Brits urged not to touch dangerous froth on plants

It comes as the weather starts to get warmer and plants start to come out in full, you may notice they have a slightly strange white excess.

The froth or foam typically appears on garden plans and now gardeners are being told to avoid touching the ‘harmful’ substances.

Created by the spittlebug insect, they coat themselves in a ball of foam as a form of protection whilst it takes the sap from the plant.

The spittlebug’s offspring also benefit from the white foam as they hatch onto the plant enjoying what’s left of the foam, according to Yorkshire Live.

Gardeners urged to not touch white foam on plants this June

Typically, the bug is active from the end of May until the end of June meaning that they are currently peaking across the UK.

Spittlebugs don’t harm the plant as they only take the amount of nutrition they need and they also don’t harm people, so you can leave the foam.

However, there is some concern that the spittlebug is a carrier for the plant disease Xyella which could see plants within 100m area destroyed.

Whilst plants in 5km area would need to be quarantined for a maximum of five years as if they were spread in could kill a UK native species.

As the spittlebug could be a carrier of Xyella, scientists are asking that if the public sees the white foam they should report it to stop any outbreaks.

As a spokesperson from Spittlebug survey shared: “Please let us know when you see either spittle, nymphs (juveniles) or adults of the xylem-feeding insects (spittlebugs/froghoppers and some leafhoppers ) that have the potential to act as vectors of the bacteria.

“These records will help us build up a picture of where the bugs are found, what plants they feed on and how much they move around.

“This information will be essential for deciding how best to respond should the Xylella bacterium arrive in the UK.”