Bugs in Austrees

tvasa

We have a mess of little bugs taking over our Austree (willow). There is sap coming down and its attracting bumblebees. Pictures of bugs here:







Any ideas of what they are and how to get rid of them? Thanks.

Located in Nebraska

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Jeff Darby

They look like slaters.

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Eric Frei

That's hideous!

Go get some bug spray (Imidacloprid), systemic, spray as much as you can, also you can use as soil drench.

Have a read of the labels of the various products.

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Sean Freeman

Shame your pics don't show just what they are....personally I would use something less dramatic than Imidacloprid unless I knew they were a significant threat to the long term health of the tree (or you!).

Plenty of very short lived contact Pyrethrum based insecticide products, or you could choose to look up one of the very many home made bug sprays organic home gardeners use.

What ever you do it is good advice to carefully read the label and understand the toxicity of any chemical, including plant based organic ones (even home made sprays!)

tvasa

Thank you for your comments. I wish the pics were closer, too. Just can't get good close ups without blurring. I did google slaters & its possible.... not 100%.

Garry Brockley

try getting a magnifying glass and take the pic through it that will give the size you require

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tena

did you ever find out what this bug was? I noticed the same thing last summer and now again this year our austrees are infected with them.

lkz5ia

They are aphids. I have seen the giant willow aphids on my hybrid willows many times. The sap you notice falling from the trees is the waste product they are disposing of, which is sweet, and attracts many different type of insects. There is no reason to spray harmful chemicals, maybe some insecticidal soap that is for aphids would work easy enough. But even though they are feeding on the willows, it does not hurt the trees, just creates a sticky situation if you are using the tree to sit under.

Brent Ferris

It is not quite true they don't hurt the tree -- healthy vibrant trees are little affected, but trees suffering from drought, or other moisture issues suffer more, sometimes to the point of death.

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