Aphids are one of the most common pests affecting both indoor plants and crops growing in open ground, in dachas or garden plots. Moreover, aphids spread very quickly from one flower to another, regardless of the type and variety, and often in a short period can “reduce to zero” all the efforts of the grower. Let's look at how to get rid of this pest.
When a pet becomes infected, defeat of all its parts, stems and leaves, blooming flowers and buds suffer. If urgent measures are not taken, the entire collection of indoor flowers or a charming flowerbed in the country may die.
The pest has the ability to settle on both sides of the leaf
The pest often settles on flowers with delicate stems and leaves. Plants with hard leaves or milky sap attract aphids much less frequently. There are many ways to get rid of the pest: mechanical, by using folk remedies And special drugs.
They all have one thing in common: the fight must begin immediately when the pest is detected.
How to kill aphids on indoor plants at home
Remove mechanically
This method is the easiest at home. Unfortunately, it is only effective if the infection occurred very recently and the pest was detected almost immediately.
Necessary:
If even one affected leaf is detected, it is necessary to move the flower away from the others and carefully examine it after treatment. The pest can settle on both sides of the leaves, hide in flowers and buds.
Flower growers advise that if the slightest sign of an insect is detected, remove the plant from the rest Get rid of it biologically
The method is to use insecticides to treat biological basis. "Fitoverm" is just such a remedy.
It is based on waste products soil microorganisms. They are absolutely harmless to plants.
Recently appeared oil emulsions also belong to biological control methods. They create on the surface of the sheet aphid-proof film. The last of biological methods is the use of decoctions and infusions of certain herbs to treat plants.
This method of control uses special insecticides that allow you to get rid of them quickly and for a long time. You can buy drugs in any flower shop.
However, chemicals must be handled with care. They are poisonous and, if used incorrectly, can harm people or animals in the house.
Processing with chemicals must be done wearing protective gloves and outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. Otherwise, it will not be possible to remove the pest without harm to health.
How to fight radically
A radical method of pest control can be considered a combination of several types of control and protection. Let's say it can be used to destroy chemical insecticide, and then apply a protective oil emulsion to prevent re-infection.
Since the confrontation between aphids and humans has lasted for centuries, there are many folk remedies to combat the pest. Below are just a few of them.
Suitable for fighting:
- white mustard. 10 g of mustard seeds are poured into a liter of water, left in a tightly closed glass jar for two days, and then filtered.
After this, you need to take 200 ml of infusion, add 800 ml of water and treat the affected parts;
- garlic. Half a medium head of garlic along with the peel is crushed, the garlic is poured with a liter of water and left for 24 hours. Flowers are sprayed with this infusion;
- celandine. Take 350g of fresh or 100g of dry herb. It is filled with 1 liter of boiling water and left for 24 hours.
You can boil the celandine for 20-40 minutes and cool. This composition is used for processing;
- nettle infusion. 100g of young nettle is poured into a liter of water, left for a day and sprayed on the flowers;
- laundry or tar soap. You need to take 30 grams of laundry soap or 10 grams of tar soap per liter of water. The soap must be well dissolved and sprayed with the prepared solution;
- tincture of tobacco or shag for aphids. 40 grams of tobacco or shag are poured with a liter of water and left for a day. After this, the solution is filtered and used to treat plants;
- woody ash. 30 grams of ash, add a liter of water and leave for 24 hours. The plants are sprayed with the prepared solution.
The dosage is given for treating indoor flowers; when processing large areas, simply recalculate the amount of required ingredients.
Chemicals for control
Examples of such drugs are: Aktara, CE, Aktelik, Kamikaze, Inta-vir, Alatar and many others. Before purchasing, you must consult the seller and carefully read the instructions.
Accurate adherence to the instructions is the key to safety for you and your loved ones.
What are aphids and how to recognize them
Aphids are small, sedentary insects no more than 2 mm in length. It can be almost transparent, white, black, with a green or pinkish tint. Using a proboscis, settling on the ground part of the plant, sucks all the juices out of him.
A female aphid that lands on a plant is simply incredibly fertile. If appropriate measures are not taken, a healthy plant may die within a short time.
Moreover, the pest will move from one flower to another, forming new colonies and destroying everything in its path.
How to understand that a flower is affected by aphids
Aphid clearly visible. Typically, the pest can appear on the back of a leaf, stick to the stem, and settle on flowers and unopened buds. It is so voracious that if the plant is severely affected, it becomes covered with sticky juice, which, having been extracted, cannot be digested.
