Q:I tried searching your site and sister sites for green suggestions about how to keep aphids away from edible garden plants (like herbs, tomatoes, etc.). Was this topic ever covered here? If so, may I please have someone help direct me to this post? If not, can we please have a post or a reader forum covering this topic? Any help would be appreciated.
Asked by Anh (bananhie)
Editor: Ahn, we've written a few posts about how ladybugs are an aphid's worst enemy (Ladybugs and Your Garden and Pest Control: Ladybugs 101). Also, water, vinegar and dish soap are said to also be effective deterrents. You can also do some companion planting of 'sacrificial plants,' like nasturitiums or marigolds to attract aphids away from your vegetables. A reader in this comment thread swears by insecticidal soap to get rid of the aphids on her tomato plants.
Readers, other suggestions?
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As the editor mentioned, Dish soap works great. It has worked every time my plants have been infested with aphids. I generally spray the plant with diluted solution of dish soap in water for 2 -3 days in a row and those buggers are gone!
Neem oil keeps away most pests and is completely non-toxic.
Safer's insecticidal soap works well--whatever you use, make sure to spray the undersides of the leaves as well.
I never knew what an aphid looked like until I had an acrobat ant invasion. I saw a bunch of ants hanging out on a wisteria vine, and upon looking closer, I saw all the ants tending to little bitty bugs. Apparently the ants "farm" aphids, which is both weird and awesome.
Aphids attack plants with weak(er) immune systems. If you feed your tomatoes with a good organic fertilizer they will be less likely to suffer from bugs; a solution of kelp meal, fish emulsion, compost tea, or Garret Juice.
You can generally wash off aphids with a strong stream of water and your hands. Make sure to get them all. Try this first and then feed your plants. Check back in a few days and if the bugs have returned a simple solution of one gallon water, one tablespoon of vegetable oil (like cooking oil), and 2-3 drops of mild dish soap should work. If you really want to zap the bugs, make some garlic tea and add to the mix.
Lady bugs eat them.
Seriously, I had about a million of them, farmed in by the 3 million ants that I also had. I bought a container of Lady Bugs and set them free there where the aphids were. Also spritzed water on the leaves so the Lady Bugs had some water. In less than 48 hours, all the aphids were gone.
thank you for all of your feedback. i recently bought a bag of lady bugs at a garden center. if that doesn't take care of the aphid problem, i'm going to try linbo's organic fertilizer mixture, along with the oil, dish soap & garlic tea wash. :)