Soapy water is an eco-friendly pest control method that can effectively kill and control aphids without being toxic to plants, flowers, or fruits. To use soapy water, you need liquid dish soap (preferably mild, fragrance-free), water, a spray bottle, and a gentle garden hose. Soapy water should be reapplied every 2-3 days for 2 weeks, and a variation of this mix includes cayenne pepper.
Spraying soap directly on the aphids can help kill them, but a strong jet of water will dislodge most of them. The most commonly used non-chemical remedy is to spray them with soapy water. You can buy insecticidal soaps or make your own using a teaspoon. Let the insecticidal soap soak on the plants for at least 30 minutes, and don’t rinse off the soap spray after.
There are many home-made recipes for killing aphids, such as using dishwasher liquid mixed with water and sprayed on to the plants. Three sprays of soapy water at 5 day intervals can kill the aphids, and it takes 3-10 days for larvae to emerge depending on the type of aphid. Washing up liquids with simple ingredients and no perfumes can also be used effectively as insecticidal soap.
In summary, soapy water is a natural and effective pest control method that can effectively kill aphids without causing harm to plants, flowers, or fruits. It is important to test the ingredients of the soap and ensure that it doesn’t dry up the natural oils on leaves or roots.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Coming clean on soap in the garden | Because soapy water works by touching the insects, sprays need to be made whenever new insect populations appear and start to grow. Spraying soap directly on … | extension.umn.edu |
| I’ve read you can use soapy water to control bugs … | 1 bar of soap in 1 gal water, left to sit for as long as it takes to dissolve, will last most people for a lifetime. … How do I kill aphids? | quora.com |
| How do I manage a large outbreak of aphids? | Soapy water can help kill the aphids, as it sounds like you know, but a particularly strong jet of water will dislodge/kill most of them … | extension.umaine.edu |
📹 How to treat aphids – plant safe method using soap and water!
How to treat aphids – plant safe method using soap and water! So, I did a little research online to figure out how to best treat my …
What Is The Best Homemade Aphid Killer?
Vinegar and liquid soap can create an effective DIY natural aphid spray, utilizing olive and mineral oils combined with vinegar and water to deter pests. Aphids are susceptible to control measures. Neem oil spray is another popular method for managing aphids, effective in greenhouses. To make a homemade aphid spray, you'll need basic ingredients like liquid soap and water. Garlic, known for its strong odor and sulfur content, can be incorporated too, as it slows bacterial and fungal growth.
To create your own aphid spray, you can mix vegetable oil and dish soap with water for a non-toxic insecticidal soap. Alternative sprays like tomato leaf or garlic oil proved effective, with recipes that typically include simple ratios of kitchen ingredients. For instance, a mixture of 1 tablespoon of dish soap, vegetable oil, and baking soda with water is a straightforward aphid killer.
Moreover, targeting aphid infestation with natural methods such as growing aphid-repellent plants and applying insecticidal soap can yield great results without chemical harm. Pyrethrin can also be mixed with water to combat aphids. Homemade aphid sprays are convenient, cost-effective, and rely solely on natural ingredients, making them an ideal solution for garden enthusiasts seeking to avoid commercial pesticides. With household items, it's straightforward to tackle aphid problems effectively.
How Long Does An Aphid Infestation Last?
Aphids are common garden pests usually appearing mid-summer and persisting through fall, often exacerbating their infestation if not managed. It's crucial to identify aphids and the damage they cause early on to minimize harm to plants. These pests reproduce rapidly, with females capable of producing 40 to 60 offspring within a short period, leading to explosive population growth if left unchecked. Typically starting on a single plant, an infestation can quickly spread throughout the garden.
When managing aphids, it's important to choose appropriate pesticides, noting that while effective for a week or longer, they can also eliminate beneficial insects, worsening the aphid issue. Spraying should be avoided on blooming trees or shrubs. Aphids can damage vulnerable plants, and by the time they are noticeable, significant damage may have already occurred. A natural way to control them includes water or soapy solutions, which can effectively kill aphids without harming the environment.
Additionally, understanding their life cycle—where they tend to return to their original host to lay eggs at summer’s end—is vital for effective management. Despite their potential harm, some levels of aphids can be tolerated, as their natural mortality can help control excessive populations. Recognizing their presence and implementing proactive measures can protect plants from severe damage.
Will Dawn Dish Soap Hurt My Plants?
If you're considering using soap solutions on plants, aim for a safe dilution: mix 2 teaspoons of dish soap with 1 pint of water. Overly concentrated soap can damage foliage, particularly under stress or in high heat and humidity. It's crucial to lower chemical concentrations to avoid harming plants. Dawn dish soap can effectively combat pests like aphids and spider mites when diluted properly. However, excessive or concentrated applications can cause plant damage. While there is some risk, occasional use of diluted soap is unlikely to harm most plants. Yet, certain species may be more sensitive to soap sprays.
Dish soap can disrupt protective leaf waxes, leading to potential vulnerability. In contrast, commercially manufactured insecticidal soaps are designed to minimize this risk. Even diluted soapy water can stimulate plant growth, but it might harm leaves if not used cautiously. Furthermore, dish soap and vinegar mixtures often target leaves rather than roots, meaning treated plants might recover after spraying.
While soaps can help manage garden pests, caution is needed to prevent harm to the plants themselves. High soap concentrations can create severe foliage burn, especially in warm conditions, so always opt for a diluted solution for any pest control efforts to safeguard plant health.
Do Banana Peels Really Work For Killing Aphids?
Banana peels serve as an effective natural deterrent for aphids, which are known to dislike the smell of bananas. To utilize banana peels for pest control, gardeners can either chop the peels into fine pieces and place them around the base of infested plants or create a banana tea by diluting the tea with water in a 5:1 ratio (5 parts water to 1 part tea). While this method aids in repelling aphids, it is important to note that banana peels alone will not eradicate existing infestations.
In addition to their repellent properties, banana peels enrich the soil with potassium and other nutrients as they decompose, supporting overall plant health. For optimal results, bury the peels about an inch deep around the affected plants. This eco-friendly and cost-effective gardening solution not only deters aphids but also nourishes the soil.