This juice is called "honeydew". Deprived of juices, the plant withers, the leaves curl, the buds and flowers fall off. If not taken, measures will inevitably lead to the death of the flower.
How does it get into the flower garden?
If we talk about indoor plants, then aphids can often appear in the house together with a purchased new copy or a regular bouquet. Therefore, new flowers must be carefully examined and kept away from other plants for several days. You should also treat bouquets very carefully.
Never place bouquets next to indoor flowers. Several pests may not be noticed, and this can lead to big troubles.
They say that it is dangerous to place a gift/purchase bouquet next to home flowers Sometimes aphids hits into the house along with the purchased and not disinfected soil. It can be accidentally brought into the house on shoes or clothes. If indoor plants are on the veranda or balcony in the summer, you should carefully inspect them, since some types of aphids are able to move through the air.
On garden and summer cottages The distributors of aphids are ants. They feed on sap, the same honeydew, and carry aphid larvae over considerable distances.
How to water indoor flowers: chrysanthemums, roses
If aphids have infested, it is necessary to isolate the flower from the rest and carefully examine both the affected plant and all the others. It is necessary to tear off and destroy all leaves on which pests have already settled. But don’t rush to “water” everything with chemicals.
If there are only a few affected areas, you can try any of the traditional methods. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to process more than once. Carefully inspect the plant and repeat the treatment if necessary.
If non-native methods are not for you, you should visit a flower shop and purchase Fitoverm, you can first treat the plant with this drug, and then apply an oil emulsion to the flower.
Roses are more susceptible to pest attack than other flowers If time is lost and the plant is severely affected or several flowers have already been damaged, it makes sense to use suitable insecticides.
Be especially careful if the collection contains roses or chrysanthemums. It is these flowers that aphids especially love. When these plants are damaged traditional methods often do not give the desired result. We've already talked.
Treatment with a suitable insecticide will radically solve the problem. Modern insecticides are sometimes sufficient to use once a season.
Of course, the choice always remains with the gardener, especially if the family has small children or pets.
How does white aphid differ from others?
White aphids most often attack indoor specimens. At the same time, it is distinguished by its amazing omnivorousness. There is no plant other than the palm tree that the white aphid would avoid.
Besides white aphids often confused with whitefly. It should be noted that these are slightly different insects. If aphids that have settled on your plants suddenly begin to fly en masse, then the plant has been infected by whiteflies. The methods of fighting it are absolutely similar to the methods of fighting aphids.
Growing flowers, whether indoors or beauty located on a summer cottage, requires good care, which takes a lot of time and effort. They get sick, sometimes waste away for unknown reasons.
Home flowers create an atmosphere of comfort and bring peace and tranquility to the home Flowers give a person a huge amount of positive emotions, paint the world with new colors and fill them with a wonderful aroma. Moreover, they can do without us just fine, but we cannot do without them. And this should not be forgotten.
Quite a few species of aphids are known - more than 2500. Outwardly they are very similar, but they differ in size, shape, body color, as well as accompanying characteristics - different changes in the color and shape of the leaves affected by them. These are small, 2-3 mm long, insects that suck juices from plants. They cause additional harm by transferring various pathogenic viruses and spores of pathogenic fungi from plant to plant, which cause plant disease and sometimes death.
The development cycle of aphids is quite complex. In the spring, from the eggs laid last autumn at the ends of the shoots, young wingless virgin female founders hatch, which immediately begin to suck the juices from the blossoming shoots and leaves. Asexually, they form growing colonies.
From the second generation, simultaneously with birth large quantity wingless individuals, a small percentage of winged female migrants also appears, which spread the species to other plants. Winged aphids fly poorly, but the wind can carry them quite far. Once settled, they again breed generations of wingless virgins. Only at the end of summer do males appear, and the females fertilized by them lay eggs at the ends of the shoots. After which, unable to withstand the cold, they die. In the spring, the foundress females will hatch again from the eggs, and the process of generational development will repeat.
Aphids are very delicate and inactive, so they die en masse even in the wind and rain. They are practically defenseless against the seven-spotted ladybug, lacewing larvae and other insect predators. And also before pesticides. All their strength lies in the colossal speed of reproduction. Therefore, fighting aphids is both easy and difficult. To destroy the pest, the use of strong chemicals is not required.
Traditional methods of fighting aphids
It is enough to spray with any of the following infusions:
- 200 g laundry soap(grated) dissolve in 10 liters of water;
- 200 g wood ash(ash lye) and 50 g of soap are infused in 10 liters of water;
- 200 g of tobacco or shag are infused for 2 days in 10 liters of water;
- 200 g of onion are passed through a meat grinder and infused for 24 hours in 10 liters of water;
- 200 g of crushed dandelion leaves and roots are infused for 3 hours in 10 liters of water.
