White aphids are soft-bodied insects with a wide abdomen that damage house flowers. The size of the body together with the head does not exceed 1 mm, and the antennae can be twice as long. Aphids damage plants by sucking juice from leaves and young shoots. Individual insects are clearly visible to the naked eye; they are colored black, pink, yellowish or light green. With any number of aphids on indoor flowers, you can get rid of them in several ways.
What kind of insect is this and why is it dangerous?
An aphid is a white, drop-shaped insect, no more than half a centimeter in length. There are winged and wingless ones.
Winged aphids are capable of moving to other plants . Wingless insects reproduce massively. Aphids pierce leaves and suck out life-giving juices, taking away nutrients from the plant and creating pockets for bacterial infection (you can learn more about what aphids feed on in this material).
Where does it come from and what plants does it affect?
Typically, aphids come indoors on other plants. This could be a bouquet of cut flowers or a purchased infected flower. Sometimes an insect can fly into a room while airing.
To detect aphids, you need to examine the leaves and stem from the inside, where the females lay eggs. The larvae look like small white specks.
White aphids attack dicotyledonous plants; legumes are especially susceptible to attack. White aphids overwinter on pistachio trees .
Favorable conditions for the reproduction of pests are dry soil and high temperatures.
Signs of a houseplant being affected by aphids
With periodic inspections of flowers, you can notice in time that the plant is sick. External modifications will be visible on it:
- Young shoots wither and curl up.
- A syrupy trail has appeared (produced by pests).
- Blackness has spread - sooty fungus (carried by a parasite).
- Flowers have shrunk or not opened.
- The shape of the buds has changed.
- The presence of a mass accumulation of individuals on the outer side of the leaf.
- Growths have formed on the trunk.
At the initial moment, when there are still few pests, you can notice small punctures on the leaves and the insects themselves. Later they will begin to curl up. Parasites cannot bite through the bark, so they do not settle there.
If an aphid attacks young plants, its death will occur quite quickly. A large colony can stop growth and harm even a more mature flower.
Photo
Take a look at what the insect looks like in the photo:
How to get rid of pests on indoor flowers?
To combat aphids on indoor plants, both industrial preparations and folk remedies are used.
Chemicals
Fitoverm
A completely safe drug for humans, made from waste products of microorganisms. Fitoverm does not require removing plants from the premises .
It is necessary to dissolve 2 ml of the drug in 200 ml of water at room temperature. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray the flower thoroughly.
The biological product has a detrimental effect on pests, but does not accumulate in plant tissues. It acts both contactally when sprayed onto the surface of the body of insects, and when ingested through the intestines while eating treated plants.
After 10-15 hours, aphids lose their ability to feed. To consolidate the result, it is recommended to repeat the procedure after 5-7 days. Fitoverm works more effectively in a warm and dry room .
Aktara
This is a moderately dangerous product for humans; gloves must be worn when using the drug.
To prepare a solution, mix 8 g of the active substance with a liter of liquid. During processing, take the flowers out onto the balcony or street.
Aktar can be used when watering or spraying plants . The drug penetrates the body of insects, causing paralysis and death. After three weeks, you need to treat the flowers again to consolidate the result.
Aktara is addictive; the drug should be alternated with other insecticides.
We invite you to watch a video about how actara is used to combat aphids:
Aktellik
An effective product that begins to work when sprayed. Actellik kills aphids in one application .
Actellik is a non-systemic drug that acts only upon contact with insects and does not penetrate plant tissue. The effect of the product increases in warm conditions and high humidity.
For spraying, Actellik is diluted in a ratio of 2 ml per liter of water. Actellik is toxic and should not be sprayed in the presence of animals or children. It is necessary to wear gloves and a mask, carry out treatment only on the balcony or street and avoid contact with skin.
Homemade remedies
- Red pepper.
Pour 20 g of spices into 250 ml of boiled water. - Leave for 24 hours and boil.
- Cool the contents, strain and add soap.
- Soda and salt.
- For a liter of water you need 1 tablespoon of the product.
- Mix the mixture and spray the plant.
- Ammonia.
- Dissolve 5 ml of ammonia in a liter of water, stir, add soap.
- Spray the flower, leave for half an hour and rinse with water to avoid burns.
- Wood ash . Pour one glass of the ingredient into 5 liters of water, add 25 g of soap and leave the solution for a day.
- Cinnamon . Dilute a spoonful of cinnamon in a liter of water and treat the plant twice a day.
More information about traditional methods of combating aphids can be found here.
Biological agents
Very often, if plants are moved from the room to the balcony, their owners use biological means of protection, attracting beneficial insects, including ladybugs, lacewings, and wasps. They eat aphids without harming plants.
Another way is to place plants next to your house flowers that will help get rid of white aphids on indoor crops. You can grow them yourself, or you can buy seedlings.
ladybugs
Dill attracts beneficial insects with its smell. Ladybugs are very fond of perennial cornflower, a flower that is considered a weed crop in wheat fields. Among garden crops, celery is considered such.
Tansy, dandelion, and cosmos flowers are also loved by ladybugs. Insects will not ignore yarrow, milkweed, fennel, and mint.
Lacewings
These insects may also be attracted to beneficial plants. Several types of mint, especially peppermint and catmint, are needed by lacewings. Cumin and nasturtiums attract winged insects with their strong scent.
Other insects
You can attract other insects that feed on white aphids to your open terrace or balcony.
These include:
- Ground beetles. Large black beetles from the order Coleoptera.
- Hoverflies. They are very similar in color to bees. They can transfer pollen from flower to flower.
- Rider. A beetle that looks like a thin wasp, but does not have a stinger.
When protecting plants, choose the most suitable means for you. And don’t forget to constantly inspect the flowers, which will help avoid many problems.
Pest control on orchids
Aphids are dangerous for orchids; they spread over the entire surface of the plant from the stem to the blooming flowers.
The insect is easy to detect by its white coating . It is necessary to check hidden places - the bases of shoots, buds, the underside of leaves.
Most often, aphids appear on orchids in a dehydrated room. Humidity should be maintained above 60%.
- You should regularly spray the leaves and stem with cool water, avoiding the accumulation of liquid in the flower, and fertilize the plant in a timely manner.
- An infected orchid must be immediately isolated from other indoor flowers, since aphids spread quickly.
- The simplest method of control is to thoroughly wash the flower and remove damaged parts.
The action of a soap solution is antiseptic for the plant and destructive for parasites.- Citrus infusion also helps fight the spread of aphids. To prepare it, you need to mix 100 g of lemon, orange or tangerine peels with a liter of boiling water and leave for three days. For greater effect, you can place the soaked peels on the ground.
- Aphids react poorly to essential oils. Suitable oils for treating orchids include tea tree oil, peppermint oil and neem oil. 30 drops of oil should be dissolved in 500 ml of water and applied to the plant with a sponge.
If these methods do not work, you should use chemicals. For orchids, Aktara, Fitoverm, Neoron, Fosfomit or Actellik are suitable.
You should not carry out more than three treatments with the same drug.
More details about how to fight aphids on orchids can be found in our article.
Early detection
You can understand that flowers are sick by their appearance - plants affected by aphids differ from healthy ones.
- The leaves are punctured and withering.
- White aphids have formed colonies.
- There is a sticky coating on all parts.
- Flowers fly around and change shape.
If you notice the signs, you should take action immediately.
How to fight in the garden?
In the garden, aphids most often attack young shoots and buds . Leaves and stems affected by aphids have a sticky surface because the insects secrete an odorous mass - honeydew, which attracts ants.
- One way to control aphids in the garden is mechanical treatment. It is convenient to use a water hose for this. Using strong pressure, you can get rid of aphids and larvae by thoroughly washing the leaves. You should only remove parasites with your hands while wearing gloves.
- A safe method of killing aphids is the biological route. Ladybugs and lacewings are considered the best fighters among insects; you can buy several of them in a specialized store (read what other insects eat aphids here, and in this article we talked about how ladybugs help fight aphids). You can also attract birds to the garden using a bird feeder. Tits, linnets and sparrows can fight aphids.
- Proper planting helps prevent the appearance of aphids - insects are repelled by onions and garlic, as well as Dalmatian chamomile.
We invite you to watch a video on how to fight aphids in the garden:
Prevention of infection
If you take soil for plants from the street, disinfect it. Place a mosquito net on the windows to protect the flower from aphids.
Control and prevention measures:
- Quarantine new plants for at least a week.
- Kill ants if you see them in your home.
- Throw away plants killed by aphids along with the soil and pot. If the flower pot is valuable to you, disinfect it thoroughly.
- Geranium repels aphids with its scent. Keep it in the house, if not for beauty, then for the safety of other flowers.
- A fragrant herb, wormwood or celandine laid out on the windowsill will help.
Attentive attitude to house plants is the best prevention. Inspect them carefully several times a week, pay attention to suddenly yellowed leaves and dropped buds. If you have any suspicion, inspect the flower from all sides. Turn over the leaves, paying attention to the new shoots. If you notice the pest in time, you can destroy it easily and without the use of dangerous chemicals.
General preventive measures
For house plants:
Weak flowers are most susceptible to attack by parasites.- It is necessary to promptly remove dry leaves and yellowed stems.
- New flowers must be quarantined.
- Do not overfeed the plants.
- Be sure to get rid of ants and choose planting sites with diffused light.
- Before planting in a new pot, the flower must be sterilized.
- Twice a week, inspect all plants in the house and regularly rinse them with running water.
For garden flowers:
- Systematically remove weeds.
- During the summer, destroy anthills. This must be done, since ants protect aphids in every possible way and even bring them into the garden themselves (read more about the symbiosis of these insects here).
- In the spring, carry out sanitary pruning of all plants.
- Before buds begin to bloom, spray fruit trees and flower stems with insect repellent.
- Do not overfeed plants with nitrogen.
- Wash plants with a hose.
Mr. Summer Resident advises: ways to prevent damage to indoor plants by aphids
Every gardener knows that it is easier to prevent than to remove pests and treat a diseased plant.
It is recommended to carry out a number of preventive measures to prevent aphid infestation:
- Newly purchased flowers need to be quarantined for a while. Be sure to use a warm shower.
- The soil is kept cold (in the freezer) for a short time before planting. You can warm it up in the microwave or bake it in the oven.
- Carry out systematic inspection.
- Provide access to fresh air.
- Moisturize periodically. Sometimes put it under a warm shower.
- Prevent the appearance of ants. If they appear, then treat them.
- Use folk remedies.
