Question
I have a large maple tree probably 40 years old. We have these white objects floating in the air and are all over our lawn and vehicles. there is a sappy substance that is getting all over our deck from these "floating" insects. I think they are alder aphids or wooly aphids, although we haven't seen a group of them on leafs or branches as it shows in most pictures. we have never had this problem before and it is really annoying, we can't use our deck because you constantly feel this sticky substance dropping off of the trees onto your skin. our deck is sticky when we walk on it. I was out mowing the lawn the other day and it looked like it was snowing.
thanks for any help you can give us.
the tree is too large to try and spray

Gary TenBrink

Answer
Sounds like one of the wooly aphids. These insect suck the plant juices from the tree and secrete a substance called honeydew which is high in sugar content and sticky. The white fluff is a waxy material that the aphids produce.

To control the sticky honeydew you will need to control the aphids--on large trees is would be next to impossible to get a good spray coverage of all the foliage to kill the insects. there is a soil applied insecticide called Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control that can be used. It is applied around the tree and the roots will carry the insecticide to the leaves and twigs and when the insects suck the plant juices they are killed, This treatment will last the whole season. It will take a week or so for the insecticide to reach the top of large trees especially if the weather is dry. Here is a web link to this product--check with your local garden type store for it.

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/tree-shrub-care/products/12-month-tree-shrub-insect...