You can also use decoctions of potato tops, tomatoes, and wormwood. It is useful to add 30-50 g of soap to all herbal decoctions and infusions to improve the adhesion of the solution to the leaves.
Due to the rapid recovery of the population from a few accidentally surviving insects, as well as due to the arrival of winged individuals, such spraying has to be carried out regularly. Particular care should be taken to spray the underside of the leaves and the ends of young shoots - this is where the bulk of the pests are located. Spring shortening of the ends of branches during pruning (along with eggs), as well as spraying of berry bushes that have not yet blossomed hot water also noticeably reduces the number of aphid colonies appearing on them.
Vladimir Starostin, dendrologist, candidate of agricultural sciences
The first mass appearance of pests in the garden is observed in late spring and the first half of summer. Why are aphids on plum trees dangerous? How can you fight these insects without endangering the future harvest?
Plum pollinated aphid and other varieties
In nature, there are many types of aphids, which to one degree or another harm gardening and garden plants. For plums, cherries, cherry plums, cherries, peaches and other stone fruits, one of the most dangerous pests is the pollinated plum aphid.
Small grayish-green insects settle on leaf and flower buds, on young growth and the back side of already opened leaves. During mass infection, these parts of the plant are completely hidden under a layer of pests and dead whitish scales. Feeding on the juices of the most tender greens, aphids cause:
- weakening of shoots, which become desirable prey for other pests and suffer more than others from lack of nutrition and drying cold;
- deformation of young leaves taking the shape of a spoon or boat;
- massive damage to fruit plants by sooty fungus and pathogens;
- early fall of leaves and poor preparation of trees for wintering;
- reduction in yield this and next season.
While the warm period lasts, pollinated plum aphids can produce ten generations. At the same time, insect eggs wait out the winter not only in cracks in the bark, but also on nearby grasses, preferring cereals and reeds.
Green aphids on plums become noticeable when the number of insects is critical. But it is much easier to detect the black, cherry variety, which does not disdain other types of stone fruit crops. This pest, which produces up to 14 generations, is no less dangerous. Defeat by it leads to complete curling of the tops of young shoots, cessation of their growth and development of foliage.
Aphids of all types are dangerous because they can spread quickly. Winged individuals migrate independently, while wingless ones are carried from plant to plant by ants, literally grazing aphids in the hunt for the sweet secretion of insects.
The defeat of a garden by this soft-bodied pest can lead to weakening of trees and loss of crops. How to fight aphids on plums? When and what measures should be taken to maximize the effect?
The best and most stable results can only be achieved by an integrated approach, including preventive work to protect the garden, compliance with agricultural practices and regular treatments not only of plums, but also near growing crops.
Chemicals for aphids on plums
Aphids that feed on plant juices are easily destroyed by modern insecticides. The category of products intended to combat aphids is called aphicides and includes the following drugs:
- affecting pests upon contact with the treated surface;
- penetrating inside with cell sap;
- acting systemically and giving a long-lasting effect.
Commercially available formulations are available, can be used to destroy other enemies of plums, and are highly soluble in water, which simplifies and reduces the cost of processing.
It is not surprising that when answering the question: “What to do with aphids on a plum tree?”, many experienced gardeners speak without a shadow of a doubt about the need for urgent spraying. There's really no point in delaying.
Without human intervention, aphids will take over the young part of the crown in a matter of days. But neglect of safety rules and failure to comply with processing times threatens not only a danger to plants, but also harm to human health.
Chemical insecticides are the only correct solution in case of massive damage to plants, as well as in spring and autumn, when insects are not yet species. The choice of a specific drug depends on the degree of damage to the garden, the presence of other insects on the branches, the time when aphids are noticed and the preferences of the gardener himself. Before going to the drain, you need to remember that improper use of insecticides threatens:
- burns of the green parts of plants;
- falling of flowers and ovaries;
- accumulation of chemicals in fruits;
- damage to the skin, rhenium and respiratory organs of humans.
Therefore, no matter what remedy he uses for aphids on plums, he must strictly follow the instructions, not forgetting about personal safety.
Features of processing plums from green aphids
The fight against aphids is carried out in several stages. If there are no insects on the trees, or individual insects are found, it is not worth spraying with chemicals. Aphids, especially on small seedlings, are easily destroyed by hand or folk remedies using herbal infusions, soap or ash solutions.
