If you have ever had to park your car underneath trees you will know how annoying it is to have your car's paintwork covered in a sticky tree sap.  Well, strictly speaking it's not really tree sap at all.  Instead it's the honeydew excreted by aphids.  When this honeydew lands on your car is causes other dirt and grime to stick to it.  So the longer you allow it to be on your car, the more difficult it is to get rid of it.

If you try to clean the sap off with just regular cash washing detergent and a sponge you will find that this is a fruitless task.  No matter how much scrubbing you do it just won't make any real difference.  You may feel like nothing will work or give in and take it to a professional car detailing wash.  Taking it to a professional company will certainly work because they have lots of different types of cash washing products and will know straightaway which products to use without damaging your car's paint.

If you want to do the work yourself then there are a number of tips that you can use.  One technique is to use some cheap nail varnish remover and put it on a cotton wool ball or a soft towel.  Wipe the affected area and then use a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and water to give your car a wash.  Three cups of hot water and 1 cup of bicarb of soda should be enough to make up the mixture.  Then give your car a rinse to get rid of all the nail polish remover.

Another option is to take a cloth and wet it with mineral spirit.  This should do the trick pretty easily by wiping in a circular motion.  Give the car a clean with a clean towel.  You can then repeat the process to make sure that all the sap has gone.  Giving your car a good rinse is also recommended because you don't want any residue left over.

You need to be very careful about what methods you use to get rid of the tree sap.  Sap that's been left for some time is hard and can cause damage to your paintwork if you aren't mindful.  For really problematic sap you can use what's called a light duty rubbing compound.  This can be purchased from a number of different outlets, particularly stores selling automotive accessories.  3M and Interlux are both companies you can look out for.

Basically you use the light duty rubbing compound to soften the sap prior to using a mineral spirit.  By softening the sap, you won't need to apply as much pressure on your car and therefore reduce the chances for the paintwork getting scratched or dented.

After you finally get rid of all the sap, you can polish and wax the car to help protect it and keep it looking in tip top condition.

An interesting idea for preventing the tree sap from getting on your car is to use ladybirds.  According to the BBC, a tree surgery company in Oxfordshire has started using ladybirds to eat the aphids that produce the sap in the first place.  Who knows if this really works or not but it's an interesting idea.  If it does work it's surely a better alternative to getting rid of the offending tree.

If you don't want to use ladybirds, you could find other ways of protecting your car whilst it's parked underneath the trees.  Building a car port doesn't cost a huge amount of money yet will do a good job of protecting your paintwork.  There are also covers that you can buy that go over your car when you aren't using it.  In addition to protecting your car from sap, a car port or cover can protect your car from bird droppings and bad weather.

How easy of difficult it is to get rid of the tree sap really depends on how much sap there is and how long it has been there for.  By all means, continue to research the topic of cleaning tree sap from your car because there are a number of different other methods you might prefer.  If you are thinking of having trees planted in your garden you should know that limes, maples and pine trees will cause problems.  So if you don't want a tree to produce sap then you should avoid having these planted.  Instead, talk to your local tree supplier about what trees are more suitable.