I am visiting my parents an they have a tree hanging over their driveway that leaves tiny dots of something sweet all over their car and my car. What is bad are the flies and bees that cover the cars when we go out to get in them. The tree seems to have grayish vertical lined bark and rounder leaves with pointy edges. Is this an aspen or poplar tree? And are the teeny, tiny droplets of sap all over the cars a normal thing for this type of tree? My parents are thinking of having it cut down.

The clear small drops of liquid is plant sap that has very likely passed through the digestive tracks of either scale or aphid insects Both feed by siphoning plant juices from the tree. Aphids can be in the tree from spring through fall. Scale insects depending on the species have a more definite cycle of life and one would expect them to be present for a specific period of time. The sap is water based and washes off with water. Popular and Aspen are in the Salix or willow family. Poplar family trees may not be the best of trees to have, yet the shade they provide cannot be replaced unless the tree in question is quite young.