water.
Encourage predators by planting diverse flowering plants and avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides.

Some years aphid populations explode due to weather; they typically crash naturally.

Plant Diseases: Aphids and Sooty Mold on Corkscrew Willow: Contact vs. Systemic Control; Plum Aphids in Curled Leaves: Atomic Grow and Pure Neem Oil; Apple Tree Woolly Aphids: Atomic Grow Organic Cleanup and Vigor; Oak Tree Honeydew Dripping: Aphids or Scale, Systemic Solution; Tree Dripping Sticky Sap with Flies and Bees? Aphid Honeydew; Linden Tree Aphids and June Beetles: No Connection, Honeydew Stunts Grass; Woolly Aphids on Big Maple: Systemic Soil Drench Stops Honeydew; Persistent Aphids on Mayday Tree: Systemic Solution; Controlling Aphid Honeydew on Elm Trees with Systemic Insecticides; Newly Planted Sugar Maple Struggles in Clay Soil and Heat

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