Gardeners report varying degrees of success in using banana peels to control aphids, including both greenflies and blackflies. Interestingly, the aroma released from the peels triggers a defensive response in aphids, causing them to avoid the area. Thus, by leveraging this natural remedy, you can proactively protect your garden.
In addition to the use of banana peels, it is beneficial to maintain preventive measures against aphids and other pests. However, it's essential to be cautious as banana and orange peels may also attract fungus gnats. Overall, taking advantage of banana peels provides dual benefits—repelling aphids effectively while enriching the garden soil, making it a valuable strategy for any gardener looking to manage pests sustainably.
What Do Aphids Hate The Most?
Aphids, small pests that suck sap from plants, can cause significant damage in gardens. To deter them, certain plants with strong scents can be beneficial. For instance, lavender and wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) are known to repel aphids due to their potent aromas. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) not only attracts hoverflies, which prey on aphids, but also has a smell that aphids dislike. Garlic and onions are particularly effective; a homemade spray made from these can be used on affected plants.
While aphids are drawn to camellias, dahlias, roses, and citrus plants, they tend to stay away from aromatic herbs like dill, oregano, sage, and thyme. Additionally, banana peels can repel aphids when finely chopped and placed around plants. Other herbs like basil, chervil, and cilantro also help combat aphid infestations with their strong scents. Incorporating these plants into your garden can enhance flavors and provide natural pest control, helping to keep your plants healthy and free from aphids. By understanding which plants repel aphids, gardeners can create a more resilient and flourishing outdoor space.
How Often Can You Spray Plants With Soapy Water?
Spraying plants with soapy water is an effective method to control pests, typically recommended once a week. This frequency helps protect plants without causing harm, but the optimal timing can depend on factors such as plant type, pest severity, and soap concentration. Essential for any plant owner, understanding how to apply soapy water properly enhances its effectiveness against harmful insects.
To create a soapy water solution for plants, mix a small amount of mild liquid soap with water in a spray bottle, beginning with a low concentration to assess plant sensitivity. It's also vital to use the right type of soap to prevent damaging the plants. Generally, gardeners can spray soapy water on tomato plants every 5-7 days, but care must be taken to avoid leaf burn or stripping the protective layer of the leaves.
When applying the soap, ensure it thoroughly coats the insects rather than just the leaves. For best results, sprays should coincide with new insect population growth. Additionally, consider environmental factors, like humidity and temperature; spraying in the evening or on overcast days may be more beneficial.
While soapy water is generally safe for plants, beneficial insects should also be considered, as some soap solutions can harm them. For best practices, repeat applications may be necessary up to four times until pest issues are under control. Always refer to specific soap recipes, as some may be more harmful than helpful, especially for edible crops.
How Long To Leave Soapy Water On Plants?
To effectively eliminate bugs from houseplants, soak the entire plant including its pot in a tub of water for approximately 15-20 minutes. Using soapy water aids in this process by killing insects on the plant or within the soil. However, caution is warranted as high concentrations of soap can harm plant foliage. While natural methods for pest control such as hand-picking, using water sprays, or introducing beneficial insects are preferable, insecticidal soap becomes necessary when these fail. It's important to rinse the plant, apply the soapy solution, and then rinse again to minimize potential damage.
Soapy water can improve plant health by removing waxy buildups on leaves, enhancing nutrient absorption. Yet, sensitive plants may react poorly to soap, and therefore, should be treated with plain water where possible. Certain plants, especially ferns and delicate flowers, should avoid exposure to soapy water altogether since it may dissolve protective coatings and lead to dehydration. When using DIY soap solutions, they should be highly diluted. Optimal timing is crucial; sprays should be applied when new insect populations are detected.
Over time, the salts in soap may affect soil health and water penetration. Thus, using soap on plants requires significant care, and rinsing is recommended for sensitive species to remove any residual soap.
Can You Dump Soapy Water On Plants?
Don’t worry about phosphates in ordinary detergents; they generally act as plant fertilizers and won’t harm plants. However, caution is necessary when using soapy water on plants, as it can contain chemicals that may damage or kill them if not diluted properly. Soapy water, termed "grey water," can be an option in drought situations but should ideally be used in moderation. It’s advisable to avoid using it on sensitive plants such as ferns and specific flowers, as even mild soaps may adversely affect them.
While the soapy water from dishwashing can temporarily help keep plants alive, it contains salts that absorb water, potentially drying out plants. Common vegetables like peas and tomatoes may show negative effects quickly. Therefore, the safest approach is to minimize or avoid using soapy water altogether, opting instead for plain water when possible.
If using soapy water, consider applying mild, non-toxic soaps like those found in insecticidal sprays. These are less harmful compared to harsh soaps with chemicals such as chlorine or degreasers. University of Minnesota experts recommend a mild solution (2 teaspoons of Dawn dish soap per pint of water) for pest control, which also can serve beneficial aspects without harming plants when used correctly.
In emergencies, recycled soapy water can be utilized, but it is advisable not to rely solely on it. Rotating soapy with clean water is a better strategy for maintaining plant health. For other uses, grey water is better suited for flushing toilets than for direct use on plant life. Always prioritize the right conditions and substance to protect plants effectively.
Can I Use Dawn Dish Soap To Get Rid Of Aphids?
To effectively control aphids in your garden or home plants, regularly spray them with a soapy water solution every few days, focusing especially on the underside of the leaves where aphids typically reside. A recommended mixture is one tablespoon of dish soap or castile soap per gallon of water. Dawn dish soap is particularly popular due to its effective insecticidal properties, though pure Castile soap is also highly effective. For enhanced results, you can add cayenne pepper or neem oil to the soap solution; neem oil sprays are readily available at most garden centers.
Aphids are small, cluster-forming insects that feed on the sap of plant leaves and stems, allowing them to reproduce rapidly and cause significant plant damage. Using a soap solution works by suffocating these pests without harming the plants. To prepare the spray, add a few drops of mild dish soap like Dawn to a spray bottle filled with water, shake well, and apply directly to the affected areas, ensuring both sides of the leaves are covered.
This soapy water method is also effective against other soft-bodied insects such as whiteflies, thrips, mites, scales, and leafhoppers, while being less harmful to beneficial insects like ladybugs and bees. It is best to apply the solution in the evening or early morning to maximize effectiveness and minimize any potential plant stress. However, this method is not suitable for larger pests like caterpillars and beetles.
