Folk remedies for aphids on flowers. How to get rid of aphids on indoor flowers. Folk remedies for aphids

12.04.2017

For many housewives, indoor plants are an outlet. Surely they all year round pleasing to the eye with a green frame and bright colors. But sometimes pets begin to get sick: their appearance loses its former attractiveness, the leaves dry out and turn black, and the buds fall off. The cause of such changes may be aphids.

About the pest

This is a sucking insect that feeds on plant juices. They have an oval body with long limbs. The mouthparts are elongated and prickly, so when feeding, the aphids leave punctures on the leaves and stems. Aphids are inactive and small in size, only from 0.5 to 7 mm. The largest are females. The coloring is varied, but white or green insects are more common on indoor flowers.

Aphids reproduce quickly (up to 20 generations per season) and form colonies. One female can produce up to 100 larvae. It takes two weeks for the larva to transform into an adult insect. Insects are divided into winged and wingless individuals, which perform different functions. The former invade other plants, the latter form colonies.

There are thousands of varieties of aphids. It is not easy to identify one species or another, because pests adapt well to their environment and can change. Aphids are most often located on young flowers on the inside of the leaves. Orchids, hibiscus, roses, fuchsias, and cyclamen are often besieged.

Reasons for appearance

What causes aphids to appear on indoor plants? It would seem that home flowers are in a closed space in which there are no insects, but this is not so.

Aphids enter an apartment in the following cases:

To avoid unpleasant consequences, when buying a new flower, for the first few days it is better to keep it away from other plants. The soil for replanting can be placed in the freezer for a while. If it is infected, the cold will kill both the insects themselves and their larvae.

Signs of appearance

Because the insect reproduces very quickly. It is important not to miss the moment when aphids have just settled on pets. To do this, you need to know the symptoms of flower infestation by pests.

Signs that houseplants have aphids are:

Loss appearance, the flower no longer looks healthy and attractive.
Sticky leaves that later turn black. This happens because aphids secrete excess juice when feeding.
Young leaves curl and dry out.
On the surface of the leaves you can see traces of aphids - small punctures.
The buds wither and fall off. Sometimes, even on a plant infested with pests, the buds open, but in this case they will be small and deformed.
The appearance of ants around the plant. The secret that pests leave behind is a real treat for them.

Ways to fight

If you do not fight the pest, over time the plant will completely die. So, how to remove aphids from indoor plants? There are chemical and homemade insect repellents.

Method No. 1

It is necessary to take the flower pot outside. This simple method is suitable for summer time. The fact is that red ants and ladybugs are the main enemies of aphids. The main thing is to find their habitat and there will be no trace left of the pests.

Method No. 2

Hand processing of plants with soap. You can get rid of aphids in this way only if the pest colony has not had time to grow. Insects are manually removed from the plant, then a soap treatment is carried out. Regular laundry soap is an excellent remedy for aphids on houseplants. The treatment must be carried out very carefully so that the soap solution does not get on the soil.

Method No. 3

Celandine. It helps with severely infected flowers. 100 g of dry or 350-400 g of fresh raw materials are boiled in a liter of water for 30 minutes. Then I leave it for a day and spray the infected flower.

Method No. 4

Preparing tinctures is the answer to the question of how to fight aphids at home. The tincture from onions. To prepare it, the bulbs are taken along with the husks. For infusions use: dandelion, chamomile, citrus peels, nettle, horse sorrel, potato tops, mustard powder.

If the plant is sprayed with an infusion of fragrant plants, this will only enhance the effect. The strong smell repels pests. The following will help get rid of aphids: wormwood, tomatoes, celandine, garlic. For greater effect, add ash and aromatic soap to the garlic tincture. It is prepared as follows:

Garlic, together with its peel, is minced in a meat grinder (30-35 g).
Pour a liter of water and leave for 24 hours.
Before spraying, add ash and 3 g of soap shavings to the infusion.

To prevent the occurrence of aphids, you can have geraniums at home. Insects are also repelled by the smell of parsley, dill and fragrant mint.

Method No. 5

Insects can be eliminated using water procedures. For this indoor flowers take a shower and carefully wash off the insects with water.

Method No. 6

Tobacco. If the aphid was noticed at the beginning of its appearance. The plant must be treated with tobacco infusion. Fresh or dry leaves are poured with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 and left. After 24 hours, the solution is boiled and boiled for an hour. Then the tincture is cooled and a little soap shavings are added to it. It is necessary to treat the plant with tobacco solution for three days.

Method No. 7

Treatment of plants with chemicals. It is recommended to use only in case of severe infection, when home recipes do not help. There is a wide range of pest control products available in the market. You can choose both aggressive drugs and more gentle ones.

