Aphid development cycle. What aphids of different species look like. Use of chemicals

Now let's see what aphids look like. This is a small insect whose body length is several millimeters. Depending on the species, the body will be painted in a certain color. On personal plots, green, white, red and black aphids are most often found. An insect can be winged or wingless. Winged individuals quickly spread over the territory and contribute to the change of the host plant, wingless individuals mainly reproduce.

On a note! Based on what the aphid eats, it is easy to imagine what damage it can cause to agricultural land!

reproduction

Now it is worth considering how aphids reproduce. In autumn, females lay eggs on plants and they calmly survive the winter on them. In the spring, larvae appear from the eggs, which immediately begin to actively feed on the juices of their "master". After passing the molting stage, young individuals without fertilization give birth to wingless females.

On a note! As a result of parthenogenetic reproduction in just a month, only a female is able to become the ancestor of three generations, in which there will be several hundred thousand insects!

Closer to autumn, the production of winged males begins. They return to their "master", on which the females again lay their eggs.

Aphids belong to insects with incomplete transformation, that is, they do not have a pupal stage. Some species reproduce without laying eggs - live birth. Live larvae are formed parthenogenetically, and their embryonic period exceeds the life span of aphids, so the females are born already pregnant.

The most common types

As mentioned above, there are about 4 thousand species of aphids. It is not possible to consider all of them, so we will pay attention to those that are most common.

What is the danger?

The harm from aphids can be very large-scale, especially if you do not notice this pest in time and do not start fighting it.

And who eats aphids? The most notable natural enemies include:

• ladybug larvae;
• lacewing larvae;
• larvae;
• crickets;
• cicadas;
• ground beetles;
• earwigs;
• rider.

And so that these insects can help you in the fight against aphids, it is enough to attract them to your site by planting certain varieties of plants around its perimeter.

And finally, we invite you to familiarize yourself with some interesting facts about aphids:

Leaf aphids of any species, green or black, feed on plant tissues, mainly young shoots, eat leaf and flower buds.

The harm from it is colossal, first of all, because the leaf aphid reproduces very quickly, forming huge colonies in a matter of days and producing about 50 colonies per season.

In addition to the general weakening of the plant: deformation of leaves and entire branches, loss of peduncles, buds, ovaries and fruits, aphids secrete sticky secretions that clog the stomata of the leaves, or a fungus settles on them. When biting through leaves, aphids can spread viral diseases.

Aphids can completely destroy young plants with one or two growth points.

The harm from aphids is aggravated by the fact that it is completely indiscriminate in plants, it devours everything: garden flowers, seedlings and adult vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs and herbs.

She has special preferences, for example, plums, cherries, roses, currant aphids are one of the first to be affected. Here taste preferences different types own aphids, black aphids prefer fruit ones - currants, apple trees, plums, green aphids - roses, chrysanthemums and other flowers. However, this is not a general rule, sometimes it seems that aphids eat everything!

Where do aphids come from on plants

A fertilized female aphid lays her eggs on the branches and bark of trees, in the root zone, as a rule, in secluded and hard-to-reach places. Eggs overwinter quietly in clutches, or ants keep them until spring, and then settle in any of the most attractive plants.

In the warmth of the eggs, adults of wingless females rapidly develop, capable of reproducing without fertilization - they produce the main hordes of enemies of our crop.

By the end of June, and in warm weather by the end of May, aphids appear in the colony new form adult insects - flying females. They are the reason for the wide spread of pests. They are called aphids-settlers, their task is clear and understandable - to cover as large a territory as possible and lay the next generations of eggs. If we take into account the help of the wind, then the resettlement of pests is several tens of kilometers from the place of departure. After mating, the females lay overwintering eggs, and a new cycle begins in the spring.

You may have noticed such a phenomenon when aphids either disappear on their own, or are again found on plants - these are dioecious aphids, in the first half of the season they actively reproduce on some plants, and with the advent of winged females they move to another group of plants, at the end of summer - early autumn, they return to the first bushes again.

Ants also contribute to the resettlement of aphids - they feed on a sweet syrup that aphids secrete (honeydew). Ants, like proper farmers, grow aphids, take care of their eggs, protect them from other insects, and are constantly at the food source, trying to increase plantations.

Aphid prevention

Is it necessary to repeat the banality that it is easier to prevent the invasion of aphids than to fight it? However, any gardener will tell you that he noticed how aphids progress on some plants, on others they are rather lethargic and not numerous.

The point is in the state of the plants themselves, if they are healthy, the trees and shrubs are whitewashed, aphids do not start on them or there is very little of it.

Remove from autumn garden plot from leaf litter, mow weed grass in trunk circles. At the time, cut out tops and basal shoots on which eggs can hibernate.

During the spring and summer, deter or destroy anthills. The complete destruction of anthills, as a rule, is not justified, since in a cold windy or rainy summer, ants remain almost the only pollinators of plants (non-flying weather sets in for bees and bumblebees).

