Safe Solutions For Aphids
Every plant can have an aphid issue at some point. Aphids feed on all plants and leaves by piercing stems and leaves and sucking the fluid out of them. Let’s find out what an aphid is and safe solutions for aphid removal.
What Is An Aphid?
Very small insect with a pear-shaped body can appear white, black, brown, gray, yellow, and light green, depending on the type. They feed on just about every plant in every zone.
What Damage Do They Do?
Aphids suck the life out of your plants. They pierce the stem. leaves and suck the fluid out of the plant. One of the largest issues that Monarch caterpillar larvae battle is aphids. Aphids compete for the larvae food source.
6 Ways to Rid Your Plants of Aphids
1.) Lady Beetle Farming
An easy way to rid yourself of aphids quickly is to purchase live lady beetles and release them to take care of your garden pests
- The lady beetle and lady beetle larva both eat aphids
- One lady beetle can consume up to 5000 aphids a year
- A good way to be sure they are doing the job they were purchased for is to net them in and then release them within the net
- Simple and organic solution to get rid of the pest
- Besides sending in the troops, you might end up have a colony stick around the yard after you remove the netting
2.) Homemade Mix
1 quart of water, 1 tsp of Dawn dish soap and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Mix well and spray on plants
- For indoor and outdoor potted plants
- It works well
- Have to mix this solution every two days and apply it for about two weeks time
3.) Bayer 2 In 1 Insect Protection Plus Fertilizer Spikes
- Protects & Feeds for up to 8 weeks without spraying
- For indoor and outdoor potted plants
- Easy-to-Use Plant Spikes
- Kills Insects and Feeds Plants for up to 2 Months
- Use in Potted Plants, Indoors or Outdoors
- Kills Aphids, Leafhoppers, Mealybugs, Plant bugs, Scales, Thrips and Whiteflies
- Use on potted roses, palms, ficus, houseplants, hibiscus, flowers, vines, and containerized shrubs and trees.
4.) Sticky Traps
Highly effective for aphids and whiteflies.
- Non-Toxic
- Easy to Use
- Great for Flower and Vegetables
5.) Hot Pepper Wax
Protects against insects including aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, beet army worms and cabbage loopers. This protect is a protective wax for the plant.
- Repels up to three weeks
- Normal rains or irrigation cannot wash it off
In the End, They All Work Fairly Well
As you can see there are safe solutions for aphids- get rid of them for good. The solutions to ridding yourself of aphids are relatively simple. It all depends on how you would like to do so. Some ways are a little more labor-intensive than others. In the end, they all work fairly well. Remember, aphids are usually an issue for a gardener at some point. No worries, you got this!
