Joyful Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I'm a newbie when it comes to plants. Actually, I'm a black thumb. The only thing that I have succeeded to keep alive is my one pot of cactus. Now I have three potted plants (indoor) that for once, have survived the first month with me! :D Yesterday, I discovered that one of the plants has aphids! Is there a natural way to rid my plant of them? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninmommy Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Mix up a spray bottle with a few drops dish soap and luke-warm water. Spray on plants. Repeat. Attract ladybugs. They eat aphids. These attract ladybugs and other aphid/pest predators to my garden: Sweet Alyssum....allow some to grow among the veggies. They will perform all year thru a few hard frosts if lightly sheared. Dandelion....allow some to bloom (but not set seed) around the perimeter. Wild Mustard.... Statice Dill Caledula Feverfew Cosmo Marigold Chives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 The solution that I have seen is 1 tsp dish detergent & 1 tsp vegetable oil mixed in 1 gal water. If you do spray with this, make sure to do it in the late afternoon/evening so it has time to dry before the sun comes out. The oil in the mixture will fry the plant if you put it on in the middle of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 Thank you! They seem easy enough. One question - how long till I see an effect? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 This sounds weird, but what works well for me is to choose one bud (say on my rosebush, with 15 buds or so) and smush all the aphids on it. With my fingers. For some reason this freaks out the other aphids and if I give it about 10 minutes, most of them will disappear. (Might be a fun job for a kid to do - icky gross and green). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Smushing them works...but with cactus *ouch* :lol: A good blast of water will knock aphids off. Never spray plants (outdoor plants included) with pesticides because of aphids. There are a lot of natural predators that will take care of them if you don't spray, and if you do spray you kill the "good guys" too, and wind up with much bigger problems. I'd take the cactus outside and hit it with a hard blast of water. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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