Hollister
– Tiny green aphids that have infested the trees lining
Hollister’s streets are being addressed months after the ideal time
to exterminate the sap-sucking insects.
Hollister – Tiny green aphids that have infested the trees lining Hollister’s streets are being addressed months after the ideal time to exterminate the sap-sucking insects.
The ideal time to remove the pests would have been in early spring – before they had taken over most of the trees – but no money was available at that time. Community Service Director Clay Lee said he hopes to get a bid and have the aphids removed by the end of the month.
Despite the earlier emergence of the barely visible insect, city officials were initially unable to pursue extermination methods. With the city forced to cut its budget by $1.2 million annually, certain items – such as tree maintenance – have fallen off a list of priorities. But now that a majority of trees are infested, officials are seeking bids for the insect’s removal from downtown trees.
“We have an aphid problem that comes every year,” Lee said. “Unfortunately, the city is just not in a place financially to do anything preventatively.”
Tell-tale signs of the sucking insect are present on many trees throughout Hollister. Leaves are coated in a sticky black substance and the aphids themselves cover the trees. Park Supervisor Marcelo Orta said he had gotten many complaints – especially from business owners – about the aphids and the excretion of sugary sap they produce.
Brenda Weatherly, executive director of the Hollister Downtown Association, said she had also fielded many calls from irate business owners.
“We’ve had a lot of people complaining about it,” Weatherly said. “People don’t park near the trees because it can leave a sticky mess on your car.”
Aphids harm trees by sucking sap out of the leaves, said Bill Coates, a researcher with the University of California Cooperative Extension in San Benito County. In the sucking process, they leave behind what they cannot digest. This honey dew, which occasionally turns black, is the sticky substance on trees downtown.
While aphids can stunt a trees growth, they rarely will kill a healthy tree, Coates said.
The trees may not be harmed irreparably by the aphids, but many people who frequent downtown are still upset to see the state of the trees, purchased to beautify the city in 2004.
“I know it’s limited staffing and limited funds, but this is just one of those things that needs to be taken care of,” Weatherly said.
Orta agreed, saying the health of trees needs to be a priority.
“It’s in the downtown area, and you have to pride yourself on your downtown,” he said.
Although officials are moving forward on removal of the aphids, they are still not certain how the city will fund the pesticides, Orta said.
“It’s not a cheap fix. It’s expensive to treat aphids or whatever infection there is on a tree,” Orta said. “We’ll find some way to pay for it.”
