Don’t Like ‘Em, Don’t Want ‘Em

Here’s a description of these bugs (similar to any plot of any alien blockbuster movie out in summer…) they’re green – mostly – more on that, they have little tubes jutting out from the back of their bodies called cornicles. They pierce plants with these cornicles and feed by sucking all the juice, all the life out of your plant. Yuk!

Then, they transmit viruses to you flowers and vegetables.  If that isn’t bad enough, they leave a sticky substance that black fungus likes to grow on.  Not frightened enough yet? Well, find one bug and soon you will have an aphid army as one adult can produce 80 offspring a week, and so on and so on. In warmer climates, their lifespan can be as long as a year. It’s small wonder they are the bane of farmers and gardeners alike. 

With over four thousand species of aphids in the U.S., they can do a lot of damage. The trick is to catch them early by walking through your garden often and inspecting your plants, paying close attention to the underside of the leaves…you’ll also see their telltale sign of holes on your leaves. Look for them in shades of green, red, brown, black and yellow. A great preventative and healthy happy way to combat them is with ladybugs. Who doesn’t like ladybugs?

Ladybugs like to eat aphids and you can buy a container of ladybugs at your local garden store. Set the ladybugs on your plants at evening so they settle in, find food and water and that way they don’t fly away. 

Power-washing your plants can get rid of them too. Buy a Bugblaster attachment for your hose and go at them.  Aphids that are dislodged from the plant with water are mostly unable to return to the plant. 

Prune away sections of your plant where a colony has taken over.  Make sure you then dispose of it in a way they can’t come back to your garden. You may not entirely get rid of the problem, but if you have a major battle on your hands, this might give you a fighting chance.

Aphid Spray as a last resort. There are many on the market, but if you are using them for vegetables, make sure that you use a product that is safe.  I recommend Safer® Brand Aphid Spray because it’s organic and their line of aphid control products includes the insecticidal soap insect killer that has extract of the chrysanthemum flower, all working beautifully together to dehydrate the insect and “kills it dead”.

NOTE: Safer® can be used in conjunction with ladybugs, right up to the arrival of your ladybugs, as their hard outer shell protects them from soapy sprays.