A gardener who knows how to treat aphids on plums needs to know at what time it is best to schedule such treatment:
- The first time the procedure is carried out in early spring before the buds open. At this time it is impossible to see insects. But if they covered the shoots in abundance last season, there is a high probability that there are aphid eggs near the buds and under the crown.
- Fruit trees are re-treated at the green cone stage. At this moment, there is a high probability of destruction of the already hatched larvae, which quickly form multimillion-dollar colonies.
- If in the spring measures to combat plum aphids were not taken or did not give the desired result, it is possible to spray the blooming garden when the flowers are just opening and have almost completely fallen.
In order not to risk your own health, synthetic preparations are used at least 30 days before harvesting. When the fruits are already filling and the degree of damage is small, it is better to use safe traditional methods pest control.
In the autumn, after removing the fruits, the last treatment of the year is carried out using ready-made insecticides or a 5% urea solution, which is not only effective against black and green aphids on plums, but also protects trees from scab.
Trees should be sprayed in dry, windless weather, preferably in the morning or evening hours, when the risk of sunburn of wet foliage is minimal. Special attention When irrigated, it is given to young shoots and the back side of the leaves, as well as to the trunk circles.
How to get rid of aphids on plums using folk remedies
Before the ovary forms, neither folk remedies nor chemical insecticides cause harm. How to treat plums against aphids after flowering? An excellent alternative is proven folk remedies based on herbal infusions, soap-ash and other solutions.
To prepare soap-ash liquid you will need:
- 400 grams of sifted wood ash:
- 50 grams of liquid or laundry soap;
- 10 liters of water.
Before use, the solution, effective against moderate pest infestation, is carefully filtered. Tobacco infusion mixed with soapy water will bring no less benefit. Instead of ash, you can take 10 ml of birch tar. This oily odorous substance repels insects and also has a pronounced antibacterial effect. Fumigation of plantings with tobacco smoke gives good results.
Many plants contain substances that have a similar effect on garden pests as industrial insecticides. At the same time, they are safe for humans and environment. How to get rid of aphids using plants?
To prepare such folk remedies for 10 liters of water, according to the gardener’s choice, you will need:
- 200 grams of garlic cloves;
- 300 grams onions;
- 1 kg of plant-based raw materials pharmaceutical chamomile or ;
- 4 kg of fresh tomato or potato tops;
- 100 grams of hot capsicum;
- 1 kg of yarrow, tansy or wormwood herb.
About 10 liters of infusion are consumed for an adult fruit tree. Severely affected shoots should not just be sprayed, but should be immersed as much as possible in liquid so that it penetrates into the deformations formed by plum aphids pollinated.
Preventive measures to combat plum aphids
Since the pest migrates easily and multiplies quickly, before treating aphids on a plum with folk remedies or insecticides, it is worth paying attention to:
- fighting ants;
- correct and regular pruning of the crown;
- maintaining tree trunk health;
- digging and mulching tree trunks;
- elimination of weeds and root growth.
There are other ways to make the habitat of insects on the site uncomfortable.
The pollinated plum aphid pests not only stone fruit crops, but also reeds, wild cereals and other plants. The insect is especially attracted to peas and beans, young shoots and nasturtium, petunia, small-leaved and cultivated large-leaved. These plants are planted away from plums and other fruit trees. If this is not possible, then they are sprayed together with stone fruit crops.
Among the inhabitants of the garden there are also green repellents that repel aphids. For the most part, these are essential oil plants, which include mint and basil, lavender and lemon balm, cilantro and unpretentious marigolds. Umbrella garden plants, for example, carrots, fennel, dill and other spicy-tasting herbs perfectly attract predator insects, for which green aphids on plums are a desired delicacy.
The invasion of aphids scares novice gardeners in large numbers. However, if agricultural practices are followed, the trees are kept clean, and they are processed in a timely manner, insects, whose numbers are easy to control, cease to be a serious threat.
Fighting aphids on plants - video
With the onset of spring, the time for gardeners and gardeners begins to have troubles. And often the cause of these troubles is aphids, which can cause great harm fruit trees and shrubs. The fight against these insects cannot be left to chance: aphids on trees multiply rapidly and attack young leaves and shoots. We will tell you how to fight aphids without harming plants.
What are aphids and how are they harmful to your summer cottage?
These small insects, measuring from 5 to 7 mm, are familiar to all gardeners. They pierce the surface of leaves, buds or shoots with their proboscis and suck out their juice. Because of this, the plant weakens and becomes very sensitive to viral diseases. Several species of aphids live exclusively on plant roots, damaging them.
There are winged and wingless forms of aphids. Colonies of winged aphids can spread up to 25 km with the help of the wind and lay eggs for the winter. Wingless breed in asexual way, egg laying time is spring and summer.
