How to fight aphids in the garden using folk remedies. Aphids on indoor flowers: how to fight and get rid of them using folk remedies A reliable way to fight aphids

Green aphids feed on the sap of young shoots and leaves

We remove pests from beds and gardens

Important! Scientists say there are about 450 species of leaf aphids in the northern hemisphere, which can cause significant damage to agriculture, horticulture and forestry. And in a small summer cottage, if nothing is done, it will simply destroy everything.

We analyze the situation

Why and where does it appear?

Leaf aphids pierce the soft flesh of the plant with their proboscis and the neighbor sap from it. She is not interested in old rough leaves - only buds and young leaves. Based on this, the farmer’s task is to protect these parts of the plant.

How to get to the site

In most cases, aphids are brought into the area by ants. They do this not by accident, but with an absolutely specific purpose - to feed on the sweet syrup that aphids leave behind, consuming plant sap. This means that the fight against aphids begins with an attempt to separate aphids and ants in the area.

Volunteer helpers

Ladybug eats aphids

The outside world is brilliantly harmonious and you need to be able to use it. It is known that aphids have their own natural enemies; it is necessary to create favorable conditions for their reproduction. For example, aphids and ladybugs will not get along in the same area.

Spraying means

Soap solution + ash

A composition is prepared from 300 g of ordinary laundry soap and 10 liters of water. There is a more modern interpretation of this recipe: 125 ml of liquid soap per 10 liters of water.

Herbal infusions

Onion. Onion peels and 35 g of chopped onion are poured into 1 liter of water and infused for 5 hours. Then 3-5 g of laundry soap is added. The composition is filtered and brought to a volume of 1 liter with water.
Chamomile. Add the dry stem and inflorescences of chamomile to 1 liter of water. The composition is infused for 12 hours, then filtered and a little soap (4-5 g) is added. This concentrate is diluted before spraying at the rate of 1 part infusion to 3 parts water.
Garlic. 200 g of garlic are crushed. This paste is diluted with 1 liter of water and infused under the lid for 5 days. Before spraying, prepare a composition of 25 ml of garlic concentrate + 10 liters of water.
Marigold. For half a bucket of crushed marigolds (stems + flowers), there is half a bucket of water. Infusion time – 48 hours. Strain, add 40 g of soap, dilute in 10 liters of water.
Peppery. Fresh capsicum is suitable - 1 kg or 300 g dry. Amount of water – 10 l. Before spraying, the infusion is diluted at the rate of 1:10.

Attention! Previously, tobacco tincture was very popular, but today the “fashion” for it has passed. It is believed that nicotine is present in tobacco leaves; it is transferred to the water infusion, and through it is absorbed by the leaves of vegetable and garden crops. As a result, this harmful substance enters the fruits and then into the human body.

Fighting house aphids

Unfortunately, small black, yellow or green insects also inhabit our homes. She takes a fancy to domestic flowers, causing them serious damage. Another unpleasant surprise is that some species of aphids inhabit only one plant, the so-called host. And there are those that apply to any indoor flowers indiscriminately.

Attention! Aphids are insects whose body length can be from 0.5 to 2 mm. She has a soft body. There are winged and wingless species. There are about 4 thousand species of aphids in the world. Of these, more than 1 thousand live on the European continent.

Aphids reproduce very quickly - in this case, the plant will at least be sick for a long time after spraying

We use improvised means

Milk-iodine solution. For 1 liter of fresh, preferably skim milk, there are 25-30 drops of iodine. Green pets are treated with this composition every 10 days.
Vodka. It is a well-known “cure-all remedy.” Usage – it couldn’t be easier. Place a spray bottle on the bottle and treat the plants. Experts say that the effect is beyond praise. The only negative is that it is a little expensive when compared with other folk remedies.
Coca-Cola. This is an American option for getting rid of aphids on house plants. You need to act by analogy with vodka. Place a spray bottle on the drink bottle and spray the plant. The effectiveness is explained by the presence of orthophosphoric acid in the composition, which is destructive to the nasty small “midges”.
Cream + essential oil. For 1 glass of fresh cream there are 15 drops of lavender (tea tree, cedar) essential oil. The composition is diluted with 2 liters of water. Spraying must be done every other day. The result will not be long in coming.
Sunflower oil + water. Press 1 glass of sunflower oil into 8 liters of water and stir well. The product is suitable for washing trunks and spraying leaves. Fans of the method claim that it is enough to apply this aphid remedy 2-3 times during the warm season.

