I had them last September, and called asked here. Anne told me what they are, (Asian wooley hackberry aphids). I called the local Master Gardener, and he gave me some advise. I don't remember what it was but I decided to wait it out.

After the aphids came a different type of lady bug. It was yellow with black spots. I almost had an epidemic of lady bugs as well as the aphids. THere was no permanent damage done, but the gooey dew from the aphids was all over many rose leaves.

They do fly, and will get into your hair and go down the back of your neck. Mine did remain around the trees and the roses under or near the trees.

I do not think they are supposed to return every year, but I won't know for awhile.

Good luck, and let me know if someone comes up with a non-chemical remedy.

By the way mine were not around hackberry trees, but sugar maple trees. We have one in our yard, and my neighbor has one. I did cut as many branches as I could reach, and did cut the branches from his tree that were over my climbers. This did help somewhat.

SAmmy

Thank you SAmmy for your help.
I found these tougher to get rid of than the usual. We have sugar maples also, and decorative maples that they seem to love. I'm really inspired by folks on this forum who have lots of roses and maintain a no spray regimen. How?? I just don't know. I had to cut away a good portion of new growth all over the yard this spring. I'll keep reading and gladly watch for the ladybugs!

I think we all need to have a breed ladybugs. Forget earthworms! We need ladybugs! Anyone doing this or know how?

Obviously the aphids have their own breeding program. After Woolie, what armored? Jeez.

Makes you dream of some sort of pesticide + fungicide miniature "mushroom cloud" we could detonate at "ground rosa". Environmentally friendly of course. :-)

Allison

Are you sure they are wooly aphids? Because that is what I thought last year but someone in my local community said they were leaf hoppers. When I try to spray them with insecticidal soap, they hop off a mile away.

I spray with the soap occasionally but it would be impossible to eradicate them....they are everywhere: clematis, hydrangea, on my orchids, etc etc. I have noticed them for the last 3 years, since we have lived at this house.

Redsox, were yours white?

allison64-yes to ladybugs! Also redsox-I believe woolies because I do have the waxy strands and small clumps of white. But then i could have leaf hoppers too-my place has lots of bugs-and they are bugging me. Does anyone have experience with "black destroyers"?(especially good for elliminating the woolies) found to be for sale on internet--50 for 38$?? I would want to name them and keep them on a leash for that price! However I do have a Birthday coming up soon...

Keep in mind that the aphids do fly. They are up in the trees, and way up in the trees. They are also all over everything under the trees. At one point under a tree, we had a mass of lady bugs everywhere.

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I don't know how you could use any chemical to fight this. The gooey nasty stuff is residue from the aphids. The coating of lady bugs is rather sickening, but it is for a short time, and not all over the yard so we lived with it.

Sammy

Wow; SAmmy--good pics--I do not have all that goo on the leaves; but I am watching and learning. My camera I thought was a good one cannot capture these images. Blurry. Welcome Ladybug guys.

That goo is a sure sign of aphids. The common everyday ones leave it, so these things leave it a lot worse. It turns black later.

When I was spraying yesterday, I noticed there were many things flying around, and am hoping they have not returned.

Sammy

Sorry to respond twice in a row! One of my points of posting is to show that these aphids are way up in the trees. It will do very little if any good to spray with up there, since you would have to use a tree sprayer.

Sammy

Sammy, mine are white too but they don't look exactly like that. Maybe we don't have the same thing. Mine coat STEMS, do your do that or coat the leaves? The coating looks very very much like mealybug if you are familiar with that.

In my first picture you can see some that are large enough to be flying. We also have cottonwood trees, and I thought it was that awful cottonwood. The aphids are much larger than other aphids or mealy bugs. On the next two pictures, you can see what the gooey stuff from them does to the rose leaves that were clean before they came.

First you have the aphids, then the lady bugs, then the nasty gooey stuff.

These definitely were flying, not carried by air. I hope you don't have them, but a sure sign will be all the lady bugs. They coated some of the planters under my tree so heavily that you could hardly find a spot to put your finger.

Sammy

Sammy, I don't remember being inundated with ladybugs last year. So maybe mine are really leaf hoppers. Maybe I will google leaf hoppers to see.

This is exactly what mine looked like:

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/asian_hackberry.htm

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I hope one of these links works. I am not sure how to do it.

Mine looked just like the pictures.

I did a control - copy to the properties, then pasted it here. That is the correct address, but it didn't turn blue, and clicking on it won't take you there.

Sammy