It was a dark and stormy night, and as the people of uk.rec.gardening
huddled around the fire, jane told them this story:

The trees also are prone to aphids - the leaves are often totally
covered which means sticky goo all over the paths and no chance of
control. I also have half a garden that is bone dry all summer because
of the overhang. They also sucker.

We have a sycamore against our fence. We keep it cut to
about four feet high and two feet across. It gets covered
in black aphids. We use it as a sacrificial crop -- it
saves our vegetables from them! It's also great fun
watching the ants milk the aphids for honeydew.

Rhiannon