Irishmom, more complete information and photos would be helpful! Is the stickiness a fine layer, like it was misted on? Sticky blobs of something? White sticky webbing all over the place?
Various insects, notably aphids, secrete a sticky substance known as honeydew. Have you examined your plants for insect pests? Also, larger overhead infested or diseased trees like Siberian elms will coat everything below them with honeydew or sap.
Right now there is a pervasive tiny orb weaver spider that is covering lots of plants and structures with erratic white sticky webbing. Doesn't look like regular spider webs.
Anything sound like what you've got?
