Aphids everywhere......

I will freely admit I know nothing about aphids, whether they are black, green, white or orange. All I know is that my apple tree has black aphids which seem to be curling over the leaf, & that my lettuce & beans seem to have an orange aphid on them. Are these doing any harm?? Or are they just unsightly?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark on May 31, 2011 at 15:04

I hope you are not organic as the apple tree aphid is a real pest as could be the attacks on the others- mildest control is greenfly and blackfly killer - fatty acids - or you may have to resort to something stronger on the apple as the aphids will seriously stunt growth and cause big problems next year if it's a tip bearer like most apples

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 31, 2011 at 16:11

Everything's totally organic. Poo.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Melinda Que_Linda on May 31, 2011 at 16:48

They weaken plants by sucking sap and spread viruses. Ants farm them because they secrete a sweet honey fluid.

Want to try hanging some kind of sticky trap from some of the branches? You can hang some of the Aragalan sticky traps or cut up those glue traps for catching mice (from a poundshop) and thread some yarn though. This sort of thing:

My cherry was under a similar attack (black fly causing leaf curl), I nipped off the really bad bits and used sticky traps. It seemed to help, and the sheets of dead aphids certainly made me feel better.

Also I got a pack of grease bands which wrap around the trunk of the tree during the dormant period. They trap beasties crawling up the trunk to lay eggs ready for the spring.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Colin Robinson on May 31, 2011 at 22:28

I've had some quite severe infestations on my currants this year. I put it down to the lack of ladybirds which are their natural predators. Unfortunately nature isn't the nice harmonious balance some people think it is but a violent struggle for dominance by one species over another. Just do what you can and remember there's always chemicals as a last resort if you feel the beggars are winning the battle.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on June 1, 2011 at 8:20

Your best organic control for Aphids is by spraying every 3 days with a garlic based solution such as Plant Defence (there are other similar products) as this will a) work as an antifeedant b) as a mild insecticide and c) strengthen the plants natural defence. You need to spray every 3 days for at least a couple of weeks to break the life-cycle.

You could of course also use something like soft soap - but this will only provide a kill and none of the other benefits.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Zoe on June 1, 2011 at 8:31

Just googled aphids & apparently they breathe through their skin. So I have decided on a tripple attack:

First I'm gonna don some gloves & go squashing some aphids this afternoon.

Then I'm going to mix up a spray bottle with a crushed clove of garlic & some diluted washing up liquid (biodegradable organic of course).

Hopefully the squishing will get the numbers under control & spraying with the liquid for a couple of days will let the natural balance reassert itself.

What do you think?? Has anyone tried this??

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on June 1, 2011 at 8:35

Don't squish ! It sends out a warning scent to those remaining who will drop off the plants to come back later!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Zoe on June 1, 2011 at 8:47

I need some ladybirds. They would know what to do.

I have only seen 1 ladybird so far this year.

I blame the neighbours. You try so hard to get the right kind of insect into your garden, but as soon as they pop over the fence they all get killed off by the neighbour.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Una Bee on June 2, 2011 at 10:55

Zoe - How are you getting on with spraying the plants? Something or other is nibbling my chillis so I think I need to get spraying as well.

Stephen - I saw the chilli clip this morning and just realised now that you're using a commercial spray, not just garlic and citrus in a bottle. Surely a home-made version would do the same thing?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Zoe on June 2, 2011 at 17:09

Definitely less bugs today after having a go at them yesterday. I'll keep at it & let you know how it goes.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on June 2, 2011 at 17:30

Hi Una

Well as we use a couple of hundred litres a week we would spend our lives crushing garlic and pressing the oil out of citrus peel! We buy our ingredients as starigh concentrate and blend them from there - both for our use and sale.

Making your own shouldn't be a problem on the garlic front, but extracting the citrus oil maybe.

Una Bee said:

Zoe - How are you getting on with spraying the plants? Something or other is nibbling my chillis so I think I need to get spraying as well.

Stephen - I saw the chilli clip this morning and just realised now that you're using a commercial spray, not just garlic and citrus in a bottle. Surely a home-made version would do the same thing?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steven Monks on June 3, 2011 at 23:28

Awww who mentioned Aphids!??!!! Thought had got away with it and noticed my blackberry plants are covered in em!!!

Now at this point I would reach for the "Bug Clear" - are you guys telling me that garlic spray is just as good?? I will trust your judgement if that is the case, but really don't want to see my blackberry plants ravaged, diseased yet vampire proof!! :-)