To protect trees from ants, you need to destroy anthills located in close proximity to fruit bushes and trees. Then, so that the ants do not pave a new path, a strip of dry wood ash should be poured around the trunks - it, like the Chinese border, will protect the approaches to the trees. If the rain washes away the ash, you need to renew the dressing.

Whitewash against aphids

It is necessary to whiten the trunks of fruit crops not in the spring, as is customary for most gardeners, but in the fall, preventing the laying of pest eggs and destroying spores of pathogenic fungi.

First you need to clean the trunks from lichens, mosses and exfoliated bark with a brush - for old trees with metal, for younger trees - with stiff bristles. Rinse all damage to the bark and cracks with iron sulfate and cover with garden pitch.

For whitewashing with a 20% lime mortar, you need to take:

• 2 kg of slaked lime and diluted in 10 liters of water or
• Dilute 1-1.5 kg of quicklime in 10 liters of water

In addition, there is another recipe for whitewashing: dilute 2.5 kg of lime, 1 kg of clay and 0.3 kg of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water.

In garden centers, you can buy ready-made whitewash based on lime and adhesives.

When whitewashing tree trunks, in addition to direct toxic contact, you seal already laid aphid eggs or places of their possible hiding place. But in the spring, whitewashing needs to be repeated.

You might argue that aphids are flying insects and can settle on trees even with whitewashed trunks. However, the most dangerous time for plants is the opening of young leaves, flowers, the formation of buds, and this is early spring. By the time aphids form females capable of flying, trees protected by whitewashing, they have time to flourish, the leaves open and become coarse, and become aphids too tough.

Improvement of berry bushes

In order for berry bushes not to be affected by aphids, it is necessary to carry out the correct agricultural technology:

1. Do not overfeed them with nitrogen - a nitrogen-rich fertilizer makes plant sap sweeter and more attractive to aphids. It is especially dangerous to apply nitrogen fertilizers in the second half of summer.
2. Make more ash - the need for fruit crops in potassium is very high. Potassium strengthens the cell walls of plants, increases the overall resistance of plants to stressful situations, such as cold. Aphids are able to bite through only a thin, delicate epidermis; they cannot gnaw through leaves with a dense skin.
3. Do not overfeed the trees, but use fertilizers containing not only nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but also trace elements (boron, zinc, molybdenum, iron).
4. Strictly monitor the acidity of the soil - plants absorb nutrients only when the soil pH is optimal for them.
5. Replenish calcium in a timely manner. Apply lime on soils rich in humus or peat bogs (1-2 kg of fluff per 3-4 year old currant bush for digging), and on sandy and sandy loamy soils - dolomite flour. Recall the approximate application rates of dolomite flour (less on light soils, more on heavy soils):
   • acidic soils (pH< 4,5) 500-600 г/кв. м
   • medium acid (pH 4.5-5.5) 450-500 g / sq. m
   • slightly acidic (pH 5.5-5.8) 350-450 g / sq. m

Aphid control

Watering with boiling water

Currants and gooseberries can be watered with boiling water when there is still snow on the site, and the snow has thawed in the near-stem circles of the fruit bush (about 70 cm in diameter). Those. the snow on the branches has already melted, but the buds are still dormant, not swollen!

Heat water to a boil, pour into a watering can with a sprinkler nozzle. Then immediately water the bushes along the branches and the soil around the bushes. A small bush takes about one watering can. When boiling water is poured into a cold metal watering can, the water temperature drops to about 80 degrees, when watering on branches, its temperature drops to 70 degrees.

This technique allows you to destroy not only the aphid eggs preserved on the shoots, but powdery mildew spores, mite masonry.

You can add 3 drops of iodine per 10 liters of water to the water, from other diseases. It is important not to keep the watering can strictly in one place during watering, i.e. you need to scald, and not rinse the branches in boiling water!

Ash dusting

In the spring, before the leaves fully bloom (it is possible at the stage of bud opening), wet the branches with water and dust with sifted wood ash for moisture.

A solution of soap and aphid ash

Pour 300 g of ash (2 cups) in a bucket with 10 liters of boiling water, add 50 g of laundry soap shavings and leave to infuse overnight. Pour the solution into the sprayer through triple gauze so as not to clog the sprayer with ash grains. Process all branches during bud break, at the stage of young leaves (salad greens).

Treatment of aphids with soap and domestos

For 10 liters of water, take 100 g of tar or black laundry soap, add 5 drops (with a pipette) of domestos (or any drug containing chlorinol). You can spray on bare branches and at the moment when the leaves have already blossomed. 10-15 minutes after treatment, wash the leaves with clean water from a hose. The procedure can be repeated after a couple of days.

Ammonia

Another proven way to deal with aphids - ammonia. Two tablespoons per bucket of water, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of liquid soap. Helps almost instantly. No need to rinse.