"Aktara". To obtain a solution, 2 g of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of water. Then the resulting product is sprayed on the plant in two stages. The first treatment is carried out after detection of aphids, the second after two weeks, for prevention. "Aktara" does not harm plants. Insects die 24 hours after treatment.
"Intavir". The drug is available in the form of tablets of 8 g. One tablet is dissolved in water, and the resulting solution is sprayed on the plant. Only fresh solution is used. The drug is non-toxic to the plant and retains its protective effect for two weeks after treatment. It is recommended to avoid contact sun rays on the flower after spraying, this can lead to burns.
"Drug 30 Plus." This is a mineral oil that immediately affects both larvae and adults. In the first case, it dissolves the membranes of the eggs, and in the second, it clogs the oral apparatus. Harmless to plants.

Processing must be carried out in a ventilated area and with disposable gloves. After the procedure is completed, it is better to leave the plant in the fresh air.

Aphids are a dangerous pest that can quickly establish themselves and destroy indoor flowers. Due to the rapid spread of insects, it is important to notice them in time and respond quickly. Therefore, caring for house plants cannot be done without carefully and regularly inspecting them for the presence of pests. If single individuals are detected, it is necessary to immediately treat indoor flowers using one of the following methods.

If clusters of small insects become noticeable on the leaves and buds of indoor flowers, then you urgently need to save the “green pets”, since aphids have settled on them. This tiny organism multiplies exponentially by sucking sap from plant cells. As a result, the leaves curl, the buds wither, and the stem becomes bent. Flowers find themselves helpless in the face of such an invasion. And if measures are not taken to destroy the insect, they will quickly die. How do you control aphids?

What are aphids

Aphids are small pests, their body size is 2-3 mm. Individuals of different colors fit the description of aphids - from yellow to black. But more often the color is yellow-green: this way they are less noticeable against the background of green foliage.

Using the proboscis, the aphid pierces the plant cell and sucks out juice rich in carbohydrates. After which the individual secretes sweet honeydew, or “honeydew,” which ants are very fond of. Other insects do not refuse to eat honeydew either. In addition, a sooty fungus appears in place of the sweet discharge. It is black in color and sticky to the touch. So the pest brings another problem to the plant - a fungal disease.

Attention! If aphids appear on indoor flowers, then expect an invasion of ants. And vice versa, when ants appear, a pest will appear in the near future, because ants often carry female aphids on themselves, organizing new colonies.

Aphids reproduce very quickly, laying eggs from which winged and wingless forms are born. Wingless individuals appear without fertilization (parthenogenesis). There are many of them when there is enough food. Winged forms are numerous at a time when it is necessary to “conquer” new habitats. They fly to new plants, where they create their colonies.

In a month, a female is capable of breeding up to 3 generations of insects, which after a short period of time also begin to actively reproduce. Flower leaves lose turgor (elastic state), curl and dry out, and the buds gradually fall off. In terms of feeding and lifestyle, aphids resemble mealybugs, which also suck sap from plants, forming colonies.

How to detect aphids

Single insects are small, so they are difficult to notice. And the colony usually settles on the underside of the leaf, and an abundance of sedentary “green inclusions” can be found on young shoots. These are its most common habitats, although a colony can settle on any part of the flower. When wiping or spraying the crop, turn the leaf blade over. This is where the pest most often lives.

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 even on a small summer cottage, if you do nothing, 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 natural enemies, you need 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. Dry stem and inflorescences are added to 1 liter of water pharmaceutical chamomile. 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 mixture 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 it is out of fashion. 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 into 8 liters of water sunflower oil 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.

Aphid or plant louse -a very dangerous sucking insect, from whose vital activity a huge number of different crops suffer. Plants affected by this pest usually stop growing, are depressed, and often die.

How dangerous are aphids, description of the pest

The aphid is miniature in size; an adult grows 0.5-2 mm in length. Its body is egg-shaped and can be easily crushed when pressed. The insect is represented by many species (about 4000), which differ in external characteristics.

An insect can be with or without wings. Those individuals that are able to move only on the ground are usually carried by ants.

Aphids are very prolific, multiplying quickly and massively. Every two weeks a new generation of 150 larvae is born. Therefore, the fight against aphids is garden plot often involves enormous effort.

Did you know? In one season, a plant louse has 12-18 generations.

The main danger to plants is caused by aphids when they drink cell sap from buds, leaves, stems, and with it they absorb everything nutrients. As a result, the plant crop withers and may even die if it is massively damaged.

Its leaves and tops are bent, shoots do not grow. Aphids pose the greatest danger to young, immature plants.

Sticky secretions of the pest (honeydew), covering the leaf, inhibit the process of photosynthesis. In addition, aphids are carriers of dangerous bacteria, viruses and fungi that cause a variety of diseases.

Most often, plant louse breeds in unkempt areas, on soils with an excess of nitrogen or a lack of phosphorus.