Attention! The intensity and frequency of the fight with any folk remedy depends on the stage of infection. If you pay attention to the problem in time, the pest can be removed mechanically - simply wipe the plant with a gloved hand. A solution of laundry soap can be used as a preventative measure.

Quite a few species of aphids are known - more than 2500. Outwardly they are very similar, but differ in size, shape, body color, as well as accompanying characteristics - different changes in the color and shape of the leaves affected by them. These are small, 2-3 mm long, insects that suck juices from plants. They cause additional harm by transferring various pathogenic viruses and spores of pathogenic fungi from plant to plant, which cause plant disease and sometimes death.

The development cycle of aphids is quite complex. In the spring, from the eggs laid last fall at the ends of the shoots, young wingless virgin female founders hatch, which immediately begin to suck the juices from the blossoming shoots and leaves. Asexually, they form expanding colonies.

From the second generation, simultaneously with the birth of a large number of wingless individuals, a small percentage of winged female migrants appears, which spread the species to other plants. Winged aphids fly poorly, but the wind can carry them quite far. Once settled, they again breed generations of wingless virgins. Only at the end of summer do males appear, and the females fertilized by them lay eggs at the ends of the shoots. After which, unable to withstand the cold, they die. In the spring, the foundress females will hatch again from the eggs, and the process of generational development will repeat.

Aphids are very delicate and inactive, so they die en masse even in the wind and rain. They are practically defenseless against the seven-spotted ladybug, lacewing larvae and other insect predators. And also before pesticides. All their strength lies in the colossal speed of reproduction. Therefore, fighting aphids is both easy and difficult. To destroy the pest, the use of strong chemicals is not required.

Traditional methods of fighting aphids

It is enough to spray with any of the following infusions:

200 g of laundry soap (grated) are dissolved in 10 liters of water;
200 g of wood ash (ash lye) and 50 g of soap are infused in 10 liters of water;
200 g of tobacco or shag are infused for 2 days in 10 liters of water;
200 g of onion are passed through a meat grinder and infused for 24 hours in 10 liters of water;
200 g of crushed dandelion leaves and roots are infused for 3 hours in 10 liters of water.

You can also use decoctions of potato tops, tomatoes, and wormwood. It is useful to add 30-50 g of soap to all herbal decoctions and infusions to improve the adhesion of the solution to the leaves.

Due to the rapid recovery of the population from a few accidentally surviving insects, as well as due to the arrival of winged individuals, such spraying has to be carried out regularly. Particular care should be taken to spray the underside of the leaves and the ends of young shoots - this is where the bulk of the pests are located. In spring, shortening the ends of branches during pruning (along with eggs), as well as spraying berry bushes that have not yet blossomed with hot water, also significantly reduces the number of aphid colonies appearing on them.

Vladimir Starostin, dendrologist, candidate of agricultural sciences

Aphids are certainly one of the ten most common, tenacious and annoying pests. These small insects feed on plant sap and can infect almost any part of them: leaves, stems, buds, flowers, roots. Aphids especially love young plants, which, as a rule, attack tender shoots and the underside of leaves. Visually, aphid infestation is easy to notice - in addition to the pests themselves, there is curvature and weakness of the shoots, downward curling of the edges of the leaf blade, and spots of black mold.