Dog aphid shampoo

Flea shampoo for dogs and cats has active ingredients of the pyrethroid class, they are toxic to aphids, i.e. the composition of the solution will be the same as, for example, the solution of the insecticide Iskra. The only difference is that the shampoo contains surfactants, i.e. adhesives. It is quite difficult to calculate the rate of shampoo (the concentration of the active substance is different).

A safe dosage for plants is about 1 tbsp. spoon on a bucket of water (per 10 liters). Higher concentrations may cause leaf scorch!

Aphid preparations

There are many aphids, the question is how effective they are. It must be understood that systemic preparations (solutions or tablets stuck into the ground) act from the inside - when plants are absorbed by the roots.

Enteric-contact preparations will help only if the leaves and branches are thoroughly moistened. When the aphid collects a colony, the leaves shrivel, curl up and the solution does not reach them. In this case, before spraying with aphids, you need to cut off the tops of the shoots with deformed leaves. This is possible on currant or gooseberry bushes.

On large trees and tall shrubs, it is technically impossible to pick aphids manually, cut nests, so the success of the enterprise depends on how well you spray.

Aphid spray time:

• on the branches until the leaves open
• before flowering in the phase of the beginning of budding
• after flowering during the growth of ovaries
• 30 days before harvesting fruits and berries

In general, three classes of insecticides work against aphids: pyrethroids, organophosphates, and neonicotinoids.

It is best to use systemic neonicotinoids:

• (thiamethoxam) or Confidor (imidacloprid) - they can be watered and sprayed. Help on "Hurrah". The problem with these drugs is that they are insanely expensive for an ordinary gardener: for example, for the summer of 2016, a sachet of actara 4 g costs about 100 rubles - this is for 5 liters of water. If there are a lot of aphids in the garden, and few trees and shrubs, processing is very expensive. Watering is expedient only on vegetables (cucumbers and tomatoes), on trees “from the inside” (with watering) the efficiency is low.
• Tanrek is also a neonicotinoid, the active ingredient is the same as that of confidor - imidacloprid, but the cost is lower, more affordable and very effective against aphids. Consumption of 3 ml per 10 liters of water - 5 liters per tree.
• Iskra Zolotaya - also the active ingredient imidacloprid, for spraying 5 ml / 10 l of water.
• Other analogues of Tanrek and Confidor: Biotlin Bau and Biotlin, Bison, Imidor, Kalash, Commander, Confidelin, Corado, Monsoon, Prestige, Respect, Taboo, Tsvetolux Bau. The principle of operation is the same, the prices are different, choose any.

Organophosphorus compounds Actellik (pyrimifos-methyl) and Karbofos, as well as their analogues - Antiklesh, Alatar, Fufanon, etc., also help against aphids, but recently there has been an increasing resistance to these drugs, so they are less preferred.

Of the permethrins, Kinmiks is available and effective to us,.

Bio-drugs from aphids

Preparations and Akarin are very popular in gardening. The advantages of their use are obvious - the active substance does not penetrate through the cell membranes into the fruits and leaves, i.e. does not accumulate in plants. The preparations are not toxic to bees already 4 hours after the sprayed leaves have dried.

Aphids are one of the most malicious pests of garden and indoor plants, with which almost every summer resident or florist is familiar with firsthand. Indeed, due to their fertility, insects settle in huge colonies in summer cottages. Using plant sap as food, they are able to destroy entire gardens or fields. This article will tell you more about the pest.

Description of the insect

Hoping that a meeting with a dangerous enemy of the garden and the garden will not happen is still not worth it. It is better to arm yourself with knowledge and find out what aphids look like in order to prevent the possibility of harm.

• The aphid is a small insect whose size does not exceed 8 mm. Individuals living on indoor plants, much less than about 0.5 mm.
• Depending on the species, the soft transparent body of a tiny pest may be in the form of a drop, oval or ellipse.
• The color of the aphid corresponds to the tone of the plant on which the insect lives. Often there are black, green, red, pink or completely transparent individuals.
• On the bumpy surface there are outgrowths and hairs of various density and length.
• Antennae are located on the trapezoidal head. They consist of several segments and serve as organs of hearing and touch.
• Thanks to complex compound eyes, which are black, red or brown, aphids are the owners of clear vision.
• The mouth of the aphid is a small proboscis, with which the insect makes a puncture in the leaf plate and sucks the juice out of it.

Interesting!

Thanks to well-developed visual perception, aphids can even distinguish some colors.

Insects move with the help of three pairs of long legs, which also perform jumping functions. Depending on the conditions of existence, there are aphids with and without wings. Moreover, a certain type of activity in a given colony is assigned to each individual. The presence of wings is not a sexual sign, so the winged aphid can be both female and male. A distinctive feature of wingless individuals are 3 additional simple eyes. A photo of aphids is presented below.

The abdomen is divided into 9 segmented parts. On the first seven spiracles are located. On the subsequent segments there are nipple tubes that perform excretory and secretory functions. The last segment is underdeveloped and looks like a hairy tail.

