pests Uh oh, I need Aphid killing tips!

HotSnow

HotSnow

So I've got twelve plants, and they started getting an aphid problem about 6 weeks ago.  At first I was spraying them off with water, but of course that didn't do the trick.  Next, I bought this organic aphid spray from home depot...it kind of helped but of course they kept coming back.  So about 2 weeks ago I bought some Neem oil concentrate and started mixing it with the recommended amount of water and some dish soap (as recommended by my brother) buuuut it only helps for a day or two and they come back!
 
At one point I sprayed all of the plants a few days in a row, and all of the plants started dropping their leaves!  I read the bottle and it mentioned that you should only spray every 7 to 10 days.  The plants are okay (although some of them are looking slightly bare compared to before), however I need to get this problem under control before it takes over!
 
Any advice?  I'm at a loss!
 
It's hard to spray them because you have to hit the undersides of all the leaves, but you only have 12 plants so you can do it.  Lots of sprays available, just Google it  Sometimes the infestation is so bad you have to use sprays to get it in check.  But when things are back in balance ladybugs and lacewings are awesome.  I don't know if it's too late to put them out though.
 
Ladybugs wipe them out in no time. I order them from buglogical.com. You can use insecticidal soap and spray every day, if you really have that much time and patience. You'd have to spray every day for a few weeks, and probably a couple times a day in reality. Aphids are very rapid reproducers, and most insecticides don't do anything about the eggs.
 
i had a infestation indoors earlier this year, it was so bad on my hydro plant, gallons of neem did nothing but appear to outrage them, diatomaceous earth worked, but its a hydro plant and grows very quickly, they would line up by the hundreds on the tips of the new growth, like immigrants in a small boat on their way to freedom
 
 
i took the plants outdoors under my carport, and common house spiders took over quickly, its back indoors with spiders in tact 
 
megahot said:
Azamax or ladybugs if you wanna go all natural
Click to expand...
Azamax works but didn't seem to kill the eggs for me last winter.  Aphids kept coming back.  Lady bugs didn't work either.  Try using nematodes in your soil and get some lacewing larve.  I'm getting ready to pop some seeds i hope i do not get aphids again.  I plan on not bringing in any outside plants into my grow room.  That was what caused my aphids last year.  
 
great tips I had the same problem i will try to use all most all of the tips hear to make sure they are not an issue next year.
 
thanks
 
Joshuap2000 said:
I use azamz and a p roduct called safer, they  seem to work good for me, now i am just trying to get rid of the white flies
Click to expand...
those no pest strips work well but they need to be hung in a well vented area.  No sure how safe they are either.  Could always use one as a last resort.  
 
Best thing I found besides lady bugs is Fox Farm's Dont Bug Me. It wiped em right out on my OW's this past winter. Good stuff.
 
jedisushi06 said:
those no pest strips work well but they need to be hung in a well vented area.  No sure how safe they are either.  Could always use one as a last resort.  
Click to expand...
 
Yea, i have some of those, maybe i will put them in the pots, Promblems is, its outside and they showing up everywhere, Fla got hit by them bad this year., They seems to like my brains the best, so i got rid of them, and starting to run some silca in the  waterings. Was told that should help repel some pest also..
 
some places sell praying mantis and lady bugs. i also like to include tobacco plants in the garden they work as my scape goats; pests tend to attack them first cause of the bigger softer leaves the high nicotine strain i have kills them while they feed. i often find dead white flies and aphids on the leaves that just wipe off or get blown off by the wind.

InfinitiSHU said:
some places sell praying mantis and lady bugs. i also like to include tobacco plants in the garden they work as my scape goats; pests tend to attack them first cause of the bigger softer leaves the high nicotine strain i have kills them while they feed. i often find dead white flies and aphids on the leaves that just wipe off or get blown off by the wind.
Click to expand...
i forgot to mention you can also buy bulk tobacco shreds for cigarettes at a smoke shop then let it steep in some warm water like tea. strain the shreds out and spray it works as a natural pesticide just wash off any excess as contact with the nicotine spray will be absorbed through the skin.
 
Yeah I've been thinking about getting some ladybugs, but I live outside so from what I understand, there is no guarantee that they will stick around.  Thanks for all the tips...I will definitely look into all of this, and I'm sure something will help!
 
Ladybugs DO work, but only if you get them from a good source. The first year I ordered them from Hirt's, and frankly, they just walked over the aphids. Got them from buglogical after that, and they wipe them out. Some places seem to feed them something other than their natural food - think about giving a dog or cat food from a can or bag, and they might forget how to be good predators. Ditto for ladybugs, it seems....
 
The only thing that worked for me last year was a scorched earth policy.
 
Cut off every leaf and quarantine your plants.  No leaves = no aphids, and any eggs left around will hatch before the new leaves grow back.  Just make sure nothing contaminated re-enters the quarantine zone.
 
There are gentler methods that will work, but few of them are as certain.
 
I would think twice before using tobacco tea as a pesticide on peppers. Tobacco caries several viruses that are also deadly to peppers. The viruses can survive the typical tobacco curing process so it is possible to transmit disease this way.
 
rebelgrower3 said:
Banana peels that's right aphids hate bananas. Dry the peels chop them up and sprinkle the peels around the base of the plants and the aphids will disappear. Why I have no clue but it works.
Click to expand...
That sounds interesting. I will have to give that one a try and save my neem for other pests.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top