Chancers are if you garden you’ve struggled with aphids in the past. These tiny insects are the worst! They get placed onto your plants by other insects such as ants. And then they sit there and suck the nutrients right out of them. Before long, you’re left with a withered garden. That’s why today, we’re going to discuss Florida Aphid Control.
As soon as your favorite flowers or vegetable plants pop up, aphids are ready to pounce. They’ll stay on the stems and underside of leaves until fall, sucking up the sap until your plants wither and die. They secrete a gooey substance called honeydew which ants love to eat, and honeydew left on the plants often turns black with sooty mold fungus. Aphids can act as conduits for viruses which they spread from plant to plant. Fortunately, there are several options to prevent and control aphids.
Florida Aphid Control: What is an aphid?
There are approximately 4,000 aphid species found throughout the world. Low to moderate numbers are usually not harmful to plants and rarely require control. However, heavy infestations will cause leaves to curl, wilt, or yellow and stunted plant growth. A general decline in overall plant vigor will also be noticed. Several species can transmit plant diseases, particularly viruses which they pass on during feeding.
Aphids are small (1/8 inch long), soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects that may be green, yellow, brown, red, or black in color depending on species and food source. Generally, adults are wingless, but some can grow wings, especially if populations are high. They have two whip-like antennae at the tip of the head and a pair of tube-like structures, called cornicles, projecting backward out of their hind end.
Green aphids (known as greenflies), black aphids, red aphids, farm aphids, woolly aphids (which resemble mealybugs), green peach aphids, and potato aphids are all common garden pests. Aphids can reproduce both sexually and asexually, which leads to the exponential growth of aphid populations on host plants.
In spring wingless female aphids hatch from overwintering eggs and soon give birth to many nymphs (males are not present). Young nymphs increase gradually in size and within a week give birth to many more nymphs. This process is repeated several times and results in huge population explosions. As the colony grows, a few of the females develop wings and fly off to other host plants to start new colonies. In late summer and early fall sexual forms (males and females) develop which mate and lay overwintering eggs. There are many overlapping generations per year.
Florida Aphid Control: Tips and tricks
You can see aphids with the naked eye if you know where and how to look for them. Aphids eat a wide variety of plants, and they frequently rest on the undersides of leaves. Many aphid species thrive on leafy garden vegetable plants like broccoli and lettuce, where they can hide in crevices. Aphids are also attracted to new shoots on young plants.
You can start by trying to use one of the aphid’s natural predators. Commercially available beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and lacewing are important natural predators. For best results, make releases when pest levels are low to medium. If populations are high, use a least-toxic, short-lived natural pesticide to establish control, then release predatory insects to maintain control.
You can also try homemade pesticide soap. Insecticidal soap targets aphid eggs without being absorbed by plant leaves. You can make your own homemade soap spray using castile soap. To create your own soap solution, mix two and a half tablespoons of pure-Castile liquid soap with one gallon of water. (Do not use grease-cutting dish soap.) You can also mix in two tablespoons of vegetable oil to improve adhesiveness. Pour this solution into a spray bottle, and mist the affected areas of your plant. If you don’t have time to make a homemade aphid spray, you can also buy pre-made soap sprays to kill aphids.
But the most common method, really, is just water. Perhaps the simplest way to handle aphids is with a strong jet of water. While taking care not to damage the plant itself, use a strong spray of water to wash away parasitic aphids on leaves, shoots, and stems. Water may not be enough to tackle heavy infestations, but it’s sufficient if you catch the problem early.
Controlling before it starts
Above are all methods of what to do when the infestation has already set in. But there are a few things you can do for Florida aphid control before it gets this bad.
Like always, an ounce of prevention and a wary eye is worth a pound of cure or hundreds of dollars in control. Beginning early in the season, check your plants frequently for the presence of aphids, paying close attention to plants you’ve found aphids on before. Aphids are most active when temperatures are warm or hot and often cause the most damage to plants in late spring. Their favorite plants to infest are non-woody, blooming plants like zinnias, dahlias, cosmos, and asters.
Also, look for ants. Ants are a really big giveaway for an aphid presence in your garden. Ants like to “farm” aphids to collect the honeydew they produce. If you see a lot of ants hanging around your plants, it could be a sign that aphids are present.
A kind of strange one that you may not expect is simply planting onions. Aphids dislike the smell produced by members of the onion family. Planting flowering onions, garlic, and chives throughout your garden can help discourage aphids.
Also, keep your gardening organic and don’t over fertilize. Aphids love to feed on plants with high nitrogen levels and soft, lush growth. Whenever possible, fertilize your plants with a slow-release fertilizer that releases nutrients gradually over time.
And if your infestation is so bad that you need to call a professional pest control specialist, make sure to use one that uses natural methods. Using heavy-duty pesticides for Florida aphid control isn’t worth it, as you’re putting your own health and the health of your family at risk.