When using dish soap as an insecticide, ensure the mixture is not too concentrated to prevent dissolving the protective waxes on plant leaves. Commercial insecticidal soaps are preferable as they are formulated to avoid damaging plant surfaces. Regular application of the diluted soap solution can help maintain plant health by controlling aphid populations naturally and safely.
Does Sappy Water Kill Aphids?
Soapy water is an effective method for killing aphids by removing their waxy coating, which leads to dehydration and death. This solution smothers aphids and disrupts their cell membranes, causing suffocation. Using soapy water for pest control is simple and doesn't require special equipment; common household dish soap serves as a budget-friendly option. It is a safe choice for gardens, particularly effective against aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites.
To achieve maximum effectiveness, a mixture of mild dish soap and water can be sprayed on affected plants every few days, focusing on the undersides of leaves to reduce pest growth. Although soapy water can kill many aphids, it may not eliminate all, necessitating ongoing treatment.
The recommended dilution is one tablespoon of dish soap or castile soap mixed with a pint of water, or a few tablespoons of liquid soap in a squirt bottle to cover the plants adequately. Additionally, while soapy water targets small, soft-bodied insects like aphids and mites, it's also important to address ants that may assist in aphid proliferation. Overall, soapy water stands as an eco-friendly insecticidal option, aligning with natural pest control methods while maintaining low toxicity levels according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Regular applications can sustain pest management effectively in gardens.
📹 Foolproof Aphid Control and Prevention
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Bob, be sure to spray the soil; also and the sides of the planting boxes as well. Dig up the soil a little with a teaspoon and spray again. Remove all diseased buds that don’t look like they will recover in about two days or so after you spray. Some will recover, some wont. It always makes me laugh when I see my plants looking healthier the very next morning after being sprayed, as if they have breathed a sigh of relief from an intolerable burden!
I use ladybugs, order them every year and release them into the petunias. I spray a heavily diluted mix of 7-up & water over them first. It makes their wings too sticky to fly for awhile and by the time they’re able to fly away, they don’t want to because they have plenty of food all around them. Works for them and me. Plus ladybugs are a cool little creature to watch.
I use only 1-2 drops of liquid soap, to one quart gallon of water, maybe mine was too strong type, mixed with 0.5 teaspoon of baking soda and half teaspoon of vegetable oil. If the concentration is higher esp. the soap, it damages my mango, citrus tree leaves in my greenhouse. I also do it early 7 o’clock or late 7 pm in the evening. I hate aphids. Yeah i spray the soil too, i have lot of ants too, i use antskiller powder against them.. Maybe i should keep the doors all day long and all night long open during summer… nice vid.
I have a medium size stone fruit tree and last year I noticed it had a couple limbs COVERED in aphids, there was also a lot of ants. I was thinking about what to do and then noticed a couple of lady bugs. I went around the tree and counted about 8 or 9 total lady bugs. I also noticed the ants harassing the lady bugs to protect their food source, the aphids. I put ant traps at the base of the tree to get rid of the ants… the lady bugs, being unmolested now, took care of the aphids. I was pleased with myself for having the patience to only slightly alter the environment and then let the ecosystem do the rest.
What really worked well for me was having a nasturtium somewhere in the garder. It will attract all the aphids and they’ll leave all the other plants alone. + the sheer amount of aphids that the plant attracts, also attracts loads of ladybugs and they’ll take care super well of the aphids on other plants. I like this because it is a very natural way of fighting them without intervening too much. But if you do need to intervene I recommend green soap and vinegar. As a kid, I used to have a little bush with flowers but it never flowered because the aphids just kept eating it. So I loaded up a supersoaker with that mixture (as recommended by my mom) and I sprayed it all over. I only did this once, and suddenly the bush became a feast of all kinds of bugs eating the aphids. And after a week I saw my bush flower for the first time. So that’s a little anecdote of a story to tell you about how good it works 🙂
One thing I’ve found works really well, especially for my house plants, is to use a mix of; 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 squirt dishwashing liquid 1 litre of water Mix really well and spray onto your plants every 2 ish days depending on how bad the infestation is. It works well because the dishwashing liquid breaks down the outside shell of the aphid, then the baking soda drys them out!
I use the diatomaceous earth. Easy way to apply it quickly and effectively is to use a makeup brush. Just move the brush around in a bowl of the earth and then pop it in the air around the plants. It will put a ton of the earth into the air like baby powder. I don’t recommend on a super windy day, but otherwise a couple pops about 6 to 8 inches from the plants and you have decent coverage quickly.
One of the things that helped me was soaking onion clippings in water for a week or 2 and then spritzing plants with it once every day after watering and stuff has a chance to dry a bit. Worked great and didnt effect the taste as long as everything is washed properly. Also helped a lot with slugs and rodents
Here in central Texas, the native sunflowers attract aphid. I planted them down wind from my garden areas (I’m really windy). Aphids migrated to the sunflowers, which attracted lady bugs and other assassin bugs. Doing this again this year to see if it was a fluke. My crepe myrtles get heavy spray. Takes care of them instantly. But I also do when I first see them show up. Thank you for showing more Non-chemical choices
I totally agree that healthy plants get fewer pests! I have a large house plant collection and occasionally a mealybug or some other pest will show. I just squish the few bugs I find and never end up with an infestation. Meanwhile my mom’s house plants keep getting clobbered because she won’t listen to me about using well draining soil and not watering if the soil is still wet 😅 It’s so funny to think growing up I thought she had a green thumb 🙊 Well just goes to show, when your parents teach you everything they know, there’s still room to add to that knowledge for your generation
What i use for aphid control is controlling ants in the garden. Using the ants to relocate aphids to other plants keeps on working really well. I mainly do that by planting some random plants that generally are really well liked by aphids close to the ants main colonies, this way the ants tend to move the aphids there and then i can easily take the aphids out, usually by blasting with cold water. I also use sunflowers here for that, since the aphids really really love them here. The stem can turn completely black from the little pests
I’ve been experimenting with applying a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide (1 qt bottle added to water in a 2 gallon watering can) to the soil at the end of the growing season and/or prior to planting. This seems to be working to prevent the infestation from happening at all or at the very least reducing the magnitude. I think this is probably because cabbage aphids overwinter in the soil, and the H2O2 kills the eggs. For example, I did two applications in my grow dome this winter where I grow collards and kale all winter. Usually, by this time of the spring, the aphid infestation is coming on strong. This year, nothing! It has also been useful outdoors.
