Hackberry Dripping Sticky Residue: Aphids and Sooty Mold

Tall hackberry showers patio with sticky residue; white mite-like bugs fall. Owner asks for ground-level treatment.

Cause: Aphids

Honeydew → sooty mold. White bugs = aphid nymphs or shed skins.

Systemic soil drench: imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub) or acephate (Orthene).
Older systemic: disulfoton (DiSyston) granules—more toxic.

Foliar sprays impractical on tall tree. Systemics move to leaves via roots.

Trees: Decay Fungus on Hackberry: Manage, Don’t Cure; Woolly Aphids on Big Maple: Systemic Soil Drench Stops Honeydew; Hackberry Bark Splitting, Powder & Ants: Heart Rot & Insects; Globe Willow Aphid Infestation: Sooty Mold and Systemic Control; Aphid Honeydew on Beech Tree: Identification and Control; Sticky Maple Sap on Cars: Aphid Honeydew Solution; Hawthorn Root System: Safe for Patio Planting; Alder with Black Sticky Coating: Aphids and Sooty Mold; Planting Weeping Cherry Near a House: Spacing Guidelines for Root and Canopy Safety; Aphids: Tiny Sap-Suckers That Multiply Explosively

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