U aphids an oval soft body, with antennae on the head, and a pair of ovipositors at the end of the abdomen. Some individuals have underdeveloped wings, other copies wingless. Laying eggs aphid produces in the fall, the further development cycle will continue after wintering, in the spring. Offspring aphids becomes sexually mature already 7-8 weeks after birth.

It sucks juice from plants by piercing tissues with a hollow proboscis or the tip of an ovipositor. It feeds almost continuously and is capable of absorbing a fairly large volume of plant sap. Discharge aphids are a sticky, sweetish liquid fall . This is the one " honeydew"who is adored black ants– they protect aphid colonies. The parts of the plant become sticky, over time they develop spots black mold. Aphid colonies can move from plant to plant, carrying with their saliva viral diseases.

At my own dacha I don’t want to use it to combat aphids chemical. These connections are extremely toxic and cause harm not only aphids, but also other insects, birds, settle in the soil and become dangerous for plants and people. Therefore, let's consider other methods destruction aphids on a summer cottage.

Aphid afraid plants with insecticidal properties - This Dolmatian chamomile, onion, garlic, calendula, wormwood. It is very good to plant these plants next to fruit bushes or other plantings which it is desirable to protect from aphids.

Question about attracting birds to the site to destroy aphids may be considered controversial: birds that feed aphids themselves and feed their chicks with it, of course, can significantly reduce the amount aphids, but they are the same applied by pecking fruits and berries.

Among insects natural enemies aphids are ladybugs (both adult insects and their larvae feed on aphids), ichneumon wasps, ground beetles, lacewings, some species of wasps, predatory bugs, surfflies. To attract them, fragrant plants are planted on the site ( parsley, dill, carrots and others), as well as green manure plants (buckwheat, mustard, clover, alfalfa).

To prepare a soap solution 300 g of laundry soap is dissolved in ten liters of water, the ground around the plant is covered with a film and the resulting solution is sprayed on the plant. The solution is suitable for use within a week; if all aphids are not destroyed in one spraying, the procedure should be repeated.

Gives good results pollination of plants with crushed and sifted . This procedure is carried out early in the morning, while the dew has not yet dried, and in the evening, after preliminary spraying of the plants..

Used to combat aphids and celandine solution : 5-6 young fresh plants are finely chopped, 3 tablespoons of laundry soap shavings are added and the whole thing is infused in a bucket of warm water for up to 5 hours. The resulting infusion is filtered and young shoots and tops of plant branches are dipped into it..

Hot pepper infusion to kill aphids prepare as follows: 8-10 pods of red cayenne pepper are crushed together with seeds, add 50 g, pour one liter of boiled warm water and leave to infuse for a day. The finished strained solution is used for spraying plants - in addition to aphids, it is effective against beetle larvae, slugs, caterpillars, codling moths, garden bugs and thrips.

To prepare garlic infusion 5-6 cloves are passed through a press, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and half a liter of warm water are added, shaken well and left in a dark place for three days. 2-3 tablespoons of strained garlic infusion and 1 tablespoon of liquid soap are diluted in 1 liter of water, and the resulting solution is sprayed onto the plants..

Infusion of potato tops for spraying plants This is done like this: take 2 kg of chopped tops in a bucket of warm water, leave for 3-4 hours and filter.

Can be cooked infusion for spraying and from tomato tops : Half a kilo of green chopped tops is poured into a bucket of boiling water and kept on low heat for 30 minutes, allowed to cool and filtered. Before spraying, a glass of the resulting infusion is diluted with 1 liter of water..

Removing aphids from a site is a long process that requires patience and great effort on your part.. It is unlikely that it will be possible to solve this problem “in one fell swoop”; repeated treatments will be required. But this is how it is applied minimal damage to nature, and the gifts of your beds and garden will not be contaminated with dangerous chemicals».

Success in hard work and an excellent harvest!