Kevin, thank you for this outstanding information. My wife and I have gotten into gardening about 2 years ago, and this article here is the epitome of everything we have been learning about our bodies, and gardens. We subscribe and fully enjoy the educational content you offer. Great stuff man, peace on and keep up the good work Brother.
Here in Israel we are moving into Spring and fairly hot weather over the past few days has created an explosion of Aphids in my end of season Beets and Mangold. My ‘take’ is that planting too close can exacerbate the problem…reduced air flow, less access to monitor what is going on and as you mentioned washing away the pests. I tried hosing the pests off on consecutive days but the buggers came back very quickly. I removed the most seriously infected plants altogether which seemed to help somewhat. There is a theory that pests can sense when a plant is at its end and attack the weaker ones.
I had horrible aphid problem on my chard plant. I watered them off thank you for that advise!! Then I read somewhere online banana peel they hate smell so I put thin two pieces of banana peel circling around my chard plant on top soil. I been changing out banana peel. Then 2 weeks later and still no aphids come back!
My fish love aphids actually. So I periodically search through the garden for an aphid infestation and toss a leaf or two into the pond. Sometimes I use a rock to hold the leaf under the water for the fish to get to. I try not to do too much to the aphids otherwise because always I find ladybugs and other predators on them, and I would like those predators to stay. If it is just a plant and the plant still looks mostly fine, I just leave the whole thing. If I want to pick a plant, I do check the leaves or florets and use a strong water spray on those. I try to resist messing with them though, because many predators are attracted to aphid colonies. They are apparently a good food source. So I definitely leave enough aphids as a buffet for the ecosystem of the garden.
Great cabbages, in spite of the aphids! I did cringe when you tossed the infested leaves, with aphids spilling on the soil, rather than containing the leaves in a paper bag and into the trash. Aphids are relatively easy to manage, white flies and squash bugs really destroyed a lot of my crop last season. This year I am trying more netting!
What timing! I actually noticed some (I’m pretty sure) aphids on my hibiscus flowers a couple weeks ago. They like to attack the flower buds where it’s nice and soft. I was so worried because I give the flowers to my bearded dragon as occasional treats, and so using any chemicals or anything that alters the plant was off the table. I wouldn’t say the aphids were to the point of infestation (yet), but they were noticeable, and I of course didn’t want to feed aphids to my beardie in case of parasites or disease. But then, few days later, I noticed several ladybugs! A pair even laid some eggs under a hibiscus leaf! I kept an eye on the eggs and they just hatched a day or two ago. The larvae have already over doubled in size and gained some color, so I know they’re getting some good food! I was lucky and it’s been really cool to see nature keep itself in balance without my intervention 🙂 Can’t wait to have my own little ladybug army haha
Keeping your plants in your garden healthy is of the upmost importance, strong plants will protect themselves against aphids. If you have and aphid issue try Planting mint sporadically at the base of your plants throughout your garden. I’ve tried many of the store bought sprays and they didn’t work for me, but have always come back to planting more mint. Thankfully I learned my lesson in my small planters before I started a larger garden. The mint will spread and do no harm to your garden. This has worked for me over the years.
What I find interesting in your garden too is the practice in bio-dynamic farming where roughly 1/3 of the ground is used for actual consumption plants, and the 2/3 of the ground is used to create an ecosystem that can clear all pests that come into your edible plants. And in return you have an enormous patch that is swamped with flowers, insects and other happy insects.
I had aphids attacking dying mixed green salad heads and I chopped up a green onion and dropped the pieces into the salad leaves and within a few days they were gone. I’ve also created a spray by boiling garlic onion spring onion jalapeño maybe – it stinks up the place but so far it has been working on my big garden. I keep it in the fridge in a spray bottle. Still an experiment spraying once a week. Thanks for your content always learning!
I’m new to gardening & won’t use pesticides. I had heaps on my potted Tahitian lime, so I just blasted it with water with the hose on jet. I figured it would take them too long to get back and would probably die before getting back… Either by the weather or predatory insects. Very pleased I did the right thing & they didn’t come back 👍👍
This article really touches well on something that people seem to have forgotten–if we mimic nature as much as possible, and get out of the way, changes are good that everything will work out. Healthy soil full of beasties and microorganisms, is really the base for any healthy garden. If you look in nature, it’s almost always the unhealthy plants which get attacked. You’d think it was survival of the fittest out there or something. 🙂 Between building your soil year-by-year, and companion planting when you can, you really don’t need to spray insecticides. As your soil improves over the yeas, your plants get more and more robust. Disturbing your soil as little as possible is really key to this. Killing off some of your soil life when you expose it to the sun, is working against you.
In Australia, I used to get crazy amounts of aphids/scale, etc. Last spring I let out a few batches of native ladybugs (3 sets of 30 adults) and some green lace wing – in Autumn now and successive generations of both species have been seen in my garden ever since and 90% of the aphid issue is gone. These guys breed their own bugs, and they are super expensive – hobbies in Australia…
I have tried spraying if it’s off and cutting leaves off and they absolutely still destroy all of my plants before my fruits and vegetables ripen. And, every year it gets worse. I was not even going to garden any of the plants at if it’s like this year to see if it would make a difference for future planting, but I have decided to give it one more shot with your neem recipe. I also planted fennel, flowers, and tons of onion to repel and that did not work at all. I literally would sprinkle onion all over my plants once a week with no effect. I really hope neem works!
I had an Aphid problem that was decimating my 2 plum tree’s. Then I went out & uprooted some wild nettles & stuck them in large pots & positioned them at the base of the plum tree’s, 4 pots around the base of each tree & the Aphid problem went away. Because the ladybird, the lava & other bugs that love to nest & lay eggs on nettles, also love Aphids to eat.
