What are those snowflakes falling out of the sky?
I have had several people asking about “snowflakes” falling from the sky. The snowflakes falling is aphid pests falling from hackberry trees and causing sticky goo on cares.
These “snowflakes” are actually a large infestation of Asian woolly hackberry aphids. These small, white insects fall off hackberry trees and seem to float in the air. When all are collected together they appear to be falling snow.
Woolly aphids suck the sap out of the leaves and secrete sticky honeydew on them. As a result, a black mold, known as sooty mold, may cover the leaves, stems and bark of the tree. You may see a black, sticky mess, not only on the hackberry tree, but also on any plant or object underneath it, including your car, porch or patio furniture.
Woolly aphids are found only on hackberry trees. If you find them on other plants or on your back yard porch, they landed there by accident. These aphids are not harmful to people and do not bite or sting. They are just a nuisance. What can you do?
These insects produce several generations a year so they can become very abundant by late summer. No long-term or serious damage to hackberry trees has been found, even after several years of infestations. Insecticides are not necessary for protecting the health of infested hackberry trees.
One option is to just learn to live with woolly aphids by not parking cars or placing patio furniture directly beneath hackberry trees in your landscape. This will immediately eliminate the problem since these aphids can only survive on hackberry trees. Tree removal is very costly for larger trees and can eliminate valuable shade in your landscape.
The best option is try to cope with the woolly hackberry aphids falling from hackberry trees. They will probably cycle out in four weeks.
For more information about insect pests, contact us at 770-749-2142 or uge2233@uga.edu.