pests Aphids

bpiela

bpiela

I am overwintering a bunch of different super hot pepper plants and it looks like I have an aphid infestation.  The bugs are spreading to all of the new growth on all of the plants.  I am not sure how I got them.  The plants are in pots with soil from the garden but I didn't have aphids in the garden last season.  Anyways, I have some insecticidal soap that I have been spraying.  I am assuming Neem oil is a good thing to use as well.  My question is how long will this last?  How often should I spray?  Should I spray all of the plants?  Thanks very much in advance.  Perhaps an expert could pin a topic on all pests and the preferred way to deal with them.
 
Thanks!
 
aphids can be very small and hide in the hardest to see places on a plant and in the soil. you have the male aphid, female aphid and clones. they can reproduce without a male present, popping out little clones everywhere and tiny. you can find them nestled in, under very tiny new growth, you would never see them.
 
they will last the entire winter. i spray once a week to every 10 days depending on how fast the aphids reactivate after spraying. you will eventually have to spray all plants, so if you are very busy guy, pick the least busy day to water/feed then spray.
 
i have about 75 indoor plants that i try to manage, some days i set aside, "pick and aphid hour", where i go over plants squishing the aphids under the leaves. point the plant into the sun and the light will shadow the aphids under the leaf.
 
good luck
 
Same with my pepper plant I brought in.. I just sprayed mine with cold water to knock off as many as I could.   
 
Screw Ladybugs or lacewings indoors.
Get Aphid wasps.
Wasps are the best defence for Aphids.
They die once the aphids are gone,I found they find some way to keep doing their thing elsewhere.
They are WAY more effective.
In the long run they are a Lot more effective.
I released a batch years ago.
I thought they all died,BUT they are able to sence Aphids a LONG ways away.
They must have went somewhere else and keep coming back.
Haven't seen an Aphid in YEARS since I released them the first time.
I do see a mummy here and there (Aphid that is brown/dead with a hole in it).

Plus they are really cool to watch.

For the price of using other methods and the work involved-get wasps.
They are fungus gnat or smaller in size.
Don't think of them like regular wasps...

Once you try them,they keep coming back from wherever.

I don't grow in a place like you that has a winter.
BUT THEY will do the job and you don't have a bunch of ladybugs around the house.

http://www.tiptopbio.com/aphidius_colemani.html

http://www.tiptopbio.com/aphidius_matricariae.html

http://www.tiptopbio.com/aphidius_ervi.html

http://gardeningzone.com/search?q=aphid+wasps&top-search-submit=Search

I buy them from different vendors in smaller amounts/cheaper-google it.
Prices vary.
All you need are a few.
I think 10 within a couple weeks = hundreds easily.
They reproduce REAL fast.
 
I just released 1500 ladybugs and have another 1500 in waiting if needed. Ladybugs are good for my basement as i have 400 plants and don't need a infestation of aphids .
 
I have a Chinese ootheca incubating right now. hopefully 200 - 400 hungry mantids will do the trick.
 
I'm not releasing any ladybugs or wasps indoors, lol. These things are natural outside where I live, so the aphid populations are controlled enough to not worry much about them. In spring they can be bad depending on the year.
 
impending_bending said:
You guys have got to get some lady bugs. I mean damn, for f sake by hand??
Lady bugs will do the trick I bet you a leg.
Click to expand...
 
I caught wild ones and released them in my garden. They took off in the morning but left a lot of eggs. The larvae wasn't really fast enough imo. That year was very bad. I had huge infestations. I ended up using dish soap and water to get rid of them. My whole neighborhood had a terrible infestation. I could see them on everyone's gardens and roses. I tried garlic water to ward them off, but they kept coming from outside my space I whipped them from. 
 
I'm hand picking them because there are not enough to warrant dish soap, which won't be good for indoor overwinters.
 
Hello all,
 
Thanks for the replies.  I am overwintering indoors in my basement.  This is the first time I have attempted overwintering.  When I told my wife that there were aphids on my peppers, she was not happy that I brought bugs into the house.  I don't think adding ladybugs or wasps in the basement can be the solution.  From the replies, it looks like I will have to live with the aphids in my house over the winter.  I will pick up some Azamax and give it a try.  I have about 20 plants so I can do the manual removal as well.
 
Thank you very much,
 
Ben
 
So, the aphids live in the ground?  Would I just put a layer of Diatomaceous Earth around each plant in each pot?
 
Thanks
 
bpiela said:
When I told my wife that there were aphids on my peppers, she was not happy that I brought bugs into the house. 
 
Click to expand...
Hilarious, I had to have the same conversation. A couple days after I brought them in she asked me why I was spraying the peppers. Except my plants are in the bedroom.

Ive been using insecticidal soap, its taken me about 2 months and a bottle and a half but ive finally gotten the upper hand. I was spraying every day to two days, now once a week or so. If you use the soap just make sure you spray them directly.
The only downfall ive noticed is possible soap build up on the leaves. Which im trying to get rid of by spraying water every couple days.

Good luck against those little green bastards.
 
Bonide pyretherin.
Mix to directions.
Haul them outside. Spray liberally top and bottom, and inside any open blooms.
Shake vigorously.
Bring back in.
Reapeat in a week or so if necessary.
Done and over.
 
Tried every "natural" remedy, and except for lady bugs (outside plants) none worked, and still knocking D.E. off things a year later.
 
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