For me, nature’s way has always worked the best! Ladybugs are my guardian angels. I got aphids on my grapes and hibiscus last year, and within just a few days of releasing a pack of ladybirds, the aphids were totally gone! And they haven’t been back since. I’ve actually got a few of them to stick around lurking and eating the ants in my strawberry plants. Of course there are absolutely drawbacks- it’s not really ‘foolproof’, because they are animals, and they’re not predictable. They’re also more of a fix after the fact, rather than a preventative measure. I’m certain these ways also work just as well and I have tried the neem oil trick before! I just prefer something that to me at least seems a little more ‘natural’ & requires less direct intervention from me lol
Nice, good points. I use dilute detergent with a sprayer, on the UNDERSIDE of the leaves & other plants. On Non-edible plants I use very dilute insecticide (nothing nasty). Prevention (the better option)? Plant lots of garlic everywhere, a food crop in itself, good for the soil, deep tough roots, discourages insects; use solution from crushed garlic for spraying. And it stops the cat from using my nicely dug beds for you know what.
I think this was the best article about aphids on YouTube. We got some aphid pressure on some of our container plants we were overwintering inside. They haven’t disappeared, but I think we finally have them under control. Just rinsing then off and using sticky tape to get them off. When the plants get back outside, I’m sure the abundant amount of ladybugs and other “bio bugs” we have on our property should decimate their remaining population. They are so annoying. Haha. Another great article.
Agree that the ecosystem of your garden is the best long term solution to aphids and other pests. However I am an advocate of Diatomaceous Earth. Yep it is messy but contrary to what you said it is not expensive. It is especially affordable if you use it for other things as well. I buy a 50 lb bag (it is heavy so not as big as you are now visioning LOL) I use this to keep my chickens fee of little critters, to stop infiltrating ants from getting into my home or tearing up the cracks in my driveway. But most importantly it is my first defense against aphids! Here they tend to attempt to enter my space via my roses. I bomb them with this powder right away. Looks awful but nothing is in bloom when this invasion starts (and nothing will be if it continues). The powdered baby butt look only lasts about a week though. Once thwarted my problem is at worst minute and often non excitant. Very different than what used to happen here. I should also say “keep an eye on your fence line.” You can gave a very healthy garden but if your neighbor does not that is the rout of entry for these nasty’s into your garden. Peace, love and death to aphids 🙂
Most resources for Aphid control say that blasting with water is all that is needed. I’ve been doing that every weekend to my Honeysuckle, and they just come back in full force. It doesn’t really work very well with my honeysuckle because the clusters of buds are so fragile that they get blasted off by the water and the aphids hide inside the leaves that encase the new clusters. I’m at my wit’s end. I’m almost ready to just hack down my beautiful honeysuckle bush, but I love it so much. Today, I’m going to try and cut off all of the infected parts and spray the bush with soapy water and see what it looks like next weekend.
Aphid (and slugs ) were terrible at my place when I moved in. Killing them was an endless task, especially since the neighbour is a rental and no one cares about the garden, so it’s an infinite source of pests. I bought lacewings for the aphid and they have been amazing. It’s a long term solution; took about 3 months to really notice the difference. But now I rarely see aphids at all. The main catch with this solution is that the lacewings are carnivores when young, and nectar eaters as adults. So you need flowers for them to complete their life cycle. Actually, not that much of a problem for a gardener. Also these are native where I am. If you look into bio-control of pests, please encourage native predators to your area.
I add milk (liquid or powdered milk) to the teas that I water my garden with and discovered, years later, that that’s why I don’t have an aphid problem, anymore. I make a green tea, oolong tea, black tea, and manure teas for my garden. Green tea is from green weeds and yard waste, oolong is from dried yard waste, and black tea is compost pile tea and I grab mushrooms to add whenever they’re available. Green, oolong, and black teas are all the same plant just different drying and/or curing process but they each provide different benefits, to us. So I thought my garden might like that, too, and she sure does! (I also add eggs and Epsom salts to my teas, until flowering, then urea and less Epsom salts – and the only thing I’ve been growing is cannabis…)
Thank you for this article!! I had calendula on my balcony which I couldn’t really spray with anything, not even water, since I don’t have the means to do so. Ladybugs did solve some things, but in the end I had to cut the whole thing down. I did actually plant it in crappy supermarket soil so this explains a lot.
Have aphids inside on starts and never had that before. Appeared on herbs first; marjoram, lemon basil and cumin. Didn’t touch; rosemary, thyme and oregano. They didn’t touch onions or celery, but yes to artichokes. I noticed there was a shiny sap on artichokes. I hand removed and use a light pre mixed spray of Neem. Seems to work. Everything wants our stuff😅
You can use peroxide witches H202. You could spray it directly onto your plants. You could dilute it or pipes use it full strength in a sprayer and you can harvest and eat the fruit right after spraying it, and if you spray it and diluted and poured into your ground around your potatoes. It kills funguses that can possibly be in the soil around your potatoes.
ahh, this brings back memories. i worked in tomato greenhouses for a summer and at one point we had an aphid problem. we purchased ladybugs and plant tags with parasitic wasp eggs glued on them, but given the time it took for the ladybugs to arrive and for the wasp eggs to hatch, one of my tasks until the control measures started was to spend an hour or so each day just squishing all the aphids i could find, by hand. 🤢 definitely a low point of my job, and not much improved by the ladybugs crawling out of their jars and all over me when i removed them from cold storage.
I think it’s important to state that even natural sprays especially neem kills off many native insects vital to the environment resulting in further imbalance. I’d encourage more diversity and consciousness toward the ecosystem rather than the western arsenal method of kill. It helps the symptoms in the moment for sure but is more detrimental than good environmentally. Even ladybugs are not native and have a big impact on local species and can further imbalance the ecosystem.
