How to remove white aphids from indoor plants. How to deal with white aphids on indoor and garden plants? Effective remedies and photos of the pest

One of the serious problems when keeping houseplants is aphids on indoor flowers; how to get rid of them and by what means are the main questions of gardeners.

Signs of aphid damage to home plants

Since the insect reproduces very quickly, it is important to detect a diseased plant in time. To do this, you need to know the main signs of aphid infestation, which are:

If you notice signs of infection, you must act immediately.

Attention! When working with chemicals, you must strictly observe all safety precautions and act according to the instructions.

In addition to modern means, there are time-tested and experience-tested folk methods that help you understand how to remove aphids and how to do it effectively without harming the flowers. A significant advantage of using traditional methods is the ability to get rid of the pest without resorting to the use of chemicals. Let's look at several effective ways.

Water procedures

A popular method is manual processing with soap. How to fight aphids on indoor plants using this method? The procedure is very simple. First, aphids are very carefully removed from the plant by hand, after which they are treated with soap. For these purposes, it is recommended to use laundry soap, since it is considered an excellent and safe product, provided that the soapy water does not get on the soil. Therefore, it is better to cover the soil with plastic film before processing. The procedure is carried out carefully using a soap solution. To prepare the solution, you need to grate the soap, then take 1 part and dissolve it in 6 parts of water. The procedure must be repeated until the plant recovers.

Garlic and mustard

It is known that these pests cannot tolerate strong strong odors. Therefore, garlic infusion will repel aphids well. It is necessary to pass 30 g of garlic through a meat grinder or blender, it is important that the garlic is not peeled, the resulting pulp must be poured into 1 liter of water and left to infuse in a closed jar for one day. Before processing, add 2 g of grated laundry soap to the solution. Treat by spraying.

Aphids can be removed from indoor plants using mustard. A water-mustard concentrate is prepared based on mustard. To do this you will need white mustard - 10 g per 1 liter of water. Mustard seed powder is poured with water and infused for 2 days in a glass container tightly closed with a lid. After the concentrate has infused, it must be filtered, and then a solution for processing flowers must be prepared in the ratio of 850 ml of water to 150-200 ml of concentrate. Treatment is carried out by spraying the diseased plant, taking into account the fact that aphid larvae are usually found in hard-to-reach places.

Celandine to the rescue

Often in summer cottages, aphids damage many trees and bushes, thereby causing irreparable damage to gardeners. This small insect harms not only garden plants, but also indoor plants. You can even see it with the naked eye. Vegetable, fruit, berry and flower crops are damaged by various types of aphids. Often, many gardeners do not know how to heal already diseased plants. Let's figure out what kind of insect this is - aphids, and how to fight it?

Colony of Green rose aphid (Macrosiphum rosae) on a young rose shoot. © Lucis

Description of aphids

Aphids ( Aphididae) are insects of the order Hemiptera ( Hemiptera) ranging in size from 0.5 to 2 mm. The body is ovoid, soft and easily crushed, the legs are long, but the insects move slowly. There are wingless and winged individuals.

The wingless female is oblong-oval in shape, the mouthparts are long, thickened in front. Winged insects have two pairs of wings; they fly and infect other plants. The rapid reproduction of aphids is explained by the fact that a wingless female only needs one fertilization to produce offspring of up to 150 larvae 10-20 times every two weeks.

An adult aphid is a small green or black insect. In mid-summer, some individuals grow wings. Thus, pests move long distances to find new sources of food. Aphids live on buds, stems and the underside of leaves, on the tops of young shoots, giving preference to fattening branches (tops).

Aphids are an exceptionally numerous group of insects. According to the most conservative estimates, it unites about 4,000 species, of which almost a thousand live in Europe. Every year more and more new species are described.

Reproduction and aerial migration of aphids

Aphids lay eggs, and some species have viviparity. Most aphid species reproduce over several generations using parthenogenesis. A certain generation is born winged and of different sexes. In species that change hosts, this occurs before colonization of a new plant or when the colony grows too quickly and the resulting overcrowding. Winged individuals are able to travel long distances and create new colonies in new places.

According to new research, the birth of winged aphids may also be caused by special aromatic substances that aphids secrete when they are attacked by enemies, such as ladybugs. These warning substances cause great anxiety and increased movement in the colony. This creates an overpopulation effect, which causes rapid production of winged offspring.

Colony of aphids on cabbage. © Ed Cullen

Damage from aphids

The damage caused to plants by aphids is underestimated by many, but in vain. Aphids suck plant sap from stems and leaves, buds and buds. The leaves of the affected plant curl, the buds and shoots are deformed, growth slows down, and the fruits do not ripen. The affected, weakened plant may not survive the winter. In addition to direct damage, aphids transmit viral diseases; black sooty fungus (black sooty mildew) settles on the sugary secretions of aphids.

