Mine does the same I think it's aphids.

Yup, Barb is right. The aphids secrete it and it's called honey dew. It grosses some people out, but I don't think a little aphid *dew* ever hurt anyone, LOL!

Kristi

Aphids have a very poor digestive system so they poop it out almost as fast as they eat it. Ants love having these "milk cows" and will often move them around and even protect this food source. Getting rid of the ants often will slow or stop an aphid infestation. The "honey dew" in time develops into what is called sooty mold which in and of itself isn't harmful to the plant but if enough builds up, is not only unsightly but will slow photosynthesis.
Welcome to the dark side of crap(e) myrtle ownership. They are beautiful but are notorious as an aphid attractor
Happy Growing David

It could also be leafhoppers. Here's an interesting article about both. The last few sentences cracked me up:

"Another word of caution-I think the term "honeydew" is derived from the stickiness of the secreted plant sap on surfaces and NOT from the sweetness of the excrement. The person from Kerrville confirmed that the taste was bitter rather than sweet. This could be the difference between aphid and leafhopper secretion-try some of each and let me know!!"

I would *never* taste that gunk!!!! LOL

Kathi

Here is a link that might be useful: Is it

I knew what it was so never stuck out my tongue on the bet!

BUT I was told that children have fond memories of lying under the myrtles with their tongues stuck out to catch the sweet rain.

Yuck, that sounds like something kids would do. Maybe some kid could tell us how it tastes. Fortunately, I have no memories of doing that myself. So the plan should be "Do nothing?" I'm not much into spraying pesticides of any kind. I haven't noticed many ants, just drip-drip-drip.

And while we're on the subject, what drips from my pecan trees some times? Another bug, I presume, or is it aphids/leafhoppers also?

There has also been a huge problem with scale on crape myrtles. They do the same thing as the aphids - poop their honey dew which causes the black sooty mold on the leaves. I have it real bad on two of my crapes and the third one isn't as bad. I sprayed mine with summer horticultural oil, but have to get a ladder to reach the ones at the top where the worst of them are located. I also read that using Ivory dish soap mixed in water will help kill the little buggers along with helping clean off the sooty mold on the leaves. Anybody had success with that?

The soap will help clean up the honey dew and sooty mold and works well for aphids and creeping stages of scale but not much good on adults that have their shields on
Happy Growing David

David - Thanks for that information. My garden club just had a presentation tonight and this was a topic we discussed. The master gardener said to be sure in addition to spraying the summer weight horticultural oil to spray dormant oil on the crape myrtles during the winter. I will also try the Ivory soap because I definitely need to get that sooty mold washed off. I believe I need to use a hose end trumpet sprayer because these crape myrtles are between 12-15 feet tall and I really don't want to stand on a ladder to do this. How much of the Ivory soap would you recommend I put into the sprayer?

Just another disgusting and irritating feature of Crepe Myrtles. Nothing like having insect secretions raining down on you all season long. Even more of a downer than their habit of constantly pruducing suckers from the base of the plant for you to cut off once a week. There are many better plants out there.

Randy

I wouldn't use more than a tbsp. per gallon and you could use a regular sprayer if that is all you have just make it more of a stream instead of a spray and pump it up good so you can get 10-15' worth of distance. Most of even the cheap ones will do this in my experience. I would do it toward sunset letting it dry over night and then use a hose nozzle the next morning to rinse it off. You might need to do this a few times to kill out the aphids and break down the sooty mold.
Good Luck and Happy Growing David

Hi, my crape myrtle is also weeping. Most likely aphids. What is the best way to get rid of the aphids? Thanks.

Let your lady bugs vacuum-clean the aphids. There's no need to spray the pests when lady bugs are doing their thing.