Nutrition

Pests live in large colonies. Settling on the plant, they primarily affect the leaves and young shoots. Aphids also eat flower buds, roots and stems of plants. As a result, plantings weaken and gradually wither. Insects do not disdain any vegetation. Only certain species of aphids prefer certain types of trees, shrubs or grasses.

Quite often they coexist with. The fact is that honeydew (a sweetish viscous liquid that aphids secrete in the process of life) is what the ant eats and loves very much. It is for this reason that garden goosebumps protect small pests from natural enemies: hoverflies and.

reproduction

With the advent of warm days, a wingless female emerges from the aphid egg laid in the autumn in the bark of a tree, which becomes the founder of the colony. In the spring, under favorable conditions, the female aphid, breeding parthenogenetically, gives life to similar virgin individuals.

On a note!

Aphid parthenogenesis is a form of sexual reproduction in which eggs in adult females develop without mating with males.

It is also surprising how long such an individual lives - for her relatively short life, and a virgin female lives no more than a month, she manages to reproduce several thousand similar creatures into the world.

Aphid larvae are similar to adults. They grow quickly, undergoing several molts. After two weeks, the young individual is already becoming sexually mature. Thus, the number of the colony increases several times. When it reaches a critical size, females with wings are born. Flying to other plants, they give life to new colonies. And only with the onset of autumn, the population is replenished with full-fledged females and males. After mating, females lay eggs, which overwinter and give rise to a new cycle.

What are the types of aphids

Insects are representatives of the Hemiptera order, in which there are about 4 thousand species (about a thousand live on the European continent). All varieties of aphids prefer warm and humid climatic conditions, which allow them to increase their population several times. Under unfavorable conditions, pest colonies can simply die. Below are the most common types of pests.

domestic aphid

Room aphid, or as it is also called "home", includes several subspecies that differ in body color. There is a red aphid, as well as individuals of white, black or green color. This pest is especially well known to lovers of home flowers. They know .

Mealy aphid

The mealy aphid is a cream-colored insect with an oval-shaped body with bristles on the sides. The surface of the body is covered with snow white coating. Powdery aphids suffer from indoor and greenhouse plants, as well as citrus and. The presence of insects gives off a whitish tint that covers the leaves of the plant. This contributes to the deformation of the stem, drying and falling of leaves and buds.

potato aphid

Wingless individuals, the oval body of which is colored red or green. An insect up to 4 mm long has long antennae and a tail. This species is remarkable in that it is adapted to low temperatures. Vegetable crops serve as food for such insects: potatoes, beets or. V winter time years, potato aphids prefer to settle on indoor and greenhouse plants.

On a note!

You can detect a pest by the spots left by it, dried mesh or mold in places of large accumulation of honeydew.

cherry aphid

This type of aphid differs from its counterparts in a brilliant black color. Pests live predominantly, with the latter plant being more vulnerable. Eggs hibernate in buds and on tree branches; with the advent of spring, females appear from them - the founders of the colony.

Black aphids are especially active on young shoots and foliage in the spring season. With the advent of summer, the surface of the plants coarsens, which leads to the death of most of the colony. However, up to this point, insects manage to cause tremendous damage to fruit plants: growth retardation, the formation of a smaller number of fruit buds, small and non-juicy fruits. Cherry aphid-infested trees are more susceptible to disease and less resistant to frost.

grain aphid

This variety is an inhabitant of the steppe and forest-steppe zones; individuals also settle in fields sown with wheat, rye, barley or millet. The presence of insects during the period when the ear is not yet formed leads to the fact that the plants remain practically uneared. If pollination has already taken place, the grains are formed light and most often empty.

cabbage aphid

It is a wingless insect, the size of which does not exceed 2.5 mm. The body, covered with a grayish wax coating, has an ovoid shape and a yellow-green color.

Aphids lay their eggs for wintering in cabbage leftovers left on the site. By mid-spring, larvae appear from them, which, like adults, feed on plant sap. What inhibits the growth and development of a cabbage head.

apple aphid

There are 3 types of insects that threaten:

• Red (bloody) - the most dangerous type of aphid, whose representatives affect the root system of trees.
• Gray aphid - lives mainly on apple trees and hawthorn during the formation of leaves. From which only the foliage that has appeared is twisted, and the damage sites are covered with a characteristic dark red color. This leads to shedding of ovaries and stunting of damaged young shoots, as a result of which they do not survive in frosts.
• Green aphid - is a danger not only to apple trees, it also affects pear, shadberry and mountain ash. The areas damaged by aphids begin to turn black, and soot fungus appears on the branches.

leaf aphid

Leaf or grass aphids are active only in the summer, preferring young plants. She sucks the juice out of them, as a result of which the leaves and branches are deformed, which can even lead to the death of the seedling. It also settles on lawn and indoor flowers.

On a note!

