Among all the pests in a garden, aphid infestations are one of those that can take up a lot of your time. Aphids are small, green insects found on the leaves of plants. Unfortunately, discovering aphids is no good news for the gardener because they suck the plant sap causing damage to their health. Hence, it is essential to get rid of aphids to ensure you keep your plants lively and healthy.
Apart from chemicals, you can get rid of aphids by using pressure water, natural spray, soap, water, and more.
When you discover aphids in your garden, the natural reaction is to use chemicals. However, while chemicals may seem like a quick solution, using them in your garden can harm plants. Therefore, many people resort to using natural methods that get the job done without causing damage to plants.
What Home Remedy Kills Aphids?
If you are an organic gardener using home remedies would be your way to getting rid of pests. However, even though chemicals can be harsh on plants, it is best to resort to other methods. You can implement quite a few home remedies in your garden to keep them safe from aphids. Some of the home remedies are as follows:
Soap and Water
Perhaps the most common home remedy you will find against aphids is soap and water. Soapy water effectively kills aphids, and if you have other pests, it will also tackle that problem. An important benefit you will gain from using this method is tackling ants.
Ants nurture aphids and keep them safe and alive. Hence, if you are getting rid of aphids in your garden, it is important to kill the ants. Fortunately, soapy water tackles both problems, and you will not have to deal with ants separately.
You can make your soapy water solution by using Castille soap. While other soaps can be harsh and full of chemicals, Castille is pure and will not harm your plants. First, you can mix a bit of soap with water and transfer the mixture to a spray bottle. Next, it is important to spray the plants with the mixture and do it well. In addition, you must also treat the underside of the plant as aphids tend to hide there. The trick with using soapy water is that you must be consistent to see successful results.
Baking Soda
A great news for people who are both bakers and gardeners: you can use baking soda to kill those nasty aphids in your garden.
Like soap and water, baking soda is also great at tackling other garden pests such as ants. Therefore, you have your one-stop solution. You can use baking soda to kill aphids by making a solution. To do so, simply mix some baking soda with warm water, and you can add some vegetable oil.
The great thing about mixtures is that you can add anything to them to make them strong. So, to ensure that your baking soda does wonders, you can also add a bit of Castille soap. You can use this mixture and apply it to the leaves in your garden. It is important to not only repeat the process but to trust it!
Essential Oils
Many people like to use essential oils for several reasons, whether it is for their smell or therapeutic sessions.
If you like essential oils, you can also incorporate them into your garden routine. Essential oils come in different forms like lavender, rosemary, and thyme. These oils are quite strong and effective against insects like aphids.
You can use these oils to create your mix of aphid-killer. A few drops of essential oil combined with water should be enough to kill aphids. It is important to give your bottle a good shake and then spray on your plants. Moreover, you must spray the underside and repeat it at least twice a week.
Vinegar
A common ingredient we use in the food we consume is vinegar. But, little do you know that vinegar can be used to kill the aphids in your garden.
However, as vinegar is quite strong, it can cause damage to your plants. Therefore, you must do a patch test before applying it to entire plants to ensure that it does not react adversely. You can create a mixture of vinegar with water to spray on your plants. Moreover, you can use some soap in the mixture, so it lasts longer on the plant.
What Causes Aphid Infestations?
If you are a first-time gardener, an aphid infestation can seem overwhelming. Hence, it is best to avoid the situation in the first place, so you do not need to tackle it. Aphid infestations occur due to various reasons. If you do your best to avoid some of these issues, you can also avoid an infestation.
One thing you must do is to ensure that your plant is healthy and happy. Plants that are stressed and going through a rough time fall prey to aphids as they attack weak plants. Therefore, you must ensure that your plants receive adequate sunlight, water and are placed in the correct conditions.
There are other problems associated with aphid infestations. For example, using too many insecticides causes insects to die. Hence, there are no natural predators to feed on aphids. Therefore, aphid infestation occurs if there are no predators to prey on them. Hence, you must encourage biodiversity and avoid using too many chemicals.
Summary
Aphids are small, green insects found in gardens that cause grave damage to plants. Therefore, it is important to get rid of these pests. You can kill aphids by using a bunch of home remedies. For example, you can use soapy water, vinegar, essential oils, or baking soda.
There are a few reasons why there can be an aphid infestation. One of them is that the plants are already unhappy and stressed as aphids attack weak plants. In addition, too many insecticides kill natural predators of aphids leading to overpopulation.
