Getting Rid of Aphids

Hey Guys,

If you’re a gardener, farmer or horticulturalist (either professional or amateur), at some point you’ll have come across aphids and perhaps cursed at the destruction they’ve caused.

What Aphids Look Like

Aphids are tiny parasitic insects that damage and sometimes kill plant life due to their hunger for the sap that flows within them.

They’re soft-bodied (no exoskeleton) and measure between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters in length. They vary in color from green, black, brown and even a whitish-pink, however a colony will usually consist of aphids of the same coloring.

They have six legs, two antenna and a feeding tube called a stylet on their heads that they use to pierce the phloem vessels of their host plants to suck out the sap.

Telltale Signs of an Aphid Infestation

Because aphids suck out the lifeblood (sap) of their host, the plant will lose it’s vigor and appear unhealthy. Leaves will curl and change in color from green to yellow and brown and flowers or blossoms will drop off. The stem will droop and the plant itself will wilt.

If your plant is showing these signs, you should check it thoroughly for aphids – sometimes aphids will live on the underside of a leaf making them difficult to spot without close inspection.

Getting Rid of Aphids

There are three primary techniques for getting rid of aphids; killing them with bug spray, hosing them off and biological control. The table below shows each method in terms of how easy, effective and quick they are.

Method	Easiness	Effectiveness	Speed
Bug spray	Slightly difficult	Very effective	Fairly quick
Hosing	Easy	Fairly effective	Very quick
Biological control	Difficult	Effective	Slow

 

Aphid Bug Spray

You can create your own aphid bug spray (or insecticidal soap) by mixing a little dish washing detergent with water and spraying it on the aphids – make sure you spray liberally and cover the aphids entirely.

The solution will destroy the protective coat of the aphids causing them to leak water and die.

More info on creating aphid spray here.

Hosing

This simple aphid removal method involves firing pressurized water at an aphid infestation through a hose. The aphids will be knocked to the ground and either die of starvation or be eaten by ground-dwelling predator.

More info on hosing aphids here.

Biological Control

Biological control involves introducing aphid’s natural predators (such as ladybugs) to the colony. The predator will kill the aphids and prevent other aphids from colonizing the plants in your garden. This is a very effective long-term solution.

More info on getting rid of aphids using biological control here.

Summary

I would suggest using the hose method in the first instance because it is very easy and will get rid of the majority of aphids. If you continue to have problems with aphids, use the bug spray to finish them off. To reduce populations of aphids appearing on your plants in future, make sure you have plenty of creaturesin your garden that like to eat aphids.

I hope you’ve found this article useful and I’d love to here your comments below.

Danny