I never have problematic aphids in my garden. But I never use any quick action fertilizer, like blood/bones/algaes or even manure. It’s just spent barley and compost, with a thick mulch of wood chips on top. I see aphids on the tips of my fava beans at the end of their cycle, which is normal, but ladybugs take care of them quickly. We now know that aphids are mostly attracted by plants weakened by excess nitrogen. The problem is that many gardeners add nitrogen fertilizers, see big green foliage and think the more the better. But no, nitrogen fertilization (especially nitrates in chemical fertilizers) will make the plant draw more water to get rid of those oxygen atoms they don’t want in the nitrates. Plant cells with excess nitrogen grow bigger with thinner membranes. That makes them more susceptible to fungi attacks, and more delicious for aphids and others insects. Pests in general can “sense” when a plant is vulnerable, because then the plant cannot produces complex molecules like complex sugars, lipids or natural pesticides. It is then full of simple sugars, which pests can digest easily. So that particular plant will be attacked first. Complex sugars would take too long to digest and ferment in the stomach of insects, turning into alcohol and killing them. So they target weak plants first. If you think about it, it’s a great selection process in nature : weaker plants die, stronger plant live and spread their seeds. But in the garden, it’s a huge trap. Compost and fertilizers are cheap, so it’s easy to overdo it.
00:02 Understanding the variety and behavior of aphids is crucial for effective control. 01:14 Aphids can cause damage to plants and spread disease 02:27 Aphids can be identified by clusters and debris. 03:36 Control aphids with different methods. 04:55 Blasting aphids off the plant and regular maintenance can effectively control the population. 06:11 Prevention is the most effective way to control aphids. 07:23 Focusing on the garden as an ecosystem is key for aphid control. 08:31 Healthy plants experience less aphid pressure
my go to spray is water + soap + rubbing alcohol (in order or how much i add). The rubbing alcohol breaks down the wax and exoskeleton that protects the insects. For something more heavy duty (i usually use this in my house rather than on indoor or outdoor plants), I switch out the rubbing alcohol for bleach; had to use this mix to take down some massive wasps that came into the apartment through the walls
Super interesting! This explains a lot! I didn’t even know there were several different types of aphids. I had seen an aphid article on YouTube and this woman had a leaf with clusters of bright green aphids, and they didn’t fly, they weren’t really fast movers, and they stayed clustered together with other aphids. But then I saw this other aphid (on the same plant) that was slightly bigger, could fly, it was super fast, and was always alone, never in clusters. So I was thinking to myself, which one is the aphid?? Now I get it, they are both aphids, just different kinds
In my gardening experience, I’ve never had too much of an aphid issue, and more like a Harlequin Bug ( Murgantia histrionica) and the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) near the end of my Mustard Green harvest and during the bolting of my Sweet Basil respectively. Diatomaceous earth definitely is hit or miss if you apply it alone, but in a mixture of water (and applying on the right day; preferably between dry streaks) it can work out fairly well!
Great article, as always! ! Something I learned while working in a lettuce greenhouse was to be very careful and delicate when removing aphids. If you swing the infested leaf over your garden patch you might accidentally help them colonize another plant and have a nasty surprise in the next few days/weeks!
Last year I wanted to keep my milkweed really healthy, so I could feed it to the monarch cats I raised. I would get the hose and go through the leaves and do kind of a sweep/crush/rinse maneuver. Being able to immediately rinse your hands makes it way less disgusting. Idk if just rinsing them off is plenty good, but I wanted them dead.
One of my elderberry trees is COVERED in aphids. The elderberry right next to it which is smaller and always seems to be doing not as well has NONE. They are in a pollinator garden and there are ladybugs eating the aphids, but they are way outnumbered. If I were to cut off the affected branches, I would be cutting down most of the tree. Here are my questions: -Would spraying with water remove the ladybugs, or would they be likely just fly right back to finish their meal? -Would using the soap, neem oil, or diatomaceous earth (I have all three) harm the ladybugs or other beneficials? -What else can I do? Thank you for your help!
I had aphids on my rose bushes. I read about a weird trick so I tried it. I squished a few on each infested leaf but left the rest alone. In the morning the aphids were completely gone! Weird trick worked! That was years ago and I’ve never had them come back! They passed on the message to their offspring? I don’t know but they’re gone! 😀
I’m a 7 year gardener. Ive got 2 more big tips for aphids. Firstly, You touched on this briefly but aphids and ants have a symbiotic relationship, the ants protect and move the aphids from plant to plant, kill the ants and the aphids have no one to protect or move them. Secondly, plant a bunch of marigolds, the oil from the flower is in most neem oils. I’ve never witnessed bugs colonizing on my marigolds, their sent is too strong.
Ugh I hate aphids! I’ve been fighting them all winter! I’ve heard Nasturtium and Calendula attract the aphids, but not in my garden, they were all on the Broccoli, Kale and Cabbage. I had volunteer Nasturtium growing literally right next to the broccoli and not one aphid was on them. I am still growing my regular veggies this year but I’ve added a ton of flowers like Bee Balm, Borage, sunflowers, zinnia, poppies and a bunch more that will hopefully welcome the good bugs. I was using the water blast method but had to go out of state on family emergency for 2 weeks and when I got back my garden was an aphid farm 😫
I have aphids on some of my plants, the one i’m caring for the most is my Calabrian chili peppers. But damn i spend a good 20-30 minutes looking all over the plant just to make sure there’s none left. So far no signs of aphid damage even though they’re present. But from what i found looking online is that chili powder around the plants helps to prevent them from getting on the plants. Especially since ants seems to borrow by the stem of the plant. I never tried it, but it seems logical since chili peppers are toxic to most animals.
Hmmm, my gorgeous kale was destroyed over 1-2 days by aphids. I soaked the plant in a dawn water solution, some help but not enough. Last year, that same kale plant survived my first aphid attack by 2 lady bugs that showed up out of nowhere. One day & the aphids were gone, so we’re the lady bugs. I had tried need oil first without any success. If I had more than that one plant, I would’ve bought lady bugs. I think you can buy them online. The aphid attack happened during a 28 degree overnight freeze. We never really get below 30s, nor rain of more than .01 inch. (I know pathetic.) I thought it weird they would exist when it was so cold.
I have what I think is aphids but they are mainly in the soil/at the roots. My plants seem healthy. I’ve been doing diatomaceous earth but like you said it’s a pain to do and to upkeep. This is my first year gardening and I’m aggravated and a little at a loss as yo if it’s aphids or not. They are orange-ish red and do look similar to the pictures you showed. Just interesting to me that they have not piled on any of the leaves. I currently have mixed greens, spinach, and strawberries in my garden.