In the spring, in the garden or vegetable garden, aphids settle on young shoots of various plants, seedlings or trees on the underside of the leaves. Aphids are small sucking insects up to 2 mm in size, green, black or red. It can be either leaf or shoot and is always found in colonies. Aphids suck the juices from fresh green shoots, drying out and ultimately destroying the young shoots. In addition to this, aphids are carriers of various viral infections that cause gall formations on plant leaves. Galls weaken the entire plant and can lead to their death. In addition, aphids are loved by garden ants, which quickly breed where there are aphids. The ants (aphids), one might say, breed them themselves and transfer them to the trees after winter from their burrows. Therefore, it is necessary to fight both aphids and ants at the same time.

How to destroy garden ants has already been described earlier, now about ways to combat aphids.

Get rid of aphids quite easily, since its shell is very soft and even a soap solution is destructive for it. But the difficulty of the fight lies in the fact that already multiplied aphids are securely hidden in curled leaves and it becomes difficult to remove them even by spraying the tree with modern pesticides. Therefore, the best way to combat it is to treat the tree in time in April, when the foliage is just beginning to bloom. First protect the tree from crawling and traveling along the trunks of ants, since it has already been noted that ants are carriers of aphids, which easily travel on the backs of ants. By treating your fruit tree in advance, you will protect your future harvest, as well as the health of the tree itself. Start spraying and treating trees against aphids as early as April. Protect the trees with a collar from possible attacks by ants. Fluff the padding polyester and wrap this strip around a tree trunk 10-15 cm wide, treat this collar with any anti-ant pesticide.

Mechanical method of controlling aphids associated with the simplest methods of removing insects from plants.
Wherever possible, remove aphids by hand - this is convenient for rose bushes and other low plants.
Wash aphids off bushes and trees with a strong stream of water from a hose.

Biological methods of controlling aphids carried out with the help of other living beings.
“Invite” natural predators that feed on aphids, such as insects and small birds, into your garden. Although, to be honest: often the beneficial insects naturally present in the garden are not enough to destroy the accumulation of aphids.
Aphids are eaten by adult and ladybird larvae, hoverflies, lacewings (they are very effective in controlling aphids), and several species of wasps.
To naturally attract beneficial insects to the garden, plant fragrant herbs, nettles and green manure.
Ladybug and lacewing larvae can be purchased at garden centers or by special mail order and then released into the garden. You can order this means of biological control of harmful insects only when large numbers of aphids have already settled in the garden and threaten the plantings.

To ensure that birds regularly fly into your garden and nest in it, place drinking bowls with fresh water during the gardening season. Better yet, build a garden pond. At the same time, make sure that birds, as well as hedgehogs, lizards and other useful creatures have convenient and safe access to water.

Aphids are destroyed by sparrows and other small birds. For example, tits, warblers (willow warblers, chiffchaffs, etc.), wrens, wrens, linnets, robins. They feed harmful insects to their chicks. After hunting aphids, birds have to wipe their beaks on leaves or grass to cleanse themselves of the sweet, sticky honeydew.

You can protect garden crops from aphids by planting plants that repel insects with their smell. These include nasturtium, garlic, chives, marigolds, mustard, fennel, coriander, peppermint, and basil.

Plant plants that are especially attractive to aphids away from crops that you want to protect from these pests.
Aphids especially love and primarily colonize: nasturtium, cosmos, poppy, mallow, beans, tuberous begonias, cleome. And viburnum, plum and linden are favorite woody plants for aphids. Never plant valuable herbaceous plants under these trees or next to species favored by aphids.

Folk remedies for fighting aphids

Prepare the preparations according to the simple recipes given below. Spray parts of plants affected by aphids with them in the evenings, when beneficial pollinating insects have already retired. Keep in mind that these products are generally non-selective (meaning they kill both harmful and beneficial insects).
Spray two to three times a week. Then they observe for 5-6 days, if the aphids are not completely destroyed, the treatment is repeated.