The female winged flying aphid is yellow with a lemon tint, the wingless individuals are brown in color. It is this type of aphid that ants graze.

tobacco aphid

Tobacco (peach or greenhouse) aphid lives on tobacco, peach, almonds, and other plants. She settles on them at the very beginning of spring.

The peach aphid has a yellow-green color that camouflages it well on damaged plants. As a result of the presence of insects, the leaves turn yellow and become lifeless. Honeydew, which the pest releases in the process of life, leads to the appearance of a soot fungus, and subsequently to shedding of foliage. If you do not take timely measures to combat aphids, you can lose a large part of the crop.

To combat these insidious insects, there are good ones. If there is no desire to use chemicals, you can use those that have proven themselves in business.

Aphids are considered among summer residents one of the most malicious pests.

They settle on leaves, stems and roots, they crawl and fly, and wherever they stop "to stay and feed" - the plants begin to have big problems.

What is dangerous aphid

Leaf aphids quickly weaken young plants by sucking out their cell sap. At the same time, it also secretes poison, due to which the leaves curl, deform and die, the shoots stop growing, the tops are bent. Sweet secretions (natural excretions) pollute the leaf surface, disrupt the normal life of plants.

Through saliva, aphids can infect plants with harmful viruses, which can cause extensive damage, especially in gardens or professional rose gardens. When the aphid colonies become too large, the leaves and young shoots wither and die.

The greatest harm aphids inflict young fruit trees.

Aphids can produce up to 50 generations per summer

If you do not use any special techniques against this pest, aphids in a completely natural way, without straining, giving up to fifty generations over the summer, will cause significant damage to any, even the most well-groomed summer cottage. Not without reason, only in the northern hemisphere, about 450 species of leaf aphids are among the most significant in agriculture, forestry and gardening.

The aphids must be fought

It is extremely difficult to fight aphids: it multiplies rapidly and incessantly. Therefore, we must try to get rid of it faster than it will save us from the harvest.

What to consider in the fight against aphids

We repeat, before rushing at the enemy, we need to understand where this problem “legs grow from” in order to properly, wisely approach the fight against the pest.

1. Where and why do aphids appear?

The aphid feeds on the sap of the plant, piercing its skin with its proboscis. Old hard leaves are too tough for her, she needs the most tender leaves and buds. This means that the likely sites of damage are the youngest parts of plants. Simply put, the tops of shrubs and the underside of the leaves. Therefore, our task is protect young shoots and leaves.

2. How do aphids appear on plants?

The aphid lays its eggs in the axils of the buds on the branches of trees and shrubs, as well as in the root zone. There she winters and then grows and feeds there. It is also carried by ants. (The interaction of ants and aphids is described in detail in the article. The relationship of these small insects is very touching and causes a kind smile, but there is a problem of aphids settling and protecting them by ants.

So, we have two tasks - to prevent the growth and development of aphids on our plants and , which will transfer the aphids that have overwintered in the anthill, access to young shoots and leaves of our plants.

3. Who can help us in the fight against aphids?

Aphids have many natural enemies, both insects and birds. In addition, there are plants that aphids will avoid. And as you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend) Therefore, our task is find ways to bring these helper friends into the fight.

4. Are all methods of struggle suitable?

Aphid colonies are always numerous, they infect many plants, therefore, treatments will have to be carried out repeatedly. The use of chemicals will inevitably lead to the fact that the earth and plants, having been saturated with poisons, will sooner or later send all of them straight into our bodies. Therefore, our task is find those methods of struggle that will not kill us ourselves.

But these methods exist, and there are more and more of them, because neither science nor dacha folk art can be stopped.

Ash-soap and soap sprays (bathing)

Soap washing and spraying is the second (after the usual washing off of aphids from plants with a stream of water) a simple method of control. It does not require special costs and labors: there is water in any household, and laundry soap is not difficult to grate.

How to prepare a soap solution for spraying and apply it, see the following video:

Recipes:

• 300 g of laundry soap per 10 liters of water. Can be replaced with liquid soap, then you need only 125 ml per 10 liters of water;
• Dilute 100 g of tar soap in 10 liters of water;
• Boil 250-300 g of ash in 10 liters of water for 30 minutes; before spraying, you can add 40 g of soap, or you can wash the plants with just an ash solution.

Herbal infusions

Despite the fact that herbal infusions and decoctions are not chemicals, it should not be overlooked that they:

• in high concentrations, they can cause burns in plants;
• can be dangerous not only for aphids, but also for other insects;
• at least some of them are poisonous to humans.

Therefore, it is necessary to use such drugs wisely, observing safety measures, recipes and application rules:

• any solutions before the first use must first be checked on a limited area, and only then, after making sure that the product is effective, should be applied throughout the area;
• fruit crops can be treated with decoctions and infusions during the budding period, immediately after flowering and no later than 14-40 days before harvesting;
• it is recommended to treat berry crops with infusions before flowering and after the berries are harvested;
• vegetable crops can be sprayed with herbal infusions for the last time no later than a month before the fruit is harvested.

