Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Is using soapy water on Hibiscus aphids as effective as purchasing a commercial product?
Hardiness Zone: 9b
By judy from Riverside, CA
Hibiscus are my favorites so I have had lots of experience with aphids/Hibiscus. I don't know if soapy water is safe to use, but I know that insecticidal soaps are safe for Hibiscus, but after you use the soap, it will take a while for the plant to recover from the "treatment". I use a water hose (or sprayer in the kitchen sink for house plants), and no soap. I turn the water on low force and wash the aphids off the bottom of each leaf. Once washed to the soil, they will not climb back up and the plant will not need time to recover from soap or chemicals, so the blooms will keep on coming.
Yes, fertilize and you should get more and bigger blooms. Be sure you don't over-fertilize or you will get lots of lush green leaves and no blooms.
Is it OK to use Dawn dishwashing liquid soap in my mixture to kill aphids?
The soap can kill the plant. Go to any gardening center and buy insecticidal soap. It is safe to use on vegetables too.
I used to have a nice collection of roses in the back yard. I used a pepper concoction to get rid of the aphids if they appeared. Here is the recipe for it:
homeguides.sfgate.com/
I need a home recipe to get rid of aphids on my cabbage.
By Judy from Waverly, OH
Washing the cabbage off with cold water from a garden hose will do the trick. Once on the ground, the aphids won't climb back up.
You need cabbage dust. Check garden supply shop, farm supply.
There was a post awhile back about making your own pest control out of soap and water. I need a pest control for aphids and whitefly. Can someone help me?
By Evelyn Biddy from Interlachen, FL
Any time you use soap or any other chemical on a plant, including Safer Soap, it sets your plant back and it takes a while for it to recouperate.
To get rid of aphids, I use a water hose and spray them off the bottom of the leaves of the plants, they won't climb back up.
You will probably have to use a chemical to get rid of the whiteflies:
www.rnzih.org.nz/
When I get either one of them, I use a nozzle on the hose that I can spray really hard.. The water smacks their soft bodies hard & kills them. Now spidermites is a whole different thing.
Aphids are trying to take over my houseplants. Help!
Hardiness Zone: 8b
By Keri from southern NM
If you use any type of spray, even something like Safer Soap, on your plants, it will take them a couple of weeks to recover, so I use plain old water to get rid of aphids.
Place a plant in the kitchen sink, use the sprayer to spray the under-side of each leaf, washing off the aphids. If any fall into the soil, it's OK, the aphids won't climb back up.
I have crepe myrtles and it's looks like the aphids are getting the best of them. Some are affected and some are not. The ones that are, are all in the same area. What should I use to get rid of them?
Also, everything is blooming, and some of the other crape myrtles are blooming, but not the the three in question. I also have grasshoppers that are in my yard. I bought some "Seven". I haven't used it yet, will it work on the aphids as well? I know to be careful, because we don't want to kill the good insects. Thank you.
Hardiness Zone: 9a
By Dottie Macken from Lincoln, CA
Sometimes you can use the hose with a pretty forceful sprayer nozzle, and actually wash them awy. Or another thing to try that has worked for me for aphids on my tomatoes is to fill a sprayer bottle with water, add a couple spoons of dish detergent, and spray the plants. Be sure to spray both tops and bottoms of the leaves. It usually takes about 3 or 4 applications to get rid of them.
Harlean from Arkansas
Is it necessary to rinse soap from the tree after a certain time?
Thanks.
By Jack C. from Toronto, Ont. Canada
Sticky tape can be an effective method for capturing many types of insects, including aphids. This is a page about using sticky tape for aphids.
This is a page about getting rid of aphids on roses. Aphids seem to like roses as much or more than we do.
