Question
previous caller asked about car damage.  Nothing seems to take it off.  It seems like it is misting under the tree.  It's beautiful, healthy and messy.  Is it sap?  It really got messy after the bees descended on it.  Bees are gone but it is still leaking.  Tree is 20 years old, and this has never happened before.

-Robin

Answer
Hi Robin...   The dripping is the waste or "honeydew" of small insects called aphids or plant lice. They can be temporarily eliminated with strong sprays of anything, including water. Compost tea with orange oil or other plant oil products added to the water works better of course.  The strong spray rips the pests off leaving their mouth parts still stuck in the plant tissue killing most of them. But, they will come right back unless the stress in the trees that brought them on in the first place is removed. Stress in the plant can be caused by too much or too little water, too much or the wrong kind of fertilizer, soil compaction, and soil contamination caused by herbicides and other toxic chemicals.

One of the most common causes of stress in trees is deep planting. Make sure the tree is not too deep. The root flare should be exposed and visible above the ground.