There may be several signs that indicate that your garden or vegetable garden has been attacked by aphids:

covering the underside of leaves with honeydew;
the presence of white scales under the plant - discarded insect shells;
the presence of a cluster of ants around the plant, “ant paths”;
curling and yellowing of leaves;
undeveloped twisted buds.

Did you know? Aphids are transported garden ants. It secretes sweet honeydew, which these little hard workers love to feast on. Therefore, without destroying the anthills, efforts to get rid of aphids will be unsuccessful.

However, since the plant louse often attacks vegetable crops and greens that are eaten, the use of chemicals is an undesirable, extreme and even unsafe measure.

Therefore, gardeners and summer residents prefer to use gentle methods, using soap solutions, decoctions of insecticidal plants, tobacco infusions, etc. They also often resort to mechanical treatment, which includes the destruction of anthills, dousing plants (in the initial stage of infection) with strong pressure cold water, collecting insects by hand.

Traditional methods of fighting aphids in the garden

As a prophylactic agent for use in the garden, a well-proven infusion of wood ash , which need to powder the leaves. It is prepared like this: 300 g of ash is boiled in 10 liters of water for half an hour, and before direct processing, 40 g of soap is added.

Ammonia against aphids

Ammonia is effective means to get rid of plant lice in the garden. 2 tablespoons of alcohol are diluted in 10 liters, and soap (40 g) is added before spraying. After two weeks, the treatment is repeated.

Important! After using folk remedies, you should not immediately water the plants, at least for two to three days.

Soap and aphids

One of the most simple ways To repel insects, treating plants with soap solutions is considered, since crops sprayed with them are not suitable for aphids as food. There are several ways to prepare them.

Laundry soap for aphids use in an amount of 300 g per 10 liters of water. It is rubbed or finely planed and dissolved in a bucket of water.

Also prepare liquid soap solution(125 g / 10 l). You can add ash or onion peels to soap products. The solution is sprayed or wiped on the stems and leaves, especially where aphids accumulate - their lower part.

Safe folk remedies such as soap solutions help fight aphids on roses. Rose bushesin case of severe damage, spraying with an infusion of 100-200 g of laundry soap dissolved in 10 liters of water will help.

There are many recipes that recommend adding dish soap, but gardeners who have already tried this option often complain that it burns the leaves of the plants.

How to remove aphids with a solution of washing powder

A solution of washing powder can kill aphids. However, when using it you need to be extremely careful so as not to cause burns on the leaves of the plant. Since all powders are different, you will need to select the concentration yourself. It is recommended to start with a 1% solution.

Important!Before fighting aphids with folk remedies throughout the infected area, it is necessary to test the effect of the solution or decoction on one plant. Once you are convinced of its safety, you can process all plantings within a day.

Potato tops against aphids

In addition to household products, there are a number of plant crops that the plant louse carefully avoids. What plants do aphids not like? First of all, this chamomile, marigolds, dandelions, wormwood, celandine, yarrow, tansy, garlic, onions, red peppers, horse sorrel, tomatoes, potatoes and others.

Did you know? To repel plant lice, garlic, onions, chamomile, and mint are planted in close proximity. From flower crops aphids do not like begonia, cosmos, or mallow.

Has repellent properties potato tops remedy for the preparation of which: 1 kg of fresh (0.7 kg dry) tops needs to be chopped, poured with a bucket of water, left for three hours and strained. For greater effectiveness, add laundry soap (30-40 g) to the infusion.

Onions and onion peels, how to get rid of aphids using folk remedies

Aphids are also afraid of treatments with infusions of onions and onion peels. They are prepared as follows:

200 g of onion peels must be left for 12-15 hours in 10 liters of warm water, then strain;
mix onion peel with citrus zest, pour boiling water over it, stand for three days, strain, and dilute with water before each spraying;
Chop 200 g of onions, leave in 10 liters of water for 12-18 hours, strain, add 40 g of laundry soap.

Important! When using herbal decoctions and infusions, it must be taken into account that in large doses and high concentrations they can burn the leaves. Some of them are dangerous both for plant lice and other insects, and can also pose a danger to human health.

How to fight aphids with chamomile infusion

Helps fight plant lice infusion of chamomile.To prepare it you will need 1 kg of dry leaves and inflorescences. They are infused for 12 hours in 10 liters of water. Then filter through cheesecloth. For one treatment, prepare a solution by diluting the chamomile infusion with water in a ratio of 1:3 and adding soap (40 g / 10 l).

The use of conifers in the fight against aphids

Aphids cannot tolerate the smell of pine, so they can be fought with the help of such folk remedies as decoctions and infusions from pine needles.

For a week, you should infuse 2 kg of pine needles in 10 liters of water, stirring the composition every day. The infusion must be stored in a dark place. After a week, it needs to be filtered, and before use, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 (for spraying), for application into rows - diluted in a ratio of 1:1.

