pests Ants and aphids

[Peptacular]

Anyone know a sure fire way get rid of aphids and ants in the garden? I mention the ants specifically because they seem to be shepherding the aphids onto one of my pepper plants in large numbers. The aphids werent a real problem til the ants showed up.

I sprayed the effected plant and those in the immediate area of it with neem oil yesterday. It did rain a little last night which washed it away, I'm sure. But today I was dumbstruck when I found more ants on the plant than before. Worse, there was a slew of new aphids, granted it was slightly less and smaller aphids, but still a ton of em.

Boric acid in a sugar solution maybe? Don't want to cause collateral damage to bees or anything though.

 

[megahot]

I'd put ant killer around your plants and use Azamax for the aphids

 

[compmodder26]

Here's what I'm going to be going with next year to provide year round protection against soil dwelling pests:
 
http://www.buglogical.com/beneficial-nematodes/hetrorhabditis-bacteriophora/steinernema-carpocapsae-mixed/
 
For non-soil pests you can get any number of beneficial predators to place in your garden, with lacewings and ladybugs being some of the best for ridding your plants of aphids.

 

[KingLeerUK]

I've had a great deal of luck knocking back aphid incursions with Safer Brand Insecticide Soap.  It does wash off in the rain requiring repeated applications, but if you stay consistent (I'm finding about every 3 days) it will eventually knock them back.  You can also gently crush them with your finger and some patience.  The ants will vacate when the aphids are not there as a lure.
 
Another thing to consider is pinching the top new, tender leaves where aphids seem to gravitate.  This has the dual effect of physically removing them from the plant and spurring some new growth.

 

[geeme]

I'd suggest you do some research on the life cycle of aphids. They reproduce at a tremendous rate! Not only that, but their eggs are resistant to insecticides, meaning you have to spray and spray and spray......
 
The only sure-fire way I've found to eradicate them is by getting ladybugs, as ladybugs eat all forms of aphids, from egg to adult. I order mine from buglogical.com, but there are other places, if you look around a bit. I will note, however, that the ones I got from Hirts didn't eat any of the aphids, so make sure you check out the rep of whomever you order them from. The buglogical ladybugs wiped out a severe aphid infestation in no time. The thing you have to be careful about though, is timing. If you've just sprayed with insecticide, it will kill ladybugs as well as adult aphids. You might call the folks you order ladybugs from, tell them what you've done so far, and get their opinion. Note that buglogical overnight ships them, but timing depends on the day you order - they won't ship over a weekend, to ensure most arrive alive. So yes, the infestation may get worse for a few days, but the results after the ladybugs arrive are astounding.