In addition to the fact that aphids themselves harm plants, they attract ants, acting in symbiosis with them. Aphids secrete honeydew, a sweet substance derived from plant sap, which is very attractive to ants, which protect the aphid colony from attacks by other insects.
Here are a few symptoms that will help you recognize an aphid infestation on plants in your garden:
- young shoots and buds are covered with clusters of black or brown aphids visible to the naked eye;
- there are even more insects on the underside of the leaves;
- white particles are visible among the insects, this is old skin shed by aphids;
- damage to leaves and buds is indicated by the fact that they are covered with sticky honeydew;
- leaves that are affected stop developing, curl downwards and eventually dry out;
- the affected buds do not open, which means that fruits will not develop from them.
Aphids have a detrimental effect on young tree shoots
Prevention and control of aphids
The most important preventive measures are carried out as part of seasonal gardening in the fall. First of all, be sure to cut and burn the affected branches and shoots on the tops of trees and shrubs. If you haven’t done this in the fall, it’s time to do the work in the spring, in preparation for the summer cottage season.
Young trees and shrubs are especially susceptible to aphid attacks. Inspect them carefully before the onset of winter, and if you notice egg laying, after the leaves fall, thoroughly spray the shoots with water at a temperature of 70-80 degrees. Do the same in early spring, before the buds begin to bloom.
Instead of hot water You can use Nitrofen solution, 300 g of the substance per 10 liters of water.
Aphids most often attack fruit trees
Please note: a dark coating on the leaves may mean that sooty fungus has grown in the honeydew. Due to damage to it, the plant loses its productivity. You can get rid of this disease only by destroying the aphids.
Here are some more tips to help get rid of aphids:
- Since aphids live in symbiosis with ants, it is very important to get rid of these insects. Water the clutches of ant eggs in the immediate vicinity of the plants with boiling water.
- It is difficult for aphids to bite through elastic, strong and dense leaves. Therefore, regularly carry out abundant watering, fertilizing that is not overloaded with nitrogen, sprinkling the crown and mulching. Sprinkling will help wash away honeydew, in which sooty fungus likes to settle.
- Remove root shoots of fruit trees in a timely manner. It does not bring any benefit, but only takes away the juices and strength from the tree. And since the branches and leaves on the shoots are very soft, they are especially susceptible to attack by aphids.
- Old peeling bark provides an excellent winter shelter for aphids and their laying. Remove bark and whiten tree trunks - this will help eliminate pests.
Folk remedies for fighting aphids
Despite the fact that aphids exist different types, the same methods can be used to destroy it. Features are as follows:
- vegetables should be processed no later than 30 days before harvest;
- fruit trees are sprayed during the formation of buds, after flowering and 3 weeks before harvesting;
- Berry crops are processed before they bloom and after the harvest is harvested.
Regular spraying will help get rid of aphids
The use of chemicals to control aphids requires caution and adherence to certain conditions. Therefore, many gardeners prefer to use folk remedies.
- Spraying with soap solution. To do this, you need to dissolve laundry soap in water in a ratio of 10 liters: 300 g. To make the soap dissolve faster, grate it.
- A solution of ash and soap. Add about 300 g of ash to 10 liters of water, bring to a boil and dissolve 40 g of soap in the mixture.
- Take 1 kg of fresh or 700 g of dry potato tops. It is very important that the tops are not affected by any diseases! Finely chop, add 10 liters of water and leave for 3 hours. Strain the solution and spray the plants with it.
- Chop 200 grams of onions along with their scales and leave in 10 liters of water for about 20 hours. Spraying with strained onion solution perfectly destroys aphids.
- Garlic, thanks to the pungent aromatic oils it contains, also helps in pest control. Grind 200 g of garlic heads and leave to infuse for 2 days in 5 liters of water. Dissolve 25 g of this concentrate in 10 liters of water and spray the plants.
- Take 200 g of crushed dry tobacco (shag), add 5 liters of water and leave for 2 days. After this, strain and add another 5 liters of water. You can prepare a decoction in the same proportions, with the solution infused for 24 hours and then boiled for 2 hours.
A few more plants that will help you
Nature “bestows” us with many pests, but it also gives us methods to combat them. For example, an ordinary field dandelion helps to get rid of aphids on apple trees. It can also be used against copperheads or spider mites. In the spring, when dandelions just begin to bloom, their green mass is collected for infusion, and in the fall the rhizomes are dug up and stored in the basement, like carrots.
