Attack of the aphids: No tree is safe

This story is brought to you by LawnTech, a leading specialist for tree care, lawn care and landscaping in eastern Idaho.

Do the leaves on your tree feel sticky? Are they covered in a thick shiny liquid? Are they wilting and yellow? Have ants and bees begun swarming around those trees, attracted to the sticky sweet liquid? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have aphids.

Aphids are sap-sucking insects that attack all types of deciduous trees. They are especially common among ornamental plants. They are small, soft-bodied insects (about an eighth of an inch long) that come in a wide range of different colors, including yellow, green, brown, red, white and black.

There are over 4,000 known aphid species. Most aphids reproduce asexually throughout most or all of the year with adult females giving birth to live offspring, often as many as 12 per day — without mating. The eggs of aphids are carefully laid so that they are protected through the winter months. When they hatch, they emerge with wings and can multiply quickly, producing a full generation in one to two weeks.

Aphids on plants can cause a variety of damage, including stunted growth, mottled leaves, yellowing and wilting of the plant and possibly death. Yet, interestingly enough, aphids do not actually chew those plants. Instead, they attack by feeding on the plants’ fluids with the sucking part of their mouths, damaging them with their toxic saliva. The most common symptom of an aphid infestation is the sticky, thick substance or “honeydew” that they leave behind when they are feeding on plants.

If you feel like you may be having a problem with aphids, it is best to contact a plant healthcare expert to take a look and find a way to treat them. Fortunately, there are multiple different ways to control aphids including with natural predators like ladybugs and lacewings, and with a spray treatment.