By following these simple rules, you will cause irreparable damage to aphids, and do not harm yourself :) But the most successful recipes for herbal infusions from aphids, which our summer residents offer:

• Onion

30-35 g of crushed heads (you can also add onion peel) insist in 1 liter of water for 5 hours. Add 4-5 g of laundry soap. Strain. Bring the volume of infusion to 1 liter.

• garlic

200 g of crushed heads for 4-5 days insist in 1 liter of water under the lid. Apply as a solution: 25 ml of infusion per 10 liters of water.

• Tobacco

200 g of crushed dry leaves insist 2 days in 5 liters of water. Then bring up to 10 liters. Strain.

• Chamomile

1. 100 g of dry grass and inflorescences insist 12 hours in 1 liter of water. Spray with a solution: 1 part of the infusion and 3 parts of water, with the addition of soap (at the rate of 4 g per 1 liter of solution);
2. Crush 250 g of Dalmatian (Caucasian) chamomile flowers into powder, stir in water. Spraying should be carried out immediately after preparation.

• dandelion

1. 400 g of leaves and 200 g of flowering roots insist 3-4 hours in 10 liters of water.
2. 30 g of dry leaves and roots of dandelion insist 3 hours in 10 liters of water.

• Marigold

Pour half a bucket of crushed plants with flowers to the top with water, leave for 2 days. Strain, add 40 g of soap to 10 liters of water.

• Oxalic

Pour 400 g of horse sorrel roots with hot water and leave for 3 hours.

• peppery

1 kg of fresh pepper pods (or 300 g of dry ones) to infuse for 24 hours in 10 liters of water. Spray with a solution: 1 part infusion to 10 parts water.

• Pine

1 kg of common needles insist for 7 days in 4 liters of water. Stir once a day. Spray at a concentration of 1:1.

• Citrus

100 g of dry crusts of any pour 1 liter of warm water, leave for 3 days.

• Potato

Grind 1 kg of tops (take only healthy, not damaged by diseases!) and insist in 10 liters of water for 3 hours. Take less dried or dry tops - 0.8 and 0.6 kg, respectively.

Birch tar and tar soap

And now you will see how you can fight aphids with birch tar.
Tatyana, the owner of the Harvest Garden, will tell about this:

Effective and safe for humans.

Herbal decoctions

This method of dealing with aphids is one of the most common. Herbal decoctions have insecticidal, fungicidal and antifeedant properties and are very effective in controlling insect pests.

Here are the plants that are most often used to make decoctions, and popular recipes for herbal decoctions against aphids:

• Tobacco

200 g of crushed dry leaves insist 24 hours in 5 liters of water. Then bring to 10 liters and boil over low heat for 1.5-2 hours.

• tops of tomatoes

5 kg of green leaves and stepsons pour 10 liters of hot water and boil for 30 minutes. on slow fire. Spray at a concentration of 1:3 (for 1 liter of decoction 3 liters of water). Before spraying, add 30 g of soap to 10 liters of water.

• Yarrow

Keep 1 kg of dry grass (collected at the beginning of flowering) in a water bath for 30-40 minutes. in 2 liters of water. Bring the volume of the broth to 10 liters and keep in a dark place for at least 2 days.

• Hot chilli pepper

Boil 100 g of fresh pods for at least an hour in 1 liter of water in a sealed container. Infuse for 2 days, grind the pepper, strain the solution. For spraying, dilute the concentrate 1:10, add 40 g of soap per 10 liters of solution.

• Celandine

Grind 400 g of fresh stems and flowers (or 100 g of dry ones), pour 1 liter of water and leave for 1-1.5 days, then boil for 20-30 minutes.

You can find a wide range of biological preparations to combat aphids in our catalog, which combines the offers of various garden online stores. .

Basil repels aphids

The enemy of aphids is a ladybug

To lure hoverflies to the site, it is advised to plant them. Hoverflies do not destroy aphids, they feed on daisy pollen. But the larvae of hoverflies in large quantities absorb aphids that are nearby. Therefore, inviting hoverflies to the dacha, you will not lose.

Ground beetles will choose nightshade and, and lacewing will prefer cool shady places covered with fern thickets for breeding.

You can arrange flower pots with wood shavings in the garden - earwigs, which are also not averse to eating aphids, can live in them.

In addition, ladybug and lacewing larvae can be purchased at specialized garden centers (or ordered by mail), and then released on your site.

Birds

What is especially pleasing: aphids are prey for many small birds. They feed it to their chicks. Willingly eat aphids:

• sparrows;
• Chiffchaffs;
• willow warblers;
• tits;
• kinglets;
• wrens;
• robins-robins;
• hemp.

To attract these birds, suburban area you can hang birdhouses (and), arrange containers with water - in a word, make the birds want to fly here.

