We need a bit more information, imp. Exactly what kinds of plants are you talking about? You mentioned herbs. What kinds? Anything else? Japanese maples? And did you mean hostas? It is possible that something is drilling into your pecan trees and dropping the sawdust onto your plants--and the honeydew as well. Scott should know something about that. Hope he sees this.

Hi Imp,

I agree with Dorothy that we need to know more. I imagine it is likely you have aphids up in the trees and the sticky stuff is honeydew from them. If it is something unique to pecan trees, I am sure Scott will know.

The sawdust could be from some sort of borers or something. Do you happen to hear woodpeckers pecking anywhere around you? I wonder if they drop a sawdust type material when they peck the wood.

And, are you sure it is sawdust or is it just something that is similar to sawdust? There's a whole lot of pollen out there right now, and I can see where a layer of pollen on something might resemble a light layer of sawdust.

Dawn

When I first saw the dust I thought woodpecker too but then I noticed that it was everywhere. On every plant-everything is shiny\sticky. I just noticed a 20 foot JM is just reflecting in the sun. The back yard is approximately 50"x130" and everything is sticky. Ick.

I don't know what other info I can add. I don't see any aphids. I haven't seen the ants that seem to follow either (yet anyway). 75+ year old pecans. Cover most of the yard. "Sawdust" to glaze\sticky\shiny. Just 3-4 days. Heat (of course) that could have made something melt?

I sure do thank you.

Imp

Let's see what Scott says when he sees this. I am inclined to think it is a pecan issue and it is raining down a mess on everything. I have had stickiness rain down from the pecan tree in the front yard, and I suspected aphids, but the limbs are so high up above the ground, I couldn't check them for aphids without dragging out a ladder, and with a sloping yard, ladders are dangerous, so I didn't do it.

The pecan case bearers are usually active at this time of year, and they drill into the nuts, but I don't know if a residue floats down to the ground. If it does, I've never noticed it.

You're welcome. Know what you need? A good rainstorm to wash the sticky/dusty/shiny glaze completely away. If it is honeydew and it stays on the foliage too long, there is a chance some sort of sooty mold or something will grow in or on the honeydew.

Dawn

Imp,
I don't know what the stuff is, but just got a call from my siblings (also in zone 7) about all the leaves on the pecan trees being just coated with a sticky stuff all over, sticky & shiny leaves. These are pecan groves, in hay meadows, so no report of "sawdust-like" substance on plants below the trees. They thought maybe aphids as well, but couldn't see any aphids. Seems to be on all of the trees.

Well, now I'm going to go look at my pecan trees. No not now, but tomorrow.

Just lost my response...

Yes, the sooty mold is really a mess. Played havoc with the siding during the infestation 20 years ago-like charcoal paint had been thrown all over. Plants covered, patio covered. BTW, I am living in the same house.

I am wondering if that was a summer after a warm winter too.

I would appreciate anyone who finds out any info regarding this to post. I will do same.
Thanks folks,

Imp

Hmmmm. Sounds to me like it could be some kind of wood boring insect that has infested the pecan trees. Is there such a bug?

Susan

The dusting is pretty uniform over a the whole yard. I would think that if it was borers there would be heavier dusting here and there.

I guess pollen could be it. I don't think that it would have been noticeable to most but I sit out on back porch lots of times during the day and that is how I happened to notice it. Within a a day or two it became sticky so the window of "sawdust" was short.

And yes, I meant hosta. lol

Thanks again,
imp

I feel like the stickiness is honeydew from aphids, either Yellow Pecan Aphids, which are common on pecan trees, or some other aphid. Aphids are huge pests on pecan trees some years. Maybe this is one of those years. I checked beneath my big pecan trees and they aren't here at our house yet, but they would not necessarily hit every area at the same time or at the same rate.

I'll find and link something about aphids on pecan trees. I still don't know what the sawdust type material is, but the sticky stuff has got to be honeydew.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Pecan aphids

Put some of the sawdust in water and see if it swells into something identifiable. My walnut tree used to have caterpillars in it that rained droppings. In hot dry weather they were dark grains, but if they fell in water you could see they were really green droppings. I have had the sticky coating fall from both the walnut and a river birch. It is insect damage.

I just saw this thread.

We are in NE Oklahoma south of Tulsa and in the last 2 weeks we have had a huge aphid outbreak in the pecan grove causing honeydew everywhere. We get outbreaks like this every 2 or 3 years but usually in August. I don't know what this will lead to down the road. We have never done anything to treat for it in the past. We have had little rain since March at our location, so nothing is getting washed off the leaves. I guess we will see what happens.

Thanks for that info Scott. It is weird to see shiny leaves up in the JMs reflecting in the sun-looks like I have a plastic garden!

I have found that this stuff is as hardy as beeswax as the water\rain just beads up. I have tried wiping my hosta leaves with a paper towel and water-no help. I guess I will just have to wait until next year (as Okie gardeners tend to say most years).

Thanks for all your replies.

Imp