Oily substance from gum tree

[Graham Lennie]

I have a gum tree out the front of my house and over the last few months it has been spraying out an oily residue over our cars and its a pain to keep cleaning the windscreen every morning let alone what it might be doing to the paint work on the car.
There is an oily residue on the leafs as well as some of the smaller branches
Is there a reason why it has suddenly started doing this , and can i do anything to stop it ?
The tree is about 7-8 years old.
Thanks in advanced
Graham

 

[derwoodii]

I'd suspect its lerps or aphids feeding on upper tree leaves and the exudation drip is know as honey dew. Trim off what limbs you can to lessen over the car and if practical treat with tree foliage canopy with white oil or even house n garden spray.


http://www.yates.com.au/garden-expe...cale-insects-on-gum-trees#7II1VpVlwSk0rmVd.97

if left you may end up with sooty mold a yeast type growth response to the sweet sugar drip that's black and stains

 

[BC WetCoast]

If it's aphids a soap spray (Safer's soap) will control them. If they are in their early stages, you can release ladybug larvae which will happily eat the aphids.

We treat scale with a lightweight summer horticultural oil (Superior 70), but I'm not sure if this affects gum.