But! If you have already decided to attract beneficial insects and birds to help, you will have to completely abandon the use of pesticides on the site!

Birds willingly feed on aphids

Any florist, whether he is a beginner or an experienced grower, makes a lot of efforts so that indoor flowers grow and develop normally and at the same time be healthy and beautiful. However, it happens that pests settle on the bushes, because of which their decorative effect suffers, and because of them, plants can get very sick, and in some cases die. Aphids are one of the most common harmful insects. Therefore, often a grower may have a question, how to quickly eliminate aphids that have appeared on a house plant? The most effective and safe methods will be described below.

Aphid is a small insect with an elongated body, long legs, while his abdomen is wide and pointed. Most often, white aphids settle on home flowers, but there are a lot of other species, both wingless and winged. The insect can be painted in green, pink, pale yellow and black. Although aphids may differ from each other externally, it harms indoor flowers equally strongly. Such a pest makes a puncture in the shoot or leaf plate and sucks out the plant juice, which weakens the flower.

The pest is distinguished by the ability to rapidly adapt to any habitat, and also by incredibly fast reproduction. It forms whole colonies. Only one female is able to lay up to 100 larvae, and each of them becomes an adult in just half a month. The winged aphid is engaged in discovering and capturing new places suitable for life and food, and the function of the wingless ones is to reproduce offspring. Most often, they settle on buds and young shoots, and they can also be found on the wrong side of leaf plates.

Where does aphids come from

Many flower growers do not know where aphids can appear on a home flower? This can happen for a variety of reasons. For example, a winged female may well fly into an open window or balcony. And the insect can also get into the house on the fur of a pet, or even the person himself can bring it on his clothes or on other things. Aphids can be on a recently purchased flower or on a bouquet given to you, and they are also sometimes present in the substrate used for planting or transplanting flowers. There is a high probability of aphids in the event that in the warm season you transfer flowers to the street, and then bring them back into the house with the onset of cold weather. And then there are those types of ants that love to feast on excess juice sucked out by the pest (padya), and it has been noticed that they themselves carry aphids to various plants.

Prevention measures:

1. In order to prevent the appearance of aphids on their "green pets", it is recommended that newly purchased plants be quarantined. To do this, they are placed away from other colors for some time. And this plant is recommended to arrange a warm shower.
2. The soil mixture that you are going to use for planting or transplanting must be placed in the freezer for a while. Strong cold is able to clear the substrate from both adults and larvae.

The main signs of the appearance of aphids

In order to quickly get rid of aphids, you need to find it as quickly as possible and immediately begin to fight it. To do this, it is recommended to systematically inspect your home plants. If you are lucky enough to find an aphid when there are still very few of them, then all you need to do to get rid of it is to crush the adults, as well as all the larvae. If possible, cut and destroy the affected parts of the bush. But in the case when there are a lot of pests on the plant, more effective methods will be needed to get rid of them. There are several signs by which you can understand that there is an aphid on the flower:

1. The plant becomes less attractive and has a sickly appearance.
2. On the surface of the aerial part of the bush, you can find very small punctures that aphids leave in the course of their life.
3. The surface of the stems and foliage becomes sticky from the honeydew, their color gradually changes to black, they curl up and dry out.
4. Shallowness and deformation of opened buds are observed, they rapidly fade and fly around.
5. Ants can be found near the affected plant, which seek to get their favorite delicacy.

Aphids can be very harmful to any home flower. This pest is considered one of the main carriers of viral and fungal diseases. For example, in those areas where a pad appears, a sooty fungus is formed. Aphids are most dangerous for indoor crops such as orchids, roses, fuchsias, hyacinths, palms, hibiscus, chrysanthemums, spathiphyllums and cyclamens.

As soon as an aphid is found on the plant, it should be rearranged away from other flowers so that pests cannot settle in them. After that, you can start fighting insects.

To save a houseplant on which aphids were found, it is necessary to start fighting this dangerous pest as soon as possible. To get rid of it will have to spend a lot of time and effort, but it is not so difficult to do. Flower growers use various means for this, which can be divided into three categories, namely: chemical, mechanical and folk. There is also a radical way, for this they completely destroy the flower that the aphid has inhabited, if there is no chance to save it.

Most often, at the beginning, a mechanical method is used, after which they are used folk remedies. If these methods turn out to be ineffective, then they resort to the use of special chemicals that can eliminate aphids very quickly, both adults and larvae. To increase the effectiveness of the chemical preparation, they not only process the bush itself, but also shed the substrate in the pot. Such a measure is justified if white aphids have settled on the bush.

The mechanical method of cleaning the bush is effective only if there are very few harmful insects on it. To do this, the flower should be cut off, if possible, all the affected parts, and you should also arrange a daily shower for it until the aphid completely disappears.

