Crepe Myrtle Sooty Mold: Aphid Control Eliminates Black Fungus

2-yr crepe myrtles have black fungus on trees and understory perennials. Removal advice?

Diagnosis: Sooty Mold from Aphid Honeydew

Aphids suck leaf juices → excrete sugar-rich honeydew → sooty mold grows on honeydew.

Contact insecticides: Acephate (Orthene), bifenthrin (Talstar), chlorpyrifos (Dursban), diazinon, lindane, malathion, nicotine sulfate, pyrethrum, rotenone, resmethrin, tetramethrin+sumithrin. Rotate if resistance.
Systemic insecticides: Acephate (Orthene), others (restricted). Soil-applied = less beneficial harm.

Mold washes off with rain once aphids controlled. Ask nursery for tree-aphid product.

Trees: Oak Tree Dripping Sap? It's Honeydew from Aphids or Scale; Cottony Aphids on Young Sargent Crabapple: Identification and Control; Mystery Blob at Mulberry Base: Fungus or Harmless Slime Mold?; Littleleaf Linden Honeydew: Aphid/Scale Systemic Treatment; Hackberry "Sap" on Truck: It's Honeydew from Aphids/Scale; Sticky Sap Dripping from Oak: Aphids or Scale; Cottony Aphids on California Valley Oak; Crepe Myrtle in Michigan: Container Limitations and Planting Solution; Black Leaves on Ornamental Pear: Sooty Mold from Aphids; Cottony Substance on Oak Leaves: Cottony Aphids

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