black sooty , sticky mess on crepe myrtles

[charlotte34]

I have a questioner on a site I answer on, that has me stumped.
She has a black sticky sooty mess on her crepe myrtles that she has been told is caused by an insect.
Do any of you have any knowledge of what this insect can be, and how it is controlled?
I would appreciate any help you can give my.
Charlotte

[sandih]

I got this by clicking on the logo above, then going to the "library" then clicking on "c" for crepe myrtle.

Crape Myrtle Sap
Q: My neighbor has a beautiful crepe myrtle that hangs over my driveway. Sap drips all over my car that is sticky and hard to clean off the window. Someone said it might be a bug that is on the tree causing the sappy like stuff to come down? Do you know what this could be and how I can stop the sap? My neighbor is willing to work with me on this. A.R., Dallas.


A: The dripping is the waste or "honeydew" of small insects called aphids or plant lice. They can be temporarily eliminated with strong sprays of anything, including water. Compost tea with orange oil or other plant oil products added to the water works better of course. The strong spray rips the pests off leaving their mouth parts still stuck in the plant tissue killing most of them. But, they will come right back unless the stress in the trees that brought them on in the first place is removed. Stress in the plant can be caused by too much or too little water, too much or the wrong kind of fertilizer, soil compaction, and soil contamination caused by herbicides and other toxic chemicals. One of the most common causes of stress in trees is deep planting. Make sure the tree is not too deep.

[charlotte34]

Thanks Sandy;
I really appreciate your quick response.
Sounds like that should fix her problem, and mine if it ever happens to my crepe myrtles.
I am just totallt organic, even indoors.
Since I switched to organics about 10 years ago, my Asthma is also about 90% better, since I am not brathing in those poisons.
I amswer gardening questions on Allexperts.com.
I also answer on the dogs board and a couple of others.
I try to turn everyone I can get to listen to me, to organics.
Besides saving our planet, and enviornment, and our very lives, it solves all the gardening problems, with less money, and a whole lot less labor.
Charlotte