Anyone seen anything like this before . I have this black soot like substance forming on my bamboo , there is also a sticky clear fluid as well that seems to come from what ever is causing this . I ve sprayed my exterminator has sprayed. They go away for a week then right back and it seems to only be on the trees at each end of the rows . The picture is what the stuff looks like .. Anyone have a clue as to what will kill this stuff short of an atomic bomb .....

i find that when i have problems with plants, like yours, i take a sample and go to Kamthien and ask around. Usually get stuff straightened out right away.

Aphids exude honeydew. Ants farm the aphids. Spray with white oil. Citrus trees are also affected.

Aphids exude honeydew. Ants farm the aphids. Spray with white oil. Citrus trees are also affected.

Agree with dun......and the aphids are 'farmed' by ants that feed off the aphid secretions. Does anyone know the Thai word for 'white Oil' ot maybe they call it something else?? Have also heard that spraying liquid dish soap works for the short time.

It is sooty mould from the aphids that,as previously mentioned, are "farmed" bt the ants.

Three solotions -

1. Control the ants - borax or similar ant control.

2. Use a mixture of white oil and washing soda to remove the mould.You can use cooking oil if you can't find white oil but with the scarcity of cooking oils on the shelves that may be just as difficult.

3. Put up with it - it may eventually defoliate the bamboo if severere enough but next season you will have another set of namboo shoots emerging as new plants and the ants and the cycle will begin again.

Incidently,and i don't want to appear narky, but bamboo is a grass not a tree .

The ants that live inside the Bamboo is hard to get rid of, if you want to use bamboo and it should last a long time.

Then you have to soak it in water for 2 to 3 weeks to drown all the ants and eggs inside the Bamboo and after dry it quickly and spry paint a cellulose lack on the outside to seal it.

It is sooty mould from the aphids that,as previously mentioned, are "farmed" bt the ants.

Three solotions -

1. Control the ants - borax or similar ant control.

2. Use a mixture of white oil and washing soda to remove the mould.You can use cooking oil if you can't find white oil but with the scarcity of cooking oils on the shelves that may be just as difficult.

3. Put up with it - it may eventually defoliate the bamboo if severere enough but next season you will have another set of namboo shoots emerging as new plants and the ants and the cycle will begin again.

Incidently,and i don't want to appear narky, but bamboo is a grass not a tree .

Natural biological controls are being disrupted by the foliar spraying so the aphids are getting out of control and the ants are protecting them from any remaining natural predators.

Xen's suggestions are the least toxic approach.

A chemical alternative is to spray around the base of the bamboo plants with Cypermethrin (a pyrethroid, relatively low toxicity for mammals, highly available in Thailand, Chaindrite products and others) to control the ants, and spray the foliage to control the aphids, mix with a spreader/sticker to get more residual effectiveness. Another chemical approach is to use a systemic insecticide, 'Imidacloprid' by Bayer, as a soil drench to be taken up by the roots of the plant and provide season-long protection from the sucking insects that secrete the honeydew that the sooty mold grows on. Note: systemic insecticides should not be used on any food producing plants, including if you are harvesting bamboo shoots.

The ants that live inside the Bamboo is hard to get rid of, if you want to use bamboo and it should last a long time.

Then you have to soak it in water for 2 to 3 weeks to drown all the ants and eggs inside the Bamboo and after dry it quickly and spry paint a cellulose lack on the outside to seal it.

These are probably termites and a different issue and approach from the OPs situation. Although if you are growing bamboo for use in construction or crafts then it would be prudent to have a pest control program in place.