Liquid soap and water: Dilute soap in a spray bottle and spray plants against aphids. Add 2 teaspoons of liquid soap to 2 glasses of water.
You can add vegetable oil (1 cup of vegetable oil) to this solution, but it is not necessary.
I have successfully used this product (with "Fairy") on my tomatoes. A small number of aphids disappeared after the first application.

Infusion of chopped tomato leaves. This infusion is quite mild and is considered effective among organic gardeners.
Soak crushed tomato leaves in water (overnight or longer). Strain and pour into a spray bottle. Add water to the bottle if more is needed. Spray the affected plants, not forgetting the underside of the leaves.
I trim the leaves from the bottom of the stem of climbing tomatoes (to the flowering cluster), cut them with scissors to a volume of 2 cups and soak them in 2 cups of water.

Garlic infusion: 3-5 cloves of garlic (passed through a press), 2 tsp. cheap vegetable oil, 1/2 liter of water, 1 tsp. liquid soap. Infuse chopped garlic in water for a day or longer, add water and soap. Store the resulting preparation in a tightly closed container. To use, dilute a couple of tablespoons of the drug with water in a spray bottle and spray the plants affected by aphids.

Cut half a kilogram of new potato stems, insist on 10 liters of water, add a little laundry soap so that the solution sticks better to the leaves, and you can process it. A decoction of tomato shoots and stems will also give the desired effect. Take 40 g of tomatoes per 1 liter of water, boil the mixture over low heat for half an hour. After this, a glass of broth is dissolved in a liter of water.

Infusion of ash or tobacco. 200 g of each of them are infused in 10 liters of water for 24 hours.

Yarrow infusion. 200 g of fresh raw materials should be poured with two liters of boiling water and steamed for an hour. After this, eight liters of water are added to the infusion.

Horseradish infusion. Take horseradish leaves and roots and chop them. Fill the bucket one-third full with the mixture and fill it with water. Stir and let it brew for a couple of hours, then spray.

Soda solution: 1 tbsp. Dissolve a spoonful of soda ash in a liter of water and add a quarter pack of shaved laundry soap. We carry out processing as needed.

Infusion of ash: pour 200-300 g of ash with boiling water, after cooling, strain and also add crushed soap.

Hot pepper decoction: pepper and water - in the same proportions, boil for an hour, let it brew for 2 days. This composition is more concentrated; before use it must be diluted 1:7. Infusion of pine shoots: 2 kg of annual shoots (growth, it can be seen by the lighter color) is poured with a bucket of water, left for a week, stirring daily. Before spraying, dilute with water 1:10. Additionally, it helps against various fungal diseases. As a replacement, you can take pharmaceutical pine concentrate, but this is worse.

Dandelion infusion: 200-300g of crushed roots or 400-500g of leaves are infused for 2-3 hours in 10 liters of water, filtered and sprayed. Add 30-40g of soap to all infusions and decoctions.

If all these means do not help, or urgent measures need to be taken, “heavy artillery” is used - infusions and decoctions of tobacco, shag, or even simple “bulls”. There are even special preparations based on nicotine. The result is usually good, but the waiting period for nicotine preparations is 20 days, the same for tobacco and shag.

Use the one you like best recipe for fighting aphids in a traditional way, well, you can experiment and choose the most effective and affordable one.

Chemical means of controlling aphids.

This is a fairly effective method, but it is not always possible to use, since various berries, etc. often grow nearby. in the ripening stage. It is clear that in this case chemistry should not be used, even though many drugs say that they cause minimal harm.

Organic (mild, natural) insecticides and pesticides cause relatively little harm to the environment, but they require more frequent application precisely because of their gentle action. Organic chemical control agents include the following:

Based on pyrethrins (natural insecticides extracted from Dalmatian chamomile that attack the nervous system of aphids): Py Spray Garden Insect Killer and Doff All in One Bug Spray.

Vegetable oils: Vitax Organic 2 in 1 Pest & Disease Control and Growing Success Shrub & Flower Bug Killer.

