question about trees ?

[jackal]

wow ! there is no Nature sub forum here on PH

so have to put this here


any tree experts out there ? Im trying to work out what the shower of tiny transparent dots is that falls continuously on my car. If i wash it then 5 minutes later it is covered again in thousands of these things.

I get dollops of tree sap as well which are large so my guess is this stuff isn't tree sap. It comes off very eaisly with cold water. A google suggested that it was waste products from aphids on the trees leaves ? Almost cant quite blieve this somehow.


Over and above that. The large tree over teh front drive has been dropping little flowers for weeks now... thousands of them. Is there some sort of lifecycle for trees... what part are we in now and when will my tress stop emitting all this crap over my cars, my driveway, the roads, windows etc...

[Parrot of Doom]

Pollen.

[Albert Bridge]

Is it Plane Tree Seeds? They are a bloody nuisance and over the last week or so my car just gets covered in them resulting in it looking filthy and kind of sticky.

[mybrainhurts]

jackal said:

any tree experts out there ? Im trying to work out what the shower of tiny transparent dots is that falls continuously on my car. If i wash it then 5 minutes later it is covered again in thousands of these things....

Is it raining when this happens...?

[okgo]

Parrot of Doom said:

Pollen.

I would think this, same happens to our entire forecourt

[jackal]

no not raining

and its not seeds

it is dots of some clear residue

they are very small but harden very soon after settling


MILLIONS of them

[eldar]

Sycamore trees? If so, sap rains of the buggers. No problem, disappears next time it rains, but takes gallons of screen wash 1st thing in the morning.

[okgo]

jackal said:

no not raining

and its not seeds

it is dots of some clear residue

they are very small but harden very soon after settling


MILLIONS of them

Oh that, yes I get that too (no surprise live round the corner) I thought it was some kind of sap discharge, its odd..?

[Matt172]

jackal said:

wow ! there is no Nature sub forum here on PH

there is Homes, Gardens and DIY, I guess nature comes under gardens

[mybrainhurts]

jackal said:

it is dots of some clear residue

they are very small but harden very soon after settling


MILLIONS of them

How often do you engage in self abuse...?

[Biker's Nemesis]

mybrainhurts said:

jackal said:

it is dots of some clear residue

they are very small but harden very soon after settling


MILLIONS of them

How often do you engage in self abuse...?

You offering a helping hand?

[treehack]

If it's a sycamore then it is aphid waste, at the moment they are crawling with the little buggers.We took 2 smallish ones out the other day,myself and groundie were both covered top to toe.

[Mobile Chicane]

If it isn't sap, bud husks, pollen or leaves, it's bird st. Easiest solution I have found is to cover the car.

[anonymous-user]

treehack said:

If it's a sycamore then it is aphid waste, at the moment they are crawling with the little buggers.We took 2 smallish ones out the other day,myself and groundie were both covered top to toe.

Iwas gona mention aphid piss! think its called honey dew!

[mybrainhurts]

Biker's Nemesis said:

mybrainhurts said:

jackal said:

it is dots of some clear residue

they are very small but harden very soon after settling


MILLIONS of them

How often do you engage in self abuse...?

You offering a helping hand?

No, I'm trying to get to the bottom of it...

[Biker's Nemesis]

mybrainhurts said:

Biker's Nemesis said:

mybrainhurts said:

jackal said:

it is dots of some clear residue

they are very small but harden very soon after settling


MILLIONS of them

How often do you engage in self abuse...?

You offering a helping hand?

No, I'm trying to get to the bottom of it...

....Out of little acorns....

[NDA]

As noted earlier, some trees, especially Limes, are attractive to aphids (greenfly) and a by-product of their feeding is a sticky 'honey dew'.

Not good for your paintwork, particularly in hot weather which seems to bake it on.

The only thing you can do is not park under the trees or cover your car.

[jackal]

cheers guys


http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbrief...



amazing how these little blighters can keep yopping up this stuff all the time.. theres so much of it


why do the aphids feed this time of year ? and when do they go away ?

[NDA]

jackal said:

and when do they go away ?

I'm pretty sure that they're around March to October - then they fly off to lay eggs.

A real nuisance and not too much you can do.... I left a very smart Aston under a lime tree a few years ago, for a full day. It took a very long time to get the paintwork back.

[Simpo Two]

Honeydew from aphids. It's basically sugar so should come off easily enough with warm water.



NB: There's a 'Homes, Gardens and DIY' forum, although I agree there isn't a 'Sticky Spots On Cars' forum

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 12th May 23:09