I made the mistake of bringing a plant into my sun porch that had maybe one aphid hiding on it, and it spread like crazy. I fought them all winter. It finally got warm enough to bring the plants outside and give them a good rinse, and now we're finally aphid free!
Thanks for the confirmation! The wings threw me for a loop--I thought they might be gnats or something and didn't want to be too hasty about getting rid of them. I ended up doing as another commenter suggested and rinsed the leaves off in the shower. Good thing it's still a tiny plant. :)
Rinse off as many as you can, gently without hurting the plant - I bring mine into the shower when they are attacked this badly. If you aren't squeamish, you can squeeze them - as many as you can - between your fingers, as well. Then you could make the following recipe (I got this version from here), and spray it on any remaining aphids. You can make it from lemon, as well, and if you grate the rind you get an even more concentrated spray - and don't skip adding 2-4 drops of soap! In cases of lighter attacks you can use only the spray without rinsing the plant first (it will keep 5-7 days in the fridge, by the way):
Orange Peel Spray Oranges and other citrus fruit contain natural occurring pesticide compounds called limonene and linalool. These compounds can be used as a treatment for soft bodied pests such as aphids, fungus gnats, mealy bugs and as an ant repellant. To Make: Pour 2 cups of boiling water over peelings of one orange. Let this steep for about 24 hours. Strain the mixture into a glass jar and
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Thanks so much for the suggestion! I did as you said and rinsed the leaves off in the shower, brushing along each leaf and stem to make sure I got off as many as possible. Then I sent the boyfriend to the store for some oranges... Though come to think of it, I think I still have a couple of habanero peppers in the fridge to make the pepper spray version. (It probably doesn't smell as nice though.)
Do aphids prefer certain plants to others? I checked around and none of its neighbors seem to be infected, though perhaps I should spray them as well just in case...
Has it really been 24 hours allready!? If you let it steep shorter time than that the solution will be too weak to do its job properly. Well done on giving the baby a shower in any case! That helps much, and she'll adore you for it!
Some plants are more aphid prone than others, but almost any plant can get them. I can't remember getting them on my camella, but my roses get them often.
The active ingredients work best if the solution is sprayed directly on the aphids, though, since it enters their bodies from all sides then, but you probably have lots of spray left, so spray ahead! Especially any kind of young shots or buds and the joint where a leaf meets the stem should get some.
They are an extremely large and, according to this article, a highly successful group of families of organism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid It's worth reading all the way through, but "Effects On Plants" and "Control" are the last two sections of this article.
"Do aphids prefer certain plants to others? I checked around and none of its neighbors seem to be infected, though perhaps I should spray them as well just in case... "
They do. It may vary, too, by type of aphid (which in addition to green, brown and gray, also come in red, black, pink and nearly colorless) relative to the type of plant. Aphids are also sometimes called plant lice.
I had asked nearly three years ago on this comm what the soft-bodied red insects were which show up on my stand of goldenrod every spring
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Rinse off as many as you can, gently without hurting the plant - I bring mine into the shower when they are attacked this badly. If you aren't squeamish, you can squeeze them - as many as you can - between your fingers, as well. Then you could make the following recipe (I got this version from here), and spray it on any remaining aphids. You can make it from lemon, as well, and if you grate the rind you get an even more concentrated spray - and don't skip adding 2-4 drops of soap! In cases of lighter attacks you can use only the spray without rinsing the plant first (it will keep 5-7 days in the fridge, by the way):
Orange Peel Spray
Oranges and other citrus fruit contain natural occurring pesticide compounds called limonene and linalool. These compounds can be used as a treatment for soft bodied pests such as aphids, fungus gnats, mealy bugs and as an ant repellant.
To Make: Pour 2 cups of boiling water over peelings of one orange. Let this steep for about 24 hours. Strain the mixture into a glass jar and ( ... )
Reply
Do aphids prefer certain plants to others? I checked around and none of its neighbors seem to be infected, though perhaps I should spray them as well just in case...
Reply
Some plants are more aphid prone than others, but almost any plant can get them. I can't remember getting them on my camella, but my roses get them often.
The active ingredients work best if the solution is sprayed directly on the aphids, though, since it enters their bodies from all sides then, but you probably have lots of spray left, so spray ahead! Especially any kind of young shots or buds and the joint where a leaf meets the stem should get some.
Reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid
It's worth reading all the way through, but "Effects On Plants" and "Control" are the last two sections of this article.
"Do aphids prefer certain plants to others? I checked around and none of its neighbors seem to be infected, though perhaps I should spray them as well just in case... "
They do. It may vary, too, by type of aphid (which in addition to green, brown and gray, also come in red, black, pink and nearly colorless) relative to the type of plant. Aphids are also sometimes called plant lice.
I had asked nearly three years ago on this comm what the soft-bodied red insects were which show up on my stand of goldenrod every spring ( ... )
Reply
http://www.saferbrand.com/store/garden-care/5118
I use it on my Miniature rose, the boston ferns, and my wildflowers successfully.
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