Fatty acid based: Bayer Organic Pest Control, Doff Greenfly and Killer and Scotts Rose Clear Gun.

Still, I advise using folk remedies, if chemistry, then at an early stage (in the beginning - mid-spring).

No matter how much gardeners spray and protect plants, aphids will make themselves known. This is a fairly common problem that causes gardeners a lot of trouble. There are different ways to get rid of it, we are sharing some of them.

Aphids attack a wide variety of plants - flowers, vegetables and fruit trees. These insects feed on plant juices from leaves, stems, buds, flowers, fruits and even roots. As a result, flowers or fruits may wilt or become deformed. In addition to the sticky substance covering the leaves or stems, other common signs of aphids include misshapen plant parts, curled leaves, stunted or yellow leaves, and a sudden increase in the ant population in the garden.

These small but harmful insects can survive in almost any area. They reproduce quickly, so it is important to control them before they appear. Since these insects tend to move quite slowly, they can be quite controlled. There are many simple and effective ways to remove aphids from your garden.

1. Manual removal

If the infestation is minor and plant damage is just beginning, you can remove the insects by hand. To do this, you need to put on a pair of gardening gloves and take a wide paint brush. This makes it easier to sweep aphids from the leaves into the jar. But you can do something simpler: tear off leaves or damaged parts of the plant to prevent infection. It is easier to kill removed aphids in a bucket of soapy water. It is advisable to regularly check the surface of plants for the presence of aphids.

2. Strong water jet

Plain water can also be useful. But you just need a strong stream of water. This method is not suitable for all types of plants: a large volume of water can damage crops with delicate leaves and stems. For example, it is good to knock down aphids from fruit trees or bushes. It is advisable to do this early in the morning, when the sun is not yet too hot. It is useful to repeat the procedure after two to three days.

3. Beneficial insects

You can protect plants from harmful aphids by attracting ladybugs to the garden. There are many ways to do this. Ladybugs are capable of eating from 50 to 100 aphids per day, thereby being wonderful protectors of the garden. On the Internet you can find special traps and houses for ladybugs for sale.

4. Liquid soap

A good way to get rid of aphids is a solution with liquid soap. The waxy and sticky coating from aphids on the leaves can be dissolved with a soap solution. Plus, it dehydrates the insects and ultimately kills them without harming the plant. To do this, mix a teaspoon of liquid soap in 400 ml of water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Shake the container thoroughly and spray the product onto aphid-infested plant leaves. This should be done on a dry day, preferably in the morning. Repeat every 2-3 days for 2 weeks.

5. Garlic

This vegetable is a good natural remedy for aphids. The sulfur in garlic is toxic to pests. The antifungal property of garlic helps protect plants from fungal diseases. 3-4 cloves need to be crushed and filled with two teaspoons of vegetable oil. Let the mixture sit for 24 hours. Then this garlic oil needs to be diluted in two glasses of water, add a teaspoon of liquid soap and mix well. You can also add red pepper there.

After that, two tablespoons of the mixture are mixed with two glasses of water and sprayed onto the infected plants using a spray bottle, paying special attention to the underside of the leaves. Repeat for prevention 1-2 times a week.

6. Tomato leaves

Tomato leaves contain toxic compounds called alkaloids. They are toxic to aphids and help get rid of them safely for plants. You need to soak 1-2 cups of crushed tomato leaves in 2 cups of water overnight. The next morning, the leaves are removed from the liquid and filtered. The resulting liquid should be diluted with another cup of water and poured into a spray bottle. Leaves of infected plants are treated with this product 1-2 times a week.

7. Useful plants

Aphids do not like certain types of plants: catnip, mustard, oregano, dill, fennel, clover, nasturtium, garlic and onions. If they are planted next to plants that can be attacked by aphids, this will at least protect them a little.
In addition, the strong smell of garlic, oregano or catnip attracts ladybugs, which prey on aphids.