My roses have been totally overwhelmed with aphids this year. I did neem oil and systemics but they burn the tender foliage Blasting roses with water presents other problems like Blackspot, rust and fungus. I finally got the infestation under control by literally going out morning, noon and night and removing the aphids by hand…… now on to the budworms and cut worms…..
Oh yeah that honeydew is a great way to suddenly realize you have a ton of aphids you hadnt noticed. Ive been blasting them with soap when i see them in number; im really hopeful about silica but havent added any yet…..neem was good to try but doesnt seem to work after application so i need better fix
Good article. Thank you. I commented below about WHY a healthy plant normally doesn’t get attacked by insects. I’ll write it again because it was buried in a sub-comment. When a plant is very healthy, the natural sugar levels in the plant go very high. This is called a brix level – the measurement of the natural sugars. When the natural sugars are high in the plant, almost no bugs can eat that plant and survive, because most bugs die of the natural sugars. (I’m not talking about sweet plants – this is just a natural sugar plants contain.) The big reason bugs go after stressed plants is that the plants become edible to them when their brix (sugar) level drops. If you have bugs, the plant is weak. Feed the plant properly and increase it’s health – and the bug can’t enjoy it (unless it wants to die). Case in point: I bought several mint plants from the grocery store produce department. Weak and leggy and dying, but I needed some starter plants for my indoor herbs. One was super weak, and that’s the one the aphids nailed. I put all of these plants among all my other plants with no quarantine …. and the plants are even touching leaves a little bit .. my other plants are healthy and strong … and even though my other plants are touching the infested plants, my strong plants have no aphids. It is only the new weak plant that was attacked. (Some weak plants can’t be brought back to health – and sometimes you just have to start over – but always aim for strong plants and you’ll minimize your headaches.
Let me just give another advice for all you guys. If you hace aphids on a fruit tree, but either of these 2 things: sticky anti-ants sheets (you put them tighly bound to the tree trunk to avoid ants going up) or diatomeaceous sand (and make a cercle around the tree trunk like in horror films with salt). What I’ve seen is that once the ants are gone, the aphids are gone too. Aphids are like the sheeps of the small world and ants are their farmers. Healthy trees with no aphids any more. Once the tree has Its new leaves grown and there are no more tender leaves on the tree, remove the protection.
I mix dish soap with ratio of 1 table spoon per 1.5 litre of water and mist it directly on the colony. I’d say it works well for me but sometimes it can kill the plants it you apply it too often. I usually only use it when the infestation is so bad if it’s only a light infestation i usually just spray them off the leaf like in the article
@Epic Gardening — N.B. — “decimate” = to kill one out of ten. In ancient Rome, if a cohort displayed unwillingness to fight, it’s platoons of ten legionaries each would be required to draw straws. The remaining nine were required to beat to death the holder of the short straw with their hands. Hence “to decimate” is to reduce by one-tenth. It is not a synonym for any other word in any Euro-based language.
This is the first yr I have ever had an issue. I usually plant marigolds but this yr many didn’t come up or struggling to grow,. I have never seen such an infestation as I have on the cantaloupes and now watermelon. I tried several naturlal things and ended up spraying seven. They are so think under the leaves but I sprayed heavy. But now they have spread even further.
What are cover crops, which plants are cover crops and can be planted in August in Houston, Texas. My garden started out really well, but it already went down the drain because of aphids. I would like to start over with something low maintenance that will improve the current soil etc. for future seasons.
I have notice when i use an un balanced fertilizer usually high in nitrogen attract’s the aphid’s if you stick to a routine balanced fertilizer and watering plus sunlight and they will repel aphids weak plant’s are attacked and abundance of the same crop is also attacked mono cropping causes the pest problem
Hi Kevin. Thanks for all your super helpful articles. I’m dealing with an aphid problem at the moment. How would you suggest I dispose of aphid infested plants/offcuts? I had manually cut off the most affected parts of my plants and discarded in into our green-lidded garden waste bin. Now the green lid is covered in aphids that have escaped from the bin. Should I have sprayed with insecticidal soap first?
5:42 I’m probably the ONLY gardener who doesNOT trust using “neem” oil on My plants. That is NOT TO SAY that I haven’t tried it: It is only to say that the results were TRASH. I tried storebought neem (which is LITERALLY actually only 0.01% neem EXTRACT — which I don’t believe is neem AT ALL), and I’ve also tried the PURE og neem, as you showed in the clip… Results for BOTH were garbage in MY garden, but I realize that MOST folks who are conditioned to “popular” tactics are sold on it, so I just don’t bother to mention it at all. I know mentioning MY experience tends to trigger those who are accustomed to “doing what everyone else does”. I’m kinda weird because I’m guided by Ancestors, as well as a couple of people whom I believe to prioritize INTEGRITY (&therefore humanity) in their workings, and whom also receives messages from MotherNature Herself 😉 — three of which includes you, JagSingh/DaisyCreekFarms, and SelfsufficientMe. And with THAT said, My fave control for them is also jetspraying them off with water.
I don’t have aphids yet, but they butchered my squash last summer. I heard that burying chopped banana peel underneath your healthy or infected plants deters aphids. Is that true? I also have yellow plates filled with water near my garden because I heard that aphids are highly attracted to the color yellow and will drown in the water. It’s worked for some people, but I wanted to hear your thoughts on these methods! Thank you for your time! 🙂
I had stevia growing in my house and something was killing it. I was sure it was fungus gnat larvae below the soil. So I changed the soil. I left them in my daughter’s garage for a couple of weeks, then took them back. I put it out on my high rise patio and discovered a lady bug. My first hint there were aphids. The ladybug probably came from my daughter’s garage., They are beige, light brown, not translucent like I’m used to. I tried soap, sprayed underneath all the leaves. Does the soap kill them or do they leave and go elsewhere? Today I am wiping them off by hand.
My brassicas were transplanted into grow pots on a 30″ high table outside. Besides, I started the seeds myself. They’re still under attack by aphids, which tells me it’s a soil issue. I want to attack them in the soil without attacking the good soil life. I do have some neem oil and natural liquid soap. Any advice?
