How To Get Rid Of Aphids

You want to get rid of aphids but are not sure which measures will get you the best results in this regard? Great!

Stick with me since I will show you the best tips so you can deter aphids in the most efficient manner.

Aphids Overview

Short description	Aphids, also called blackfly or greenfly, are small sap-sucking insects that can adversely affect the growth behavior as well as the yield of your plants.
Scientific name	Aphidoidea.
Lifespan	Three weeks to one month.
What plants do they like?	Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, peas, beans, herbs and many more.
Symptoms	Honeydew on leaves. You will also see aphids with your bare eyes or with a magnifier.
Distribution	Worldwide.
Potential damage	Aphids will take away some energy from your plants and in the worst case, your plants may even not make it to maturity.
Control options	Chemical, biological and cultural.
Treatment difficulty	Intermediate.
Natural predators	Wasps, Lacewings, Hoverflies and Ladybugs.

How to get rid of Aphids

1. Separate plants with aphids from healthy ones

In the first step, you should make sure to separate your plants with aphids from the rest of your plants to avoid that aphids will also populate your other plants.

After you did so, we can now have a look at how to get rid of aphids in the best possible manner without hurting your plants too much.

2. Give your plants a cool shower

First of all, I advise you to just put your pots with your plants in the shower.

Next, make sure that the water you use is as cold as possible and give your plants a nice shower with this cold water.

You will soon realize that many aphids will just be washed away since they are either not able to hold on to your plants or also don’t like the cold water at all.

After showering your plants for a few minutes, you will see that far fewer aphids will still populate your plants.

Of course, make sure that you only use this technique for strong plants and not for little ones since little plants will often suffer too much from those extensive showers.

3. Flour can help you deter aphids

This is a secret measure that not many people know about, but covering aphids with flour can really help you get rid of aphids in a cheap, easy but yet efficient manner.

You just need to grab a handful of flour and put it all over your plants.

Just wait a few days and see the results.

Many aphids should have been constipated and the aphid problem should have been greatly mitigated.

4. Neem oil is a really efficient tool to deter all sorts of pests

You can also use neem oil to get rid of aphids.

This natural measure will not only help you to greatly reduce the population of aphids on your plants, but it will also be effective against many other pests.

Moreover, it is also fully natural and you can therefore do good for our environment since you can avoid the use of chemical pesticides while getting similar results at the same time.

5. Insecticidal soap can help to deter aphids as well

While neem oil is generally eco-friendlier than insecticidal soap, the ladder can still be an efficient tool to get rid of aphid infestation in an easy, quick and efficient manner.

You can get this soap online or in your local garden center.

However, I would still recommend you to try neem oil before so that you don’t unnecessarily hurt our environment.

6. Horticultural oils

Horticultural oils can also be great to deal with aphids, especially when it comes to fruit trees since you can just spray those oils on your fruit trees and don’t have to worry about using too much of it.

While those oils work for fruit trees, I still recommend using neem oil for most other plants since it has just proven to be more effective on average.

7. Use natural predators to reduce aphid populations

If those other measures don’t work for you, you can also rely on a rather exotic method and try natural predators.

For instance, you can buy ladybug larvae from your local garden center and after a few weeks, you should see a significant decline in aphid populations since ladybugs will just eat those pests.

However, keep in mind that you will alter the natural balance of insects in your garden and this may do more harm than good in the long run

8. Chemical pesticides as measure of last resort

If none of these previously mentioned measures has worked for you, you could also rely on chemicial pesticides to get rid of aphids.

However, please note that this will not only be bad for our environment, but it may also adversely impact the quality of your crops and your crops will also no longer be fully organic.

Hence, make sure to only use this measure if everything else failed.

9. Take good care of your plants as a preventive measure against aphids

All of the measures mentioned before have shown you how to get rid of aphids.

However, there are also some things you can do to prevent aphid infestation from the beginning.

First of all, you should just care for your plants in a proper manner so that they have enough energy to deter aphids and other pests in a natural manner.

10. Fertilize your plants to keep away aphids

You should also make sure that you fertilize your plants in a proper manner.

Either too little or too much fertilizer can make your plants vulnerable to the infestation with aphids and you should therefore make sure that you invest some time to inform yourself on how to treat aphids in the best possible manner.

11. Water your plants

You should also make sure that your plants get enough water so that your plants have enough energy to deter aphids.

However, too much of it can do more harm than good.

Hence, you have to find a good balance in this regard.

12. Use resistant strains

Last but not least, using resistant plant species can also help you to keep the aphid issue under control since those resistant strains will be less likely to be vulnerable to aphid infestation and to other pests in general.

What’s left to say?

Aphid infestation can be an annoying problem for many gardeners.

However, as you can see from this article, there are some easy but yet effective ways to get rid of them.

If you want to learn more about growing plants in general, make sure to also check out my grower’s guides and my companion plant overview.

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.