The Common Sense Plan for Aphid Control

Aphids are nasty little critters that show up on your plants and vegetables without you knowing until it's sometimes to late. Aphids can totally destroy a plant before you ever see them. Careful inspection of your plants daily will is the first place to start for successful aphid control.

Aphids come in all colors, green, red, brown and have a pear shape to their bodies. The way they do their damage is by piercing the plant, then sucking the juices from it. In the process of sucking the juices from the plant, they transmit viruses which cause the leaves to turn yellow and curl up. It can also cause distortion in the fruit.

Daily inspection of your plants will alert you early, so you can take defensive measures against the aphids before they can colonize. You want to always check new plants before placing them in the ground. Once your garden is in, make daily walks, or at least walk through every other day to aphids have not started.

Do not put to much fertilizer out around your plants. Aphids love new growth, and an over fertilized garden will constantly try to produce new growth.

One of the first defenses for aphid control is to give your plants a blast of water. A good blast of water will dislodge the aphids from the plants and they will not be able to return.

Common household items that can be used for aphid control are mild dish soap, vegetable oil, and warm water. The first solution is 2 tsp of the mild dish soap to a 16oz bottle of warm water. This solution will coat the aphids and cause them to dehydrate. The second solution is 3 parts warm water to 1 part vegetable oil with a couple of drops of dish soap added in. This solution will actually clog the respiratory ability of the aphids causing them to die. Spray the plants once a week and try to spray in the mornings or at night. The vegetable oil and the soap can magnify the sun and possibly burn the leaves on your plants.

One line of defense to help slow down aphids so you can control them is pruning. Alot of times you will see large aphid colonies on the stems. Once you see these, prune away that section and then begin your spray regime. Make sure to discard the pruned sections somewhere away from your plants, This will not kill the aphids but will greatly increase your chances of successful aphid control.