The Aphidinea superfamily has about 4,000 species, about 1,000 species live in the European part of the mainland. These are incredibly voracious pests that can multiply in a wide range of temperatures, they are not afraid of cold or heat, rain, or dry air.
Black and green aphids can be found in gardens or in the garden. Aphids are especially dangerous in early spring, when plants are just growing, they affect the tips of young shoots, peduncles, and after all, many garden crops bear fruit on annual shoots. The fight against aphids in the garden should also be aimed at destroying ants, read: How to destroy aphids in the garden and aphids on currants
Aphids come to indoor plants with flowers from the garden and with plants purchased from a store or garden center. Most often it is a green aphid. Wingless adult aphids 1.4-2.5 mm long, light green, yellow or pink. Aphid colonies populate all parts of the plant, starting with the tops of the shoots, where the leaves are the most tender. They damage flowers, buds, ovaries, buds, and plants with delicate leaves (balsamine, campanula, tradescantia) are completely fried.
Often aphids on indoor plants aphids look like dandruff on a plant, flowers are very deformed. The damaged parts discolor, the leaves curl, turn yellow and fall off. The plant is severely depressed and stops normal development. Buds do not open, flowers are contaminated with sticky secretions.
Photo aphids
How to deal with aphids
Aphids are widespread in nature, easily breed in the garden and vegetable garden, but are not as common on indoor plants as thrips, ticks or whiteflies due to the fact that many firms do not fly (not migratory). But they can be brought into the house with flower cuts, store-bought plants and even leafy vegetables.
If you find aphids, take immediate action to treat the plants. First, you should try non-chemical methods of struggle - wash the plant with soapy water under a hot shower. It is necessary to cut off all the affected leaves, cut off the tops of the shoots.
Then we turn to insecticides.
Aphid remedies
Aphid remedies can be of contact action - they kill pests when the solution gets on the body of an insect and intestinal action - they are poisoned when eating leaves.
Insecticides of these groups include: carbofos, fufanon, actellic, phytoverm, Bi-58, Decis, Inta-vir, Karate, Talstar, Fas, etc. See insecticides. These insecticides have a big drawback in the fight against aphids: aphids cause twisting, deformation of leaves. In order for the solution to penetrate into all folds and crevices, it is necessary to spray very carefully, be sure to cut out the affected areas, or even better, immerse the branches in the insecticide solution.
There is a group of drugs of systemic action (intestinal-contact), these insecticides differ from aphids in that, when sprayed or watered, they penetrate the tissues of the plant and are carried with the juice of the plants along all branches, shoots, leaves. These are drugs: Aktara, Tanrek, Apache, Confidor. They are good because if you have not managed to thoroughly moisten the whole plant, still the drug will reach every leaf.
If you spray plants affected by aphids with systemic drugs, the result can be expected after 30 minutes - the pests stop feeding, freeze, die within 24 hours. The protective period averages 2-4 weeks.
Aktara consumption from aphid:
If the drug is in the form of dry water-dispersible granules (powder in a bag, Aktara VDG is written on the package), take 8 g per 10 liters of water. You can 1 g per 1 liter of water for indoor flowers. For gardeners, the consumption is the same 8 g per 10 liters, except for currants - it is easy to burn, the concentration is less than 2 g per 10 liters of water.
If the actara in the form of a liquid is a bottle with the inscription Actara KS (suspension concentrate), dilute 2 ml of actara with 10 liters of water for spraying or 1 ml with 10 liters for watering under the root. Watering the soil, as you usually water the flowers, is allowed 2-3 treatments.
How to destroy aphids - personal experience
Olesya: It is recommended to put fragrant geranium near plants infected with aphids: in two days the pests will disappear.
Olesya: You can use infusions of onion husks, garlic, tomato leaves, infusing them during the day in the dark in concentration: 200 g of onion husks in 10 liters of warm water; 100Ch 150 g of dry leaves or husks of garlic bulbs per 10 liters of water; 40 g of dry tomato leaves are milled, infused in a small amount of water for 2-3 hours, filtered and topped up with water to 1 l. treated 3 times with an interval of 5 days.
Crushed hot pepper (500-700 g fresh or 200 g dry) is boiled for an hour, then infused for a day, squeezed, filtered and stored in sealed glass bottles. Before spraying, 80-100 g of concentrate and 40 g of soap are taken per 10 liters of water. The decoction is effective against sucking and gnawing pests.
irina-bahus: Folk remedies for aphids help, of course, and harmless, but fiddling with them! And the most unpleasant thing is that they do not help for long. The smell is gone - aphids are right there. Now my aphids are always rushing to devour nasturtiums on the balcony. At first I tried it with onion husks: a week later it appears again. Then she spat and sprayed with phytoverm. It helped, aphids disappeared.
Anyuta: I watered phytoverm. Agravertin also helps, but be sure to spray twice, every week.
Elena: Drugs such as: Agravertin and Fufanon help against aphids, Fitoverm and Actellic are effective.
Natalie: Aphids are dangerous not only by eating leaves and flowers, but also by being a carrier of viral and bacterial diseases, and this is much more dangerous. In indoor conditions, aphids are not such a frequent pest, but the likelihood of their appearance increases in summer, especially if the flowers are at the open window or on the balcony. Many insecticides are effective against aphids: fury, decis, intavir, actellic, as well as actara, confidor, etc.
You can use a fresh decoction of onions (200 grams of husks for 5 liters of boiling water, close tightly and insist for 2 days) or a solution of green soap, but if the population of aphids is large, it is better not to risk using insecticides.
The issue of combating aphids with the help of beneficial insects was also discussed. However, we come to the conclusion that this method also does not justify itself. It is necessary not one useful insect, but a small herd, for example, ladybugs (aphidophages - feed on aphids).
Decoctions and infusions of herbs against aphids
They scare away or destroy aphids of decoctions of such plants as: bitter wormwood, tansy, yarrow, hot pepper, dandelion root, garlic bulbs, onion scales, steep infusion of tomato or potato tops, mustard. Powdering with tobacco dust helps.
At home, the most acceptable folk remedies for aphids in the form of garlic infusion: 1 clove (large) crush or grate on a glass of water. You can let stand for 10 minutes. Then spray all the leaves of the affected plant in the most thorough way. If the leaves are curly or deformed, prepare the solution in a small bucket and immerse the branches and leaves in the solution. You need to grind a head of garlic into a 5 liter bucket.
After the solution on the leaves of indoor flowers dries. Rinse them with clean water. Repeat processing every other day.
The same infusion of garlic helps with the tick.