DragonsFaeriesElves&theUnseen : Tips From the Garden ~ How to Get Rid of Aphids Safely

Saturday, May 30, 2015

TipsFromtheGarden-HowToGetRidofAphidsSafely

TipsFromtheGarden~

HowToGetRidofAphidsSafely-

Good Afternoon my dears Friends & Followers

I am very sorry that I haven't been around these

past couple of months, but life has been a bit

difficult. I have tried to keep-up with the posting on my blog and the photo's on my G+ page.

Which I hope that you all have enjoyed.

I am sorry I haven't been able to keep-up with my

~TipsfromtheGarden & WendyTales~

However I hope to start up today this

Saturday afternoon with a new one on how to

get rid of those nasty Aphids that seem to never

want to leave ones garden.

As for me, well I have been spending a lot of time

in my garden, kitting and quality time with my son. We

have been having great chats and since he is growing

so fast and has only 3year more of highschool. I have

decided that my time with my son is very important.

Soon he will be in college before I know it.

Also I have been dealing with some health issues.

Not to worry, I am slowly taking care of them.

I have finally been able to get to the doctor

for some of them & in time for all.

I am so grateful for your friendship and love,

and how much you all care about me my dears

friends and followers.

I am truly blessed, I just wanted to let you

know what is going on with

YOUR WENDY.

So now the post on how to get Rid of Aphids!

I myself have problems with Aphids with my own plants

so I wanted to help you all with these nasty critters.

I have found a few ways of getting rid of them Safely too!

How to Get Rid of Aphids Naturally

This is now you know if your garden is infested with Aphids

and when I wrote this post I found out that my garden was

in trouble of Aphids.

These are the signs; Yellowing and distorted leaves,

stunted growth and an unsightly black sticky substance[on the back of the leaves of your plant] on

the plant many mean that you have aphids. Aphids feed

on a wide range of plants & flowers too and in severe

cases the plant will fail to thrive if not treated. As these

nasty insects feed on your plants they will secrete a

sticky substance called honeydew, which quickly becomes

infested with black sooty mold.

This black sooty mold I have encounter myself with my

jasmine plant which has spread the Aphids to 3 of

my other plants in my garden this is one of the

main reasons I am doing this post so that you all

my dears don't have to go through this with your own

plants. My Jasmine that usually has beautiful white delicate

smelling flowers has not bloomed and I don't know if

it will. It is very sick so we will see if it makes it.

The aphids can spread their viruses of which some are

incurable. For this reason it s important to take step

in controlling the pests aphids in your gardens right away

as I am with my garden.

There are many ways of trying to get rid of the

Aphids naturally. I have tried soap and water, then gentle

wipe each leave with the soapy water. After wiping of the

yellowish aphids off. Then doing this treatment again...

again.. again...The problem is it hasn't worked.

They have have insecticides for the Aphids that I have checked out when I was writing this post, the problems with

those are they are very harmful to your plants. Meaning

they can actually burn the leaves of the plant and not even

kill the pest Aphids. So in a word Aphids don't

respond well to insecticides or even the natural type either.

I found that Aphids have a number of natural enemies,

and these insects are much better at controlling the

Aphids than any other method available to gardeners.

In fact I am going to try one of the insects myself.

So if you pamper and nurture their natural enemies you might

find it to be the best method of Aphid control.

Introduce beneficial bugs!

Lacewings & ladybugs to your garden

as a natural way to kill the pest Aphids.

Nearby plantings of Mint, fennel, dill, yarrow and

dandelions will help attract these insect to your garden.

There is other ways but I don't know if this is good

for your plants, some have tried a strong spray of water

from a water hose that might knock of many of the Aphids

of your plants and they won't be able to return. It will also will

rinse off some of the honeydew too. Spraying the plant

every day until the plant is Aphid free is one way to go.

However it might damage your plants to. If you spray

your plant with a high strong spray of water who knows

what it could do to your delicate plant or flower.

Tips For the Woolly Aphid

The woolly aphid although it is not is as popular & rarely

get large enough to harm most plants, I most tell you about each and every type of these nasty Aphids. I don't want you all to go through what I am going through for being a

gardener that love her garden.

Yes I have seen some of this too. But not as bad as the

the photo. What the Woolly Aphids can do to your plants is distort the leaves, because they leave behind a very unsightly

look to your leaves of your plants or flowers. For this reason, many folks prefer to use some type of woolly aphid treatment

to care for these pest.

What are Woolly Aphids?

You might wonder what are these nasty Woolly Aphids?

Well, they are much like the other types of aphids,

they are sap-sucking insects pest too. They are very tiny

about a 1/4 inch long. However, the Woolly Aphids are

a different colour than the usually yellow Aphids.

These Aphids are a green or blue and also appear

fuzzy due to the white, waxy material that covers their

tiny bodies. These pests generally use two host;

One for overwintering and laying eggs in the spring

& one for feeding in summer.

What kinda Damage the Woolly Aphid can Do

The damage that these Aphids insects can do is generally done in groups. They can be seen feeding on foliage buds,

twigs and branches, bark and even the roots of your plants.

Damage may be recognized by twisted and curled leaves, yellowing foliage, poor plant growth, branch dieback or even the development of cankers and gall on limbs or roots of your

plants. There is also the wax accumulation sometimes

seen as well, along with the sweet, sticky residue known

as honeydew. Yes that sticky residue again.

Also it could get the sooty mold the unsightly black fungus.

Woolly Aphid Control

As all pest Aphid control, is difficult and since severe

woolly aphid attacks rarely occur, the best way is by its

natural predators like that of the lacewings

ladybugs, hover flies, and parasitic wasps. However I would

go with the Ladybugs

Lastly If you see Ants with the Aphids you have

a problem!

Why do you have a problem whey you see Ants?

Well there is a very unique relationship between these two

organisms or insects if you will, that provides protection for

the aphids and food for the ants. The Aphids protects the

Ants from predators, such as the Lacewings & Ladybugs.

And the ants have also recently been found to protect the

Aphids from a fungal outbreak that causes death, by removing the bodies of the infected aphids. Anytime you see a

large group of ants on a tree, plant or flowery plant, it is more than likely you have a large infestation of aphids.

Not all species of ant find this arrangement beneficial but

many of the more common species do indeed farm ants do.

So how to you Control the Aphids & Ants?

From what I discover on this one is; if you manage the ants

or farm ants first you will be able to control the Aphid

population. Ant bait stations are very effective because the ants will take the bait & bring it back to the main colony.

This in turn will kill more that all of its family of ants at one time. With less ants to defend the Aphids the aphid numbers will drop. Another non-toxic method is to simply wrap the plant or tree with sticky tape or netting at the base of the tree.

This will catch the ants and will prevent them from tending to

the Aphids. In turn the Aphids are exposed to the predators and their numbers will dwindle.