To prepare the infusion you will need 400 g of leaves or 300 g of chopped roots. Fill them with 10 liters of warm water and leave for 2 hours. Strain thoroughly and spray the plants. For apple trees, this procedure must be carried out twice: during bud break and after flowering.
If you add garlic and pepper to the dandelion, the infusion will become more effective. Pass 400 g of dandelion leaves and roots through a meat grinder along with 200 g of garlic, add a tablespoon of pepper and dry mustard. Pour 10 liters of water and leave for 2-3 hours. This solution works great against both apple aphids (including melon and cabbage aphids) and ticks.
Dandelion will be an excellent assistant in pest control
The plum tree is the most susceptible to aphid attack of all trees, and not only because of the sticky leaves, but also due to the many basal young shoots that hatch every spring. Be sure to delete them! And, even if you haven’t noticed aphids on the surface of the nursery, spray the plum tree. You can use tomato tops for this. Grind 5 kg of fresh or 2 kg of dried tops, pour boiling water over them and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. After the solution has cooled, strain it, dilute 3 liters of infusion and 30 g of laundry soap in 10 liters of water.
Not only for fruit trees - apple, pear, plum, cherry, but also for flowering shrubs such as lilac, bird cherry, jasmine, spraying with pine infusion is very useful. For it you will need 2 kg of spruce and pine needles of annual growth. Fill them with 8 liters of water and leave for a week in a cool, dark place, stirring daily. The resulting spray solution must be diluted in a ratio of 1 liter per bucket of water.
Biology guards your garden: birds and insects against aphids
To prevent aphids from annoying your garden, you need to call insects and birds, which are the main enemies of pests, as allies. The most harmful to aphids are:
- ladybugs, and especially their larvae;
- lacewings;
- ground beetles;
- hoverflies;
- predatory bugs;
- sparrows;
- kings;
- warblers;
- tits;
- wrens;
- linnets.
In order to attract insects that destroy aphids to your site, plant spicy and aromatic plants: dill, parsley, cloves, carrots, and nettles. Ladybug loves calendula very much, which will also help decorate your garden.
Ladybug is one of the main enemies of aphids
Birds mainly feed captured aphids to their chicks. To attract birds to your site, install feeders, birdhouses and drinking bowls in accessible places.
Many plants have properties that either repel or attract aphids. This can also be used to kill pests. Plant flowers such as petunia, begonia, mallow, cleome and nasturtium away from vegetables and trees - aphids will concentrate their attention on them and be distracted from garden plantings. Among the trees, such plants include bird cherry, linden and viburnum.
Please note: in the fall, after flowering has ended, all plants that you planted to attract aphids to them must be harvested and destroyed. Either burn them or take them off-site, otherwise the aphid clutch will overwinter in comfortable conditions and bring you trouble again in the spring.
Marigolds, garlic and onions, fennel, Dalmatian chamomile, mint and coriander, on the contrary, repel aphids with their sharp spicy odors, so it will be useful to plant them in beds and between rows in the garden.
Your helpers in the fight against aphids
Chemicals, insecticides
The disadvantage of folk remedies is their short-lived action, so you often have to turn to chemicals. The simplest remedy is liquid soap or dishwashing detergent. Its solution is easily applied to low shrubs, washing away aphids from the leaves and covering the surface with a thin protective film. But more often you have to resort to more stringent methods.
Prevent aphids from growing on your fruit trees
Each type has positive and negative sides.
- The contact agent will immediately help the plant, since it kills the pest by penetrating through its integument. But the surviving aphid, sensing danger, immediately begins to multiply.
- Intestinal preparations enter the digestive system, poisoning the insect. They are usually used together with contact ones to enhance the effect of both.
- Systemic drugs make the plant sap poisonous to pests, penetrating into the leaf tissue. They are well suited for treating trees and are quickly absorbed, so they are not afraid of rain. But the effect may appear after 2-3 weeks. Fruit trees will withstand this period, but for flowers. For example, roses, this delay can be disastrous.
However, it is better to resort to treatment with chemicals in the most extreme cases. They destroy not only harmful aphids, but also the predators that feed on them. In addition, pests quickly develop resistance to drugs, so they need to be replaced. Do not treat plants during the flowering period - this will harm pollinating insects.
Video about fighting aphids
Aphids can have a detrimental effect on a wide variety of plants, trees and shrubs; the main harm they cause to them is as follows:
Ways to combat aphids
Insecticides
The first way to combat aphids, which will be considered, is the use of special toxic substances, since this technique is the most effective, gives a guaranteed result and provides protection against this type of pest.
