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pests *Aphids on seedlings! What can I do?

BlisterdOutPods671

BlisterdOutPods671

My seedlings have 2-4 sets of leaves in them and I recently discovered that they have aphids under their leaves! What can I do? What would be safe to use on my seedlings?

Thanks in advance
 
I use potassium fatty acid salt spray. It is a green safe insecticide killer. With my small seedlings, I use a bamboo skewer and dip the tip of it in the cap full of the liquid. I then touch the top of the aphid. It should either kill or paralyze them. Then sweep them off, and say next.
I would spray a small plant, but sometimes the seedling is to small, so I use the bamboo skewer method. Plant always survives this way.
Hope this helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insecticidal_soap
 
I use 1-2 tsp of neem oil and 0.5 tsp of green soap diluted in 4 cups of hot water. Make sure to spray everywhere; on the leaves, underneath the leaves, on the stem and and a bit on the soil. Repeat this treatment 2-3 days in a row and wait for a couple of days. Repeat the procedure if needed.
 
Note that I haven't tried this on such young plants. You probably have to dilute it even more.
 
Like McGuiver says, if the seedling is very small it could be better to kill the aphids one by one to avoid stressing the plant too much.
 
/Bjornson
 
the thing with those litter buggers is you have to be on it for a while like every day to make sure you get every single one if you leave one it can lay eggs. i used garden safe brand off amozan.com
 
I boil lemon peel, orange peel, add garlic and few drops soap or a organic soap spray. Or you can use any of these:
 
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Neem Oil
Pure neem oil, an oil derived from the neem tree, has long been used in many natural remedies, including pest control. The oil, or Azadirachtin, acts as a repellent and growth regulator. To the insects, the neem oil has a bitter taste, so they will not eat the leaves treated with it. Also, if the insects do come in contact with the Azadirachtin, it prevents the larvae from growing into adults. Neem oil can be purchased at various online stores or made from neem trees.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Homemade Lemon Spray
This natural aphid pesticide works as an instant remedy, killing the aphids on contact. To make this natural pesticide, grate the rind of a large lemon. Boil it in enough water to fill a garden spray bottle. Let the mixture sit overnight. Drain the liquid into the garden spray bottle. Spray the aphids and larvae directly. It will cause them to convulse.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Homemade Vinegar Spray
Get out a spray bottle and fill it 1/3 of the way with distilled white vinegar and the rest of the way with water. This will kill the aphids and larvae on contact. Some plants react badly to the vinegar. It's important know which plants you can and cannot use this method with.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Aluminum Foil
Place a square of aluminum foil around the base of plants affected by aphids. This causes light to bounce around to the underside of the leaves, which repels the aphids. It is also good for the plants, as it brings them more natural sunlight.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Calcium Powder
Sprinkling calcium powder around the base of the plants is another natural aphid repellent. The aphids do not like the calcium and will generally stay away from it.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Yellow Plastic Bowl
Aphids are naturally attracted to the color yellow. Place a yellow plastic bowl filled about 1/3 of the way with water in the center of the infested area. Many of the aphids will be drawn to the bowl and will go into the water and die.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Banana Peels
Burying shredded banana peels around the base of plants is an odd, but effective remedy. It has been around for ages and many gardeners will swear by it.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Smash Their Buddies
Squashing a few aphids near the infested area will signify to the other aphids that it is time to go. It's a chemical reaction.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Ladybugs
Ladybugs can be purchased at garden and home improvement centers. The ladybugs feed on the aphids and if you purchase enough, the aphids will be gone in no time. Ladybugs are also good for the garden in other ways.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Garlic or Onions
Planting garlic or onions is another natural aphid deterrent. They do not like garlic or onion and will not likely come near an area they are in.
 
     I use a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol for individuals or small outbreaks. If there are too many for that, I use a rotation of insecticidal soap, permethrin, and a mix of neem oil plus peppermint oil in water.
     And, as mentioned above… VIGILANCE! If you see one aphid, you're seeing a thousand. If you kill one aphid, you're killing a thousand. But, if you MISS one aphid… You're fcuked.
     And remember my mantra. Be one with the IPM. Be one with the IPM. Be one with the IPM...
 
My little guys have the same issue.  I happened to have some neem oil spray under the counter and have been applying it directly to the bastards with q-tips.  This takes a bit of time, but limits the plant's exposure to the potentially damaging stuff.  Just touching the aphids with a wet swab gets enough oil on them do the trick.  Assuming you don't have more than 10~20 plants, you could do the same with any number of toxic compounds or insecticides. 
 
The above suggestions will help for aphids. Are you sure though that they are aphids and not edema? I only ask because seedlings often get tiny white powdery specks from overwatering and there is a tendency to fear aphids. If the spots move, it is aphids. If the spots don't move, edema. If edema, use less water, lower your lights, and turn up your oscillating fan. Certain types of peppers (baccatums) are more susceptible to edema when young. Either issue is treatable, but if you spray aphid treatments on seedlings that have edema, it could be harmful.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice! Appreciate it a lot. Gonna try Neem Oil as it seems to be the popular choice. Maybe some Insecticidel Soap.
Brain Strain Pepper Head said:
I boil lemon peel, orange peel, add garlic and few drops soap or a organic soap spray. Or you can use any of these:
 
