Do you live in a Single Family Home and remember last summer? Your car had a sticky gooey coating, the sidewalks felt like you were walking through gum? That substance is coming from the aphids happly living in your trees and "dropping" their "honey-dew" on your car, sidewalk, lawn and...sometimes YOU! If you would like to get it under control you have to start NOW. Go to your neighborhood garden center (home Depot, Lowe's,Dennis 7 Dee's, etc) and ask them about a "Systemic" insecticide to control aphids. "Systemic" insecticide is drawn up through the roots and trunk then transferred to the leaves as they grow. If you wait and do it when the aphids are here then you will need to spray the top of the tree, which is harder because you need to do it in calm wind, no rain, correct temperature and get high in the tree for it to be effective. Another more organic approach is to buy and release lady bugs into the trees, but with any living thing, it is hard to control where they go and make them stay where you want them (kind of like a toddler!) You can always contact a local landscaper to give you an estimate on price, check with your neighbors. Perhaps if several band together you can get a better rate.
The Town-Home landscapers will be treating the trees now to control the aphids. If you live in a townhome please do not do anything more, your landscapers will take care of it.
If you are in a Single Family Home You have from now thru April to treat them systemically.