What kinds of cover crops and companion plants can help with lettuce aphids? This was the first two days of warm summery weather and my lettuce got infested for the first time, this is my first time veggie growing and I just had to cut down the majority of my lettuce leaving just the crown (some wasn’t nearly as infested is still useful for today’s salad, and some was icky soggy and infested had to cut down and throw away). I placed my potted lettuce underneath a rue plant hoping it’ll be helpful, could a lemon geranium and lemon grass be helpful as well? Could using these as mulch help? this feels like a mile stone, am I a real gardener yet? 😂
I have a climbing honeysuckle tree in my garden. No matter what I do, I get aphid on the flowers once it blooms. I regularly spray with water and dish soap, but they return every year. Only plant in my garden that becomes infested. I need help! Can you point me in the right direction? Hard to spray them off the tiny flowers and from a shrub that’s nearly 8 feet tall. I’m barely five feet, lol.
Here wooly aphids on every trees with the wax like webs, once one tree gets it starts a plants pandemic with their cotton like worms flying around in air and lands on whatever trees in that zone. You try remove these waxes the next day it will reappear on the very spot and these suckes target those new sprouts on the tip of branches to kill it from growing. So far nothing I tried managed to control its population. Every trees/ flower plants, saplings have them growing on and they builds this sticky web linking one to another and infects certain areas of waxes with most insects, flies caught in it. It spreads faster before you are done removing waxes from a plant. Seems to be spraying water is the temporary solution with no guarantee it won’t be next day at same spot.
You said that if you don’t have healthy soil or an environment that doesn’t promotes healthy plants. Then aphid will thrive. Well I do container gardening because my entire backyard is septic field. I am not sure how I have attracted an aphid infestation. I have lots of ants but when I find a colony of ants I put a few tablespoons of orange oil in water and pour in within the ant mound. Haven’t seen any ants for the last few months but it’s been under 50 degrees. Also I put lots of coffee grounds on my lawn/ septic field. Maybe the ants don’t like coffee grounds. I could just put a net over the plants in 5 gallon buckets. But I wondering what cause the infestation of aphids and ants. Maybe moisture from septic field. The ground beyond my septic field is usually cracked during the summer because of the ongoing drought. I live between Austin and San Antonio. Central Texas.
Kevin, I’m sorry to bother you, I desperately need advice to save my season. I had about 1/3 of my seedlings transplanted into 4″ disposables to harden them off, this morning not one of my cucs, squash or zucchini had a single leaf left on them (eaten away) but nothing else (tomatoes, beans, lettuce and many herbs). First, is it even worth putting them in the ground with no leaves or are they all “dead”. Second, what would eat only the above? They were all on trays on end-tables 2 ft off the ground. The only animals we see are rabbits, squirrels and field rats, PS I’m in SoCal near Calikim. Thank you kindly
I have calendiva plants in my windowsill, and I’ve been keeping cuttings of this same plant alive for about 6y now. They were big enough to be in my biggest indoor pots, but the cat I adopted a year and a half ago absolutely destroyed most of my indoor plants. I was lucky to have this round of cuttings in the windowsill, otherwise idk if any of this plant would have survived. But they’re absolutely crawling with aphids, which weren’t a problem in prior years– I’m guessing they came in with some soil I had, or something. I’ve been dragging my feet on dealing with them, though, bc it’s just yet another minor problem… this should help me a lot, since I don’t need to actively research so much anymore, mostly just apply ideas here
Meant to search gnats because I have those flying around like it’s cirque de soleil in my kitchen but typed aphids instead, and realized my ghost pepper plants have APHIDS!! Freaking mofos go’n tonight. I thought the ants crawling all over my pepper plants were just exploring (so dumb). Fuzzy time plant owner here.
The trouble is, All my brassicas are covered in netting as I had a plague of white cabbage moths. The predators can’t get to the aphids. However, I’ve only found aphids in one spot, on some kale. I haven’t had a chance to get to them as it’s been raining a LOT. Could be sunny today, although quite soggy underfoot. Could be the day to hunt the aphids 😁
I had such a terrible infestation this summer, I tried blasting daily with water as well as smashing them with my hands. Sprayed with neem oil, which did absolutely nothing and even personally powdered some with diotsmacious earth… gobbed it on then and they were fine later that day. Those beggars are the devil. I had to tear out 75% of my brassicas because they were too far gone and I fought diligently for at least two weeks 😞
Don’t grow plants as a mono culture. Alternate them with other plants so there are several different plants in between and no two of the same plants are right next to each other. Also, use onions and garlic, a natural antibiotic, to delineate borders between all plants. This can keep them critter free. 😀
Ok so ladybugs are great, but, you really need ladybug larva rather than fully grown bugs as the larva eat so much more, so buying isn’t worthwhile. Your best bet is to build bug hotels near your roses or cabbage patches so when they lay eggs and hatch they go straight to the plants that you want them to. This is why its vital to keep plants like nettles in small spots around your garden if you can, ladybugs nest on nettles!!! Other beneficial bugs use nettles and weed type plants too, so having even a few controlled weeds is really good for your little ecosystem.
Of the Aphid Pest Family, the worst has to be the woolly aphid, as the wool they produce protects them from most if not all of the natural predators, even tbe ants can’t seem to penetrate their defence. I have them on 2 decorative crab apple tree’s, and I’ve tried several organic remedies, ok for a short term, but it is short term. Does anyone know an effective fix, that doesn’t involve a heat gun? They burrow into the upper layer and create nodules, which if left unchecked can grow in size up to several inches. It’s getting so bad I fear I will have pollard them, or even cut them down. HELP!
Lol if you buy lady bugs they fly away. I once bought a flock of special birds to control tick population. They all flew away the day I released them. I bought another flock of Guinea Hens and kept them indoors for 3 days to imprint with chickens. They flew away when let out. I THEN got Guinea Hen chicks to raise with chickens. When they got older…they all flew away.
I’ve washed these little bastards off three times a week. I’ve used peppermint oil. I use that sevin stuff. They literally come back the next day. I don’t know what the heck to do. Now they’re going after my eggplants. Nothing I’ve tried so far works. Somebody said to use a dish soap and water and not any kind of peppermint oil or neem oil. Does anybody have any suggestions?