You can make a solution from pharmaceutical pine concentrate: 4 tbsp. spoons per 10 liters of water.

Fighting aphids with shag and tobacco

The insecticidal properties of tobacco allow it to be used to protect against aphids. Tobacco, tobacco dust and shag are used in the preparation of infusions, decoctions and solutions.

Infusion: Grind 200 g of (dry) tobacco leaves, add 5 liters of water, leave for 24 hours, bring the volume of liquid to 10 liters, boil for two hours over low heat.

Decoction: pour one part of tobacco dust with 10 parts of water, leave for 48 hours, dilute with water 1:3 and add soap (40 g / 10 l).

Important! When using tobacco-based products, it is necessary to observe the same personal safety measures as when processing with chemical compounds.

One of the plant lice's favorite plants is viburnum. Usually it settles on it en masse, tightly clinging to the branches of the plant. Therefore, very often gardeners are interested in the question: how to fight aphids on viburnum.

You can try using this solution: 1 cup tobacco dust or shag, 1 cup wood ash, 1 tbsp. spoons of liquid soap, 1 tbsp. spoons of mustard, you need to pour 2-3 liters of water at a temperature of +70...+80°C. Leave for two hours and strain. Then, increase the amount of water to 10 liters. The underside of the leaf plate should be sprayed, performing the treatment three times at intervals of 6-8 days.

Plants, birds and insects against aphids

Aphids also have natural enemies - ladybugs, praying mantises, wasps, ground beetles, bedbugs. Birds and louses like to eat plants: sparrows, tits, linnets, wrens, robins. Therefore, for the purpose of prevention and control, it is necessary to attract birds into the garden and garden by constructing feeders, drinking bowls, and nests for them. Insects can be lured by planting plants that they love, such as carrots and parsley.

We told you about many traditional methods aphid control . Among them there will definitely be those that are suitable specifically for you and your plants, thereby helping to expel aphids from the site for a long time. Finally, here are a few more recommendations regarding the correct use of folk remedies for different types plants.

So, fruit trees and shrubs are processed three times: in the bud extension phase, after flowering and 14 days before harvest. The berries are sprayed before flowering and after harvesting the fruits. Last processing vegetable crops should be done a month before harvesting vegetables.

When using infusions from potato, tomato, tobacco, henbane, and dope tops, the fruits cannot be eaten after spraying for another 10 days.

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Aphids are recognized as the most common pest of indoor plants. It is a small insect of green, black or brown color. Aphids reproduce very quickly. Therefore, if you do not start fighting the vital activity of this insect, then soon indoor plant there will simply be nothing left: only a huge colony of aphids.
If aphids appear on plants, they grow slowly, their leaves curl and their stems become bent. Therefore, the question of how to get rid of aphids should become relevant for every housewife, at the slightest suspicion of their appearance. There are several ways to fight so that aphids on flowers disappear and do not appear again.
Basically, all control methods come down to spraying. The composition of spray solutions may vary:
An excellent remedy that will help get rid of aphids on roses and other flowers is a solution of laundry soap. You need to take 200-300 grams of natural soap per 10 liters of water. Usually the affected parts of the flower are washed with this solution. It is necessary to ensure that the solution does not get into the ground; it is better to cover it with something during the procedure. The solution is effective for a week. After this period and if necessary, you can repeat the procedure.
One more thing good remedy, which will allow you to quickly get rid of aphids is an onion tincture. For seven hours, place 10 grams of chopped onions per liter of water in a tightly closed container. Before spraying a houseplant, it is best to filter the solution.
Hot peppers are another enemy of aphids. True, this solution will have to be infused for two days. 100 grams of hot pepper is poured into a liter of water. Boil for an hour. Dilute the resulting concentrate with seven times the amount of water.
How to get rid of flower aphids? You can infuse pine needles. 500 grams of any pine needles must be infused in a warm place in two liters of water. The product is infused for a whole week. The resulting concentrate, again, is diluted in a ratio of 1 to 10.
A decoction of garlic must be infused for five days. You will need 200 grams of chopped garlic, which is infused in one liter of water. Diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 50.
You can quickly prepare an infusion of celandine to fight aphids. It only needs to be left for a day. True, you will need two kilograms of fresh or half a kilogram of dry leaves. Infuse the crushed leaves in five liters of water.
Works well against aphids on citrus peel plants. They need to be filled with water and left for three days. Spray problem areas with the resulting infusion.
Some people advise changing the soil in the pot before starting to fight aphids. During processing and treatment of the plant new land protect with cellophane. Today you can buy many ready-made chemicals that will help you get rid of it quickly
houseplant pest. But solutions prepared with your own hands are more environmentally friendly. They will do less harm to the plant itself.