Everything sticks to the streets of Beverwijk: the window frames, the cars, the ground beneath your feet. It is that time again in the Avenue of Canaan. Aphids have free reign in the tall trees along the avenue and defecate all over the place, making it a sticky mess everywhere. Local resident Gerie Bohm knows a solution. “Just like a few years ago, the municipality has to release ladybugs. That doesn’t have to be such a drama, does it?” But that’s not going to happen for now.
Although Gerie is convinced that the aphid-devouring ladybugs can make a difference, the municipality is not so sure: “They do help, but not that much. Then it is expensive to have two bags of larvae per tree in many streets in Beverwijk. to hang.”
In the longer term, the municipality says it aims to ‘make biodiversity a bit bigger again’. That should help against the pooping lice in the fur. “Birds also eat the aphids, for example. But increasing biodiversity is difficult and will take some time,” says a spokesperson.
It’s not the trees
In any case, removing trees is not an option, according to Gerie. “No, some people will want that. But they are beautiful and provide a bit of shade in the street. It’s not the trees.”
Yet she does not fully understand that the municipality is not taking any measures: “Until about five or six years ago they still did.”