With most of B.C. in the middle of another hot, dry summer, residents of the Vancouver Lower Mainland are again being asked to heed the usual warnings to conserve water – and rightly so. Install a rain barrel, we’re told. Raise the blades on the lawnmower. Don’t wash the car.
But for those of us living on tree-lined streets, that last recommendation is a little more difficult to stick to (forgive the pun). With no rain to wash the leaves, trees are covered in a sticky goo that rains down in a fine mist to cover everything below – the sidewalk, parked cars, the neighbourhood cat.
But before you blame the trees for the mess that covers your windshield, think again. The real culprits are ants.
These industrious insects love the honey dew that aphids produce. But aphids are lazy. So in order to get their fix, the ants carry the aphids up the tree to the new, tender shoots. Once placed in position, the aphids simply insert their feeding tube into a vein on the leaf which pumps the nitrogen-rich formula straight into – and out of – the aphid. No sucking required.
It is this honey dew or “Manna from Heaven” that the ants adore. They “milk” the sugary fluid fastidiously, constantly replenishing the supply of aphids, creating farms high in the canopy. The surplus of honeydew is what ends up on the windshield of your car – not tree sap, as is often mistakenly believed.
The solution? Get rid of the ants and you’ll solve your sticky problem. A blast from a hose to knock the offending critters off the tree’s leaves would do the trick but in the midst of strict watering restrictions, that’s difficult to justify, not to mention difficult to execute when the trees tower overhead.
Another remedy is to create a barrier around the trunk of the tree to prevent the ants from reaching the branches above. Some people swear by scattering hot chili powder to discourage ants.
But probably the most effective solution is dished out by nature herself in the form of a rain shower. So the next time the heavens open, even if you’re not a gardener, thank mother nature for that good old fashioned rainstorm that not only quenches the soil and washes your car, but also knocks those honeydew hellions – ants and aphids alike – back to earth.
Bet you’ll never look at tree “sap” the same way again! |