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Neem Oil
Pure neem oil, an oil derived from the neem tree, has long been used in many natural remedies, including pest control. The oil, or Azadirachtin, acts as a repellent and growth regulator. To the insects, the neem oil has a bitter taste, so they will not eat the leaves treated with it. Also, if the insects do come in contact with the Azadirachtin, it prevents the larvae from growing into adults. Neem oil can be purchased at various online stores or made from neem trees.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Homemade Lemon Spray
This natural aphid pesticide works as an instant remedy, killing the aphids on contact. To make this natural pesticide, grate the rind of a large lemon. Boil it in enough water to fill a garden spray bottle. Let the mixture sit overnight. Drain the liquid into the garden spray bottle. Spray the aphids and larvae directly. It will cause them to convulse.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Homemade Vinegar Spray
Get out a spray bottle and fill it 1/3 of the way with distilled white vinegar and the rest of the way with water. This will kill the aphids and larvae on contact. Some plants react badly to the vinegar. It's important know which plants you can and cannot use this method with.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Aluminum Foil
Place a square of aluminum foil around the base of plants affected by aphids. This causes light to bounce around to the underside of the leaves, which repels the aphids. It is also good for the plants, as it brings them more natural sunlight.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Calcium Powder
Sprinkling calcium powder around the base of the plants is another natural aphid repellent. The aphids do not like the calcium and will generally stay away from it.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Yellow Plastic Bowl
Aphids are naturally attracted to the color yellow. Place a yellow plastic bowl filled about 1/3 of the way with water in the center of the infested area. Many of the aphids will be drawn to the bowl and will go into the water and die.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Banana Peels
Burying shredded banana peels around the base of plants is an odd, but effective remedy. It has been around for ages and many gardeners will swear by it.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Smash Their Buddies
Squashing a few aphids near the infested area will signify to the other aphids that it is time to go. It's a chemical reaction.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Ladybugs
Ladybugs can be purchased at garden and home improvement centers. The ladybugs feed on the aphids and if you purchase enough, the aphids will be gone in no time. Ladybugs are also good for the garden in other ways.
Natural Aphid Pesticides: Garlic or Onions
Planting garlic or onions is another natural aphid deterrent. They do not like garlic or onion and will not likely come near an area they are in.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. Might try that Foil trick on a few of them.
Geonerd said:
My little guys have the same issue.  I happened to have some neem oil spray under the counter and have been applying it directly to the bastards with q-tips.  This takes a bit of time, but limits the plant's exposure to the potentially damaging stuff.  Just touching the aphids with a wet swab gets enough oil on them do the trick.  Assuming you don't have more than 10~20 plants, you could do the same with any number of toxic compounds or insecticides. 
Click to expand...
I'll try this on one seedling, see how that goes. At the moment, I have 50 seedlings 11 fruiting plants.
 
I have quite a few plants at the moment and have tried multiple things on them. I started with neem and soapy water every week. The results were ok but it didn't stop them so I went to azamax (neem based).. Azamax gave me way better results and i didn't see any after 3 or 4 applications and thought i had them beat. I was wrong... I slowed way down on applications and must have missed one or two of those bastards. About a month later they were worse than when i started so I gave up. I let them build another week untill payday and bought fifteen hundred ladybugs and released half. They were only 6 dollars plus shipping! Any how i thought they would migrate upstairs and be all over the house but apparently not. Lol.. They don't bother me one bit and work grrrreat! The next day when i looked I only found a few here and there another day or so in I couldn't find any! Woot woot! I should have listened and bought them months ago! Never again will i worry about aphids! Ladybugs are the way to go man.

CAM02463_zps7539693b.jpg
 
I gather every ladybug I can find and put them in my seedlings.  Some years, they will lay eggs and if you can get some ladybug larva going, they will eat a lot of aphids.
 
lblarve.jpg

 
If that doesn't do the trick, I resort to my soap solution.  Here is the recipe:  Soap Insecticide Recipe
 
Good luck!!
 
Big Mike
 
Visit us Online:  www.knot2worry.us
 
I am only a novice, but I have posted about this very issue a few times this year.  I tried many of the Neem-based methods without luck.  I never got to all of the aphids.  So, I got an insect netting that one might use while camping and surrounded my grow area.  Then, I released some ladybugs.  It was awesome.  The aphids were gone after a day or two.  It has been a couple of weeks and there are still ladybugs hanging around and I do not see any aphids.  In fact, some of the seedlings that seemed to be stalled have been growing much better since the aphids are gone.  This has been such a positive result that I will always do this if I ever had aphids again.
 
I know I'm late to the game here, but diatomaceous earth has always worked well for me, and I don't think it will harm seedlings. It is a non toxic powder that you sprinkle on the plants and soil which kills soft bodied insects. 
 
I discovered the effectiveness of dish soap diluted in water via spray bottle a few days ago.  I'd tried it a long time ago and written it off because it didn't kill every last aphid on the plant.  Well, when you discover a few hundred aphids on a plant you've been neglecting, there's something to be said for a treatment that's only 99.9% effective.
 
I didn't even squish them or knock them off.  Sprayed the plant with soapy water, checked in the next day, and they were dead.  Corpses as far as the eye could see (assuming you held the plant up so it blocked your entire field of vision).
 
Sure, the aphids will be back because one of the little bastards was hiding in his super secret underground bunker with his cadre of aphid sex slaves clad in gold bikinis, but when their progeny burst forth upon my plant once more as if Hades itself had become full and was vomiting the souls of telemarketers and lawyers upon the realm of the living, my spray bottle shall be waiting.
 
If you can keep an aphid infestation in check with something that costs pennies per application and takes 10 seconds every couple of days, do you really have a problem?
 
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