Aphids pierce the integument of the plant and suck out the juice. In areas of massive bites, tissues become deformed and then die. Flowers on the affected peduncles do not develop and wither as soon as they open. The peduncle itself quickly fades. Aphids, like mealybugs, rootbugs, whiteflies, leafhoppers, scale insects, and false scale insects, suck much more juice from the plant than they need to maintain vitality.

Excess moisture and carbohydrates are excreted from the body of aphids in the form of sugary secretions called honeydew or honeydew. This sticky, sweet liquid coats the plant, making it difficult for it to breathe. Honeydew is a good substrate for the development of various fungi. Sooty fungi, for example, can cover a leaf with a continuous layer, reducing the intensity of photosynthesis, which depresses already weakened plants.

Colony of aphids on mallow leaves. © esta_ahi

External signs of damage

Along with insects clearly visible to the naked eye, aphid infestation is indicated by deformed shoot tips, curled leaves, as well as sweet discharge (honeydew) on leaves and shoots. Subsequently, a sooty fungus settles on these secretions. If you see ants running around the plant, be sure to check for aphids. Typically, ants are attracted to honeydew produced by aphids.

Aphids have a symbiosis with ants. Some ants protect (“graze”) aphids and receive sugar-containing secretions from them in return.

Aphids live in large groups on the underside of leaves, around growing points, on young shoots, buds, and pedicels, feeding on plant juices. They pose a danger because they weaken the plant, reduce its resistance to disease, and can also be carriers of viral diseases.

In damaged plants, the leaves curl and turn yellow, form nodules, buds do not develop or produce ugly flowers. A sticky coating appears on mature leaves, in which fungus can settle. Roses, carnations, fuchsias, and many aroid and forcing bulb crops are especially affected by aphids.

Many species of aphids are capable of spreading plant diseases in the form of viruses and causing various abnormalities in plants, such as galls and gall-like formations.

Ants guarding a colony of aphids. © Mathieu Lemieux

Prevention of aphids

Aphids can settle on almost any garden and indoor plants; it is important not to miss the moment and start the fight on time. Fruit trees and shrubs, roses, chrysanthemums, and many indoor plants are especially attractive to green aphids. For black - legumes, garden cornflower, etc.

Carefully inspect all new plants brought into the house or purchased for the garden, as well as bouquets of fresh flowers - they may already have aphids. If you find an enemy, urgently take measures to combat him, otherwise he will occupy your plants and the fight will require disproportionately large efforts from you.

If we are talking about aphids in the garden: plant umbrella plants - carrots, dill, fennel, parsley and others. By doing this, you will attract tireless aphid eaters - hoverflies - to the garden. Place flower pots with wood shavings in the garden - earwigs can live in them; aphids are also big fans of aphids for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Attract birds to the garden - arrange feeders and birdhouses for them, do not destroy the nests found in the garden, birds eat aphids in huge quantities.

Lavender planted in a rose garden will repel green aphids.

Thyme (savory), sown next to legumes, will protect them from black aphids.

Sow nasturtium in the tree trunk of a cherry tree - it will attract black aphids, reducing the load on the tree, and it is easier to fight aphids on nasturtium than on a tree.

Aphids piercing the stem of a plant. © Dougie Ritchie

Do not overuse chemicals unless absolutely necessary - together with the pests, you destroy their enemies: hoverflies, earwigs, ladybugs, lacewings, ichneumon wasps, ground beetles and predatory bugs.

Balanced feeding of plants is very important - aphids prefer plants that are overfed or weak from a lack of nutrients. In addition to proper feeding, a strong, healthy plant requires the correct choice of growing location, sufficient light and water, good air circulation - all this is also prevention against pests. It is important to loosen the soil under the plants, or better yet, mulch.

A colony of aphids on a yarrow stem. © Susan Noble

Ways to combat aphids

Insecticides against aphids

Aphids are quite easily destroyed by insecticides. Insecticides for aphids are divided into preparations of contact, intestinal and systemic action.

Contact-acting drugs penetrate the surface of the insect’s body and kill it. An example of such drugs is the drug Fufanon (Karbofos).

Intestinal drugs enter the insect’s digestive system, causing poisoning and death.

Combination drugs with contact-intestinal action are most often produced: Akarin, Actellik, Bankol.

Systemic preparations penetrate into all plant cells, including fruits, and remain there for 2 to 4 weeks; they are not washed off by rain or watering. Systemic drugs have the longest waiting period, are convenient to use, but are the most dangerous. They must be used carefully. The most modern systemic drugs: Aktara, Biotlin, Tