Aphids creep me out.

[mikester]

Seriously. My yard is full of them. I was just trimming a lavender bush and swear I must have found a nest...

I'm totally creeped out now.

[Joe Bob]

Easy to get rid of.....

A recipe for a home remedy to get rid of aphids
1 cup vegetable or white mineral oil
2 cups water
2 teaspoons dish soap (without bleach) or Murphy’s soap

Spray this homemade aphid control mixture on the aphids every few days until the aphids recede. This home remedy to get rid of aphids will suffocate the aphids. Make sure that plants that are treated with this solution are keptout of direct sunlight as the oil may magnify the sunlight and burn the plants.

Bring in predators as an organic control of aphids
Aphid predators are a natural way to kill aphids. These include lacewings, ladybugs and aphid predator (which is an actual bug called that). Introduce these beneficial bugs to your garden as a natural way to kill aphids. Planting mint, fennel, dill, yarrow, clover and dandelions will also attract these insects to your garden.

[pwd72s]

Spray the krap out of everything with Malathion..

[Zeke]

I heard milk will do it with no harm to plants. Might Google that.

Edit:Sorry, milk is for powdery mildew.

But, a weak rose plant gets more aphids and PM does weaken the plant. So here on the coast, treat the mildew.

[willtel]

Buy some ladybugs, they eat them. A single ladybug can eat over 5000 aphids in it's year long lifespan.

Amazon.com: Orcon LB-C1500 Live Ladybugs, 1,500 Count: Patio, Lawn & Garden

[svandamme]

order lady bug larvae , they go to town on aphids.
best and most effective solution

[UconnTim97]

The lady bugs sound like the perfect plan. Is there a hidden downside to unleashing a bunch of them in my gardens?

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Buy the larvae and make sure you know what a larvae looks like! It appears like a small alligator, can be thought of as ugly. They will take out aphids! They do not damage plants. The adults can fly away and help out your neighbors before they do any good on your plants.

Drawback is to the wallet, but so is any other option. This is very friendly and if you do not have an extremely harsh winter you might get a beneficial insect colony that is also attractive as adults!

[svandamme]

No downside.. unless ladybugs creep you out as well.

[mikester]

far less creeped out by lady bugs. Might try it.

[vash]

unload the lady bugs at night. they wont fly away. if there is a food supply, they stay.

having said that..i've heard that (mentioned above) it is the larvae that do the damage..and adult lady bugs are a waste of money.

aphids are numerous this year..

[motion]

Tried ladybugs once and they didn't do anything.

[mikester]

see lots of grown ladybugs for sale but not much on the larvae...

[looneybin]

put some castile soap in a hose end sprayer & soak down the plans with the aphids

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by UconnTim97

The lady bugs sound like the perfect plan. Is there a hidden downside to unleashing a bunch of them in my gardens?

none at all

if you go out and spray them off with a good solid stream of water, you can knock them off without any pesticides

this does not kill them, but it knocks their numbers down, the aphids I mean

[sammyg2]

There's an easier way ...

[futuresoptions]

Lol, reminds me of this device I bought from a fella who had a stockpile of them. It hooked up to your lawnmower exhaust and it had a tank that you would mix like a 50/50 mixture of Malathion & Diesel in. You would wait for the mower to heat up and then you would crack the valve on the tank leading to the exhaust. I only used it once because everyone in the neighborhood had to come and ask what the hell I was fogging with...

[motion]

I think its pretty cool how the ants farm them.

[chocolatelab]

we ordered ladybugs on-line one time. Worked great. Not sure if you have younger kids but Bryce thought it was as cool as it can get.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Check with your local agricultural/feed stores and independant gardening centers. Some of them will carry them.