Have you noticed little white fluffy things flying around San Antonio? You’re not alone.
Molly Keck, senior program specialist for the integrated pest control program for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, tells MySA that the insects are called wool aphids and are found on many trees and ornamental plants.
“They make a sticky mess on cars, decks, and windows,” says Keck. “The rain probably knocked the population down if people got some this week. They are not unusual, but there are many right now. “
Woolly aphids are tiny, delicate, sap-sucking insects, which is why you can get the sticky honeydew on surfaces they’re beneath, says Keck. Aphids suck plant sap from leaves, stems, or even roots of plants.
Wool aphid outbreaks have occurred in central Texas in mid to late summer, according to the Texas AgriLife Extension. Keck says there isn’t a primary reason they overpopulate during a certain amount of time, but she says they will go away … eventually.
“I would say wait and see,” she says. “They will eventually go away and established plants shouldn’t be affected. Spraying plants daily to cut them down will help reduce the population faster.”