All types of modern insecticides designed to combat aphids can be divided into two types of preparations:
- Contact agents that infect insects upon contact or entry into the digestive or respiratory system.
- Systemic agents that are absorbed into plants, infecting aphids, which begin to eat them.
To achieve positive result Insecticides must be selected correctly; below is a brief overview of the most effective options: 
- "Aktara" is a moderately dangerous biological insecticide that is always popular among many gardeners and flower growers due to its complex effect on different types of insects. The drug can not only destroy aphids, but also provide reliable protection against various types of ticks, moths and beetles. It is not recommended to use in the immediate vicinity of apiaries, as it poses a fatal threat to bees. Available in the form of an emulsion, which must be diluted with water; complete destruction of pests usually occurs within 2-3 days. You can purchase the product at a price of 20-25 rubles per ampoule, the volume of which is 4 ml. An analogue of this insecticide is the drug “Agravertin”.
- Spark "Double Effect" is an insecticide that affects aphids through direct contact or ingestion. The main active ingredients included in the composition are cypermethrin and permethrin. These are very common substances that have a detrimental effect on most types of insects, so treated plants receive comprehensive protection. The drug causes a number of disruptions in the central nervous system pests that consistently lead to paralysis, the inability to perform basic actions to maintain life, and death. This product is available in the form of tablets for dilution in water, the cost of one package is about 40 rubles.
- "Commander" is a systemic insecticide that can be used for soil treatment or spraying of affected trees and plants. The main active ingredient is imidacloprid, a common and effective toxic substance that differs high level toxic to many insects. “Commander” is produced in the form of a concentrate intended for subsequent dilution in water. Provides protection against the reappearance of insects for 1-1.5 months after treatment; it is dangerous for bees, therefore it is not allowed to use the insecticide near apiaries. The approximate cost is about 50-70 rubles per 10 ml ampoule.
- "Fitoverm" is an insecticide of biological origin, the effect is achieved due to the special properties of the soil fungus, on the basis of which the drug acts. The product can be used both for treating indoor plants and for use in the agricultural industry. "Fitoverm" is capable of destroying not only aphids, but also various types ticks, in which it causes first paralysis and then death. The approximate price of a 50 ml bottle is 170 rubles.
- "Fufanon" is an insecticide whose composition is based on various organic phosphorus compounds; it is one of the main analogues of "Karbofos". This drug can be used against most flying and crawling pests. You can buy one 6.5 ml ampoule for 30 rubles; it will yield about 5-6 liters of active substance. However, it is not recommended to treat fruit crops less than 20 days before harvest.
- "Tanrek" is a well-known insecticide, the main active ingredient of which is imidacloprid. It allows not only to effectively destroy aphids, but also provides high-quality protection against the reappearance of insects. Its duration can range from several weeks to a month, depending on the amount of precipitation. The cost of a 1.5 ml ampoule is about 30 rubles.
Folk remedies
There are also a number of folk remedies that allow you to resist aphids; many of them have not lost their popularity and are actively used by gardeners.
Some of the options for such control of these pests are discussed below: 
- Prepare a container with 10 liters of ordinary water, in which you need to dilute about 300 grams. laundry soap. In some cases, the use of liquid soap is allowed, but then its volume will need to be halved. The resulting solution is used to treat the affected plants.
- Grate about 100 gr. tar soap, which is diluted in 10 liters of water to prepare a solution that is used to treat affected crops.
- Add about 300 grams of wood ash to a container with 10 liters of water, bring the liquid to a boil and maintain it in this form for about half an hour. To increase the effectiveness of the product, it is recommended to add a small amount of soap to it immediately before treatment.
- About 200 grams of garlic must be crushed as much as possible so that it takes the form of a pulp, which is mixed with a liter of plain water. This mixture must be placed in a dark place and left for 4-5 days. After this, from every 25 ml of infusion you can get about 10 liters of the active treatment agent, but be sure to follow the mentioned proportions so as not to cause burns to the plants.
- Approximately 400 grams of horse sorrel roots are poured with water, the mixture is brought to a boil. After this, it needs to be allowed to cool and in just three hours the product will be ready for use against aphids.
- Take 100 grams of peels from any citrus fruit and soak in a liter of warm, but not hot water. The product should sit in a dark place for three days, after which it can be used to treat any plants.
- Finely chop a kilogram of potato tops, but to prepare the product, they must be completely healthy and not exposed to any pests. The tops are filled with 10 liters of water, after which the liquid settles for three hours. For cooking, you can also use dried potato tops, but in this case their quantity is reduced by 1.5-2 times.
