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pests In need of some serious help. Aphids.

Aphids were the least of my problems this year, but I did get them, I used the following treatments insecticide soap spray that i bought it worked for awhile and I had less of them to deal with when i noticed that they were making a come back I dusted with D.E. and pepper powder which helped after that I used Neem oil in a spray mix. That seemed to do the most good , but by that time i had spidermites and spaying with any water base mixes started to cause mildew because of the high humidity, so now I had mildew, spidermites and aphids and stink bugs along with pepper maggots which not only attacked my sweet peppers but hit my eggplants, tomatoes and some of my tomatillo plants , So I went crazy and spraid everthing with liquid seven mixed with liquid lime and sulfur, end of problems. So I guess something worked.
 
I have a lady bug & lacewing army on the way. Now my hope is having all these bugs in my indoor pepper garden doesn't bring about a Hobo Spider infestation.... These aphaids have to go.... everyday I have clipping and spraying... sucks.
 
I've never had much success with any of the soap-water, oil-water, water-hose and other home remedies and there's no way of getting hold of ladybugs/lacewing here in EU. Once I bring my peppers indoors and I get any hint of aphid activity at all, I go get one of those pyrethrin-based sprays, dilude the "ready to use" spray with equal or greater amount of water and spray all the plants conservatively (you don't want to soak the leaves with it) for a couple of days. Then just wait four days for the pyrethrin to break down under light and never look back. It really kills every single aphid, it's not something you'll need to do repeatedly and it's pretty safe to use as far as I've been able to research.

I've not used it outdoors yet though, so I have very little knowledge of what the effect on beneficial insects would be or stuff like that. Certainly the ladybugs don't seem to mind it when I return the peppers to my garden next season - which is not surprising since the pyrethrin breaks down so quickly with light it really couldn't have any effect at all the way I use it.

Meh, it's supposed to be a "natural insecticide", although why that would guarantee that it's safe to use is beyond me - lots of natural things that can get you killed in no time... :D
 
Man I have now sprayed diluted amounts for a week.... I think if i spray anymore make my plants toxic. Sucks.... So question: Now that I have sprayed so much if I release lady bugs and lacewings... are they going to die ?
 
Not sure if they would die but as a precaution i would spray every plant off real good with the garden hose let them dry off a bit then bring them inside...also i read somewhere to keep your ladybugs in a area ..use a few potatoes as food for them to stay.
 
Well a couple of days back i posted i was trying a chilli, garlic & mint concoction and,,,it worked.

I had already told myself it would be another epic fail but not a single aphid on the plants i sprayed it on.

Mezo.
 
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I minced up mint leaves & minced some garlic added some chilli powder & just boiled it up to let the oils come out. Then let it cool & sieved it to get the lumpy bits out, then put it in a sprayer.

It worked but my problem is i have a lot of plants to spray, so im also giving the soapy water thing a go right now as i type. its far easier & cheaper to do the latter, but if you like the green approach & have only a dozen or so plants worth doing.

Don`t inhale it though, i had a coughing/sneezing fit when i applied the chilli brew, but i was in the tent OK outdoors id guess?

Mezo.
 
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