Aphid control

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kitla
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Aphid control

Post by kitla »

I've never seen so many as this year and much earlier than usual, green & black. Usually I can manage them enough by jetting them off with a hose but this year drastic action needs to be taken.
I'm aware of spraying with soapy water but I found this article with lots of other ideas
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers- ... secticides" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Has anyone had success with any of these? I dont want to harm the other bugs, I'm happy to share my garden with most of them, so I presume I should spray at night?
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
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Freeranger
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Re: Aphid control

Post by Freeranger »

The article was an interesting read, but I'm not sure how you can use them to just target the ones you don't want - other than spraying the particular plants that you think they've been bothering. Or I suppose, catch them in the act and spray with the soap spray there and then to destroy them.
I know another natural approach that some of my organic gardening friends take is to use sprays and mulches of nettle and comfrey. They are more about prevention on the basis that a healthy, flourishing plant is more resistant to attack anyway.
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KathJ
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Re: Aphid control

Post by KathJ »

I tried the garlic spray one on my roses once and it did seem to work on the greenfly. Just remember to stand up wind of where you're spraying or you give off a lovely aroma for the rest of the day {rofwl}
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Freeranger
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Re: Aphid control

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{rofwl} {rofwl}
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lancashire lass
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Re: Aphid control

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{rofwl} {rofwl}
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kitla
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Re: Aphid control

Post by kitla »

oh good that's one to try then. Perhaps when the rain stops - if it ever does :( I shall try experimenting with different things, soap on the rose, garlic on the philadelphus. Though I think it might be an ongoing battle as we have a tall silver birch tree at the end of the garden & I've found the leaves are smothered with greenflies! Cant spray that, maybe this weather will wash them off.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
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kitla
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Re: Aphid control

Post by kitla »

The rain didnt wash them off & they're multiplying. I tried a spray bottle of something organic I found at the back of the greenhouse, some kind of fatty acid - didnt touch them, probably too old. This evening I've sprayed them with soapy water, we'll see. Someone told me of a nearby field that's full of ladybirds, I'm considering taking a pot up there & collecting a load.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
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lancashire lass
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Re: Aphid control

Post by lancashire lass »

spraying dilute soapy water alone should be effective - it always works for me but worth testing it on a small area before dosing the whole plant in case it affects the plant (scorching)

kitla wrote:Someone told me of a nearby field that's full of ladybirds, I'm considering taking a pot up there & collecting a load.


funny you should say that, I think the recent heavy rain had knocked a load of ladybird larvae off trees at work and I found loads of them had climbed on to the handrail along a ramp ... I was very tempted to collect and take them home if I'd had a pot handy. I've not seen them since so presumably they have found their way back to food sources.
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kitla
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Re: Aphid control

Post by kitla »

This morning I checked where I'd sprayed. It seems to have killed off alot of greenfly, but barely touched the blackfly, I shall try again this evening with more soap - maybe a bit stronger, then I'll try garlic.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
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Re: Aphid control

Post by Freeranger »

Keep posting please, Kitla - interested to know how you get on.
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kitla
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Re: Aphid control

Post by kitla »

I've checked this morning, at first I thought it hadnt worked as blackfly are still smothering the stems, but closer look - they arent moving! Ill need to jet them off with a hose then I can see whats left. (I hope I didnt kill anything else on there.)
To recap, I used washing up liquid, approx 1 1/2 tsp to a litre of water in a garden pump spray bottle. Then added another (approx) 1/2 tsp to the half ltr that was left in the sprayer. May have been a bit overkill really but the blackfly were doing so much damage I thought I had nothing to lose.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
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