- Take 200 grams of tobacco leaves and pour 5 liters of water, then let it sit for 3-4 days. After the specified period has expired, add another 5 liters of water, after which the product will need to be strained to get rid of unnecessary grounds remaining from the used foliage.
Other ways
There are several other alternative methods to get rid of aphids, some of them are given below: 
- Mechanical methods, which involve destroying insects by hand when detected or washing them off plants with water from a hose. These options are less effective because they only remove detected individuals and do not provide any protection against re-emergence.
- Planting nettles or herbs in the garden. This attracts the attention of many birds, whose diet includes aphids, as well as beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, which are natural enemies aphids.
- At the moment, the larvae of many beneficial insects, such as lacewings, can be purchased in stores. They are released in the garden, after which they grow into adults and begin to reproduce. This method can significantly reduce the pest population, although in most cases their number is not enough to completely destroy large colonies.
- Growing Dalmatian chamomile, garlic or onions can repel aphids from a certain area, since this insect does not tolerate these plant species.
Features of deliverance in the garden
Below are some measures that can help get rid of aphids in the garden:
- Distinguishing between different types of plants. You can plant options that are attractive to aphids at a considerable distance from those crops that require additional protection from pests. The presence of begonias, nasturtiums or soporific poppy on the site will most likely divert the attention of these insects from other plants. Of the trees, pests prefer to settle on viburnum or linden; if the majority of the population is concentrated on these species, then it will be much easier to find and destroy it.
- Sparrows, tits, kinglets, robins and some other breeds of small birds very often hunt aphids, since they are ideal food for chicks. If there are large populations, birds themselves can pay attention to the area and help in destroying pests, but sometimes they need to be additionally attracted, for example, by installing feeders. However, it must be taken into account that many of them feed on tree fruits, so they can both help and harm.
- Fertilizers, oh Especially the nitrogen type should be used with extreme caution, since feeding plants with them can lead to a significant spread of aphids, whose attention will be attracted by the abundance of young and fresh greenery.
Features of getting rid of indoor plants
Aphids are not only found in gardens or summer cottages, but also often become targets for their attacks.
In this case, the process of getting rid of these pests will have a number of individual characteristics, which are described below:
- Often the main means of control is to treat the leaves with soapy water or any type of vegetable oil. This technique does not provide any protection, but allows you to effectively get rid of existing individuals, since the liquid with the addition of these components acquires a viscous structure, envelops the bodies of insects and disrupts the respiratory processes in their body.
- Treatment with alcohol also shows good results, but only the pure medical variety is suitable for this procedure. Such alcohol evaporates very quickly, and it is virtually impossible to cause burns. However, this practice is not recommended for plants with very sensitive and thin foliage.
- In most cases, all types of insecticides that are used against aphids and in the garden are suitable; Aktara is the most popular. This is often the most effective option for exterminating insects, which will additionally create protection against their reappearance.
Signs of aphid damage to plants
As already mentioned, aphids are very small in size and prefer to be on the back side of leaves, so it is not always possible to notice these insects in a timely manner.
However, there are a number of signs that indicate their presence:
- The presence of small white waste, which is old skin shed by aphids.
- The presence of sticky liquid on leaves or buds is a specific secretion secreted by pests.
- Lack of fruit development or opening of existing buds.
- Underdevelopment of foliage, they have poor appearance and curl inward.
Aphid diet
The diet of aphids is very diverse; there are varieties of insects that prefer to settle and eat leaves and shoots exclusively of cherries, cucumbers or other crops. However, in the absence of their usual food, these insects are able to switch their attention to other plants. 
The most common is the green aphid; it most often attacks:
- All types of fruit trees or shrubs.
- Chrysanthemums, garden roses.
- Most non-poisonous houseplants.
You can also very often find black aphids; the basis of their diet most often consists of:
- Various types of wildflowers, primarily cornflowers.
- Legumes.
Prevention of occurrence
In order not to waste time and energy on removing aphids, it is recommended to take a number of measures in advance that can help prevent the appearance of these pests:
- Exterminate ants on garden plot and destroy anthills, since these types of insects exist in symbiosis. Ants very often protect aphids, hide them in their shelters and transfer individual individuals from one plant to another.
- Before planting, always carefully inspect the seedlings to immediately eliminate already infected plants and prevent pests from spreading throughout the area.
- Sprinkle the paths between the beds and the area around the flowerbeds with wood shavings, since such an environment will attract earwigs, which destroy aphids.
- Plant onions on the plot, garlic, lavender, thyme and other types of plants that repel aphids.
- Carry out chemical treatment of plants with various preparations, which can provide a protective effect.