The most effective will be a shower using laundry soap, because such a pest does not like him very much. It's important to do everything right. First, prepare a soap solution, for this, combine water with soap in a ratio of 6: 1. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands. Moisten a piece of cloth in a soapy solution and wipe the affected buds, shoots and foliage with it, trying to remove all insects. After that, the bush is washed under running water. This procedure, if necessary, can be carried out regularly until there are no pests left on the flower. However, make sure that the soap solution does not get into the substrate. During processing, remember that aphid larvae are often located in hard-to-reach places, so it is imperative to inspect each leaf and bud, while cutting and destroying those that have a pest.

The same mechanical method is treatment with medical alcohol. It cannot damage leaf plates because it evaporates almost immediately after application.

Often folk remedies are ineffective in the fight against aphids. However, when there is still very little of it on the plant, they may well help get rid of it. Many flower growers choose folk remedies because they are environmentally friendly. There are many time-tested tools, for example:

1. Tobacco. Water must be combined with tobacco in a ratio (2: 1) and everything should be mixed well. The infusion will be ready after two days, it remains only to strain and dilute with water (1: 1). Then the tool can be used to treat home flowers. Be extremely careful, the infusion should not get into the substrate, as this may damage the root system. In this regard, it is recommended to cover the surface of the soil mixture during processing.
2. Garlic. 30 grams of unpeeled garlic cloves must be crushed to a mushy state using a blender or meat grinder. The mass is combined with a liter of water and removed to a dark place for infusion for 24 hours. The infusion must be combined with a small amount of grated soap. It is necessary to process the affected bush 2 or 3 times with a break of 5 days.
3. Lemon peel (orange). Take 100 grams of lemon or orange peels and combine them with not too much water. Put the mixture in a warm place for three days. When the infusion is ready, they need to process the flower.
4. Red hot pepper. 100 milligrams of water is combined with 50 grams of crushed pepper. The mixture should boil over low heat for 60 minutes. After that, it is left for a day to insist and filter. To prepare the solution, you need to combine 10 liters of water with 10 milligrams of decoction.
5. wood ash. To prepare a solution, you need to combine 50 grams of crushed or liquid soap, 500 ml of wood ash and 1 bucket of water. After the solution is filtered, they can be sprayed on the bush.
6. white mustard. Dissolve 10 grams of dry powder in a liter of water. The mixture is removed for two days for infusion. When it is filtered, you can start processing. If there are a lot of pests, then the infusion can be used undiluted, and in other cases it must be combined with a not very large amount of water before processing.
7. Needles. A couple of liters of water are combined with 0.4–0.5 kg of pine or spruce needles. The infusion will be ready in a week. It is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 7. To completely get rid of pests, it is necessary to spray the plants several times with a break of three or four days.
8. Celandine. A liter of water is combined with 350 grams of fresh celandine or 150 grams of dry, the grass must first be crushed. The mixture is removed in a dark place for 24 hours. The treatment of the affected flower is carried out three times.
9. tops tomato. Combine a liter of water with half a kilogram of chopped tops. Boil the mixture over low heat for half an hour. Remove the decoction to a dark place and wait until it cools completely. During processing, 3-4 mg of liquid soap can be poured into it.

It has been observed that such a pest is repelled by the smell of geraniums and marigolds. In this regard, it is recommended to put such a plant in a pot near the affected flower. Aphids also do not like the aroma of dill, parsley and mint.

Chemical preparations in the fight against aphids are recommended to be used only when folk remedies have proven to be ineffective. Among the various drugs there are both gentle and aggressive. For example, mineral oil "Preparation 30 Plus" does not harm flowers at all.

The choice of the drug is influenced by the level of infestation and the number of pests. In the fight against aphids on house plants, you can use: Iskra, Decis, Akarin, Confidor, Fitoverm, Neoron, Inta-vir, Aktellik, Karate and others. When using Confidor, Aktellik and Karate, it must be taken into account that they have an extremely unpleasant odor, in connection with this, spraying is carried out in a well-ventilated area. Processing should be carried out in heat (from 21 to 25 degrees). In a cooler room, the drugs will not be as effective.

When using insecticides, you must be extremely careful:

• there should be no animals and children in the room;
• before processing, read the instructions on the package;
• put on gloves and a respirator;
• treat both affected and healthy bushes.

Before proceeding with spraying, the foliage and shoots are wiped with a damp cloth or washed with soapy water. As a rule, after the first spraying, only adults die, and the larvae remain. In this regard, several treatments from 2 to 3 with a break of a week will be required. If a certain drug does not give the desired result, it should be replaced with another one, because aphids get used to the same insecticide very quickly.

Conduct a systematic inspection of indoor plants, while especially carefully examine diseased and weakened bushes. As well as:

• regularly ventilate the room, as aphids love stuffiness;
• systematically moisten the bushes from the sprayer and sometimes give them a warm shower;
• you should be alerted by the appearance of ants in the room;
• send all new flowers to quarantine;
• for prevention, systematically treat plants with one of the folk remedies.