Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ladybugs don't stay put. If there is a food source, they're there if they're in the area. I bought ladybugs once and felt pretty stupid, because once the aphids are gone, if they find them at all, the ladybugs take off. A large online supplier sold "Sta-Put Laydybugs", and I fell for it. They didn't stay put. But that supplier also sold a powder you mix into a paste and dab on foliage to attract beneficial; insects, and that did work. Can't remember the name of it though.
Not all chemicals are toxic, please let's get that straight. Insecticidal soap isn't toxic. Horticultural oil isn't toxic. And they're chemicals. Aphids don't need to be treated with anything toxic. They're easy to get rid of.
Nobody said they were. If you're trying to insinuate that I did, try again. As a matter of fact, my post said nothing about toxic. Please be more accurate when you're quoting other posters.
Oh, and you missed one: Water is a chemical as well.
I'll 12th the motion that water is all you need to rid your plants of aphids. They are extremely easy to get rid of; you just need to be diligent in your daily garden patrols. I had a ton of them in my 3 banana pepper plants, but I hosed them off in the morning before work and in the evening before dark and after 3 or 4 days they were all gone. Naturally, my garden is outdoors - and aphids are outdoors - so I still find an aphid or two on various plants. You'll never get every last one, but if you find a group of them, a blast of water will rid your plant in two seconds. A healthy, mature plant will rarely fully succumb to aphid damage unless it becomes completely infested - a difficult problem to have if you check on your plants regularly (read: daily).
I am sure you have all been waiting with bated breath for my aphid update, so here it is: I doused the leaves of the flowers with the Safer spray. I did this every 2 days or so for about a week. I should have been checking every day but quite honestly, life got in the way and the flowers took a back seat. As of last night's check, I saw a couple of aphids (man, they are tiny!) and figured there were more lurking, so once again I really saturated the leaves with the Safer spray. At this point, I think if I see any more I will be able to use water spray or pluck them by hand as I feel I have the upper hand (finally!).
Sorry to revive this zombie post but it popped up in my search...
We seem to be having a bug problem in our veggie plants and herbs. I believe they are aphids (as pictured). We are not sure where they came from (the plant itself, the soil, or where else) - as we live on the eight floor and the plants are outside.
Do aphids have a preference for a certain kind of plant? I ask because we planted peppers, various lettuce, cilantro, parsley and tomato. The peppers and the lettuce were in the same 30 gallon raised veggie planter. They took over the pepper plants but didn't seem to touch the lettuce in the same planter, and they also took over the cilantro in a separate pot, but not the tomato or parsley (separate pots but they are all next to each other). We tried water, and sprays, but that didn't work. We eventually took out the peppers and lettuce and replanted with new pepper plants. The aphids all came back on the same plants. Again they aren't on the tomato, parsley or even the various potted flowers surrounding the peppers.
We're quite frustrated at how gross the infestation has become that we're ready to rip out the peppers again and just give up on our veggie/herb attempts. But I'm just curious as to why they have been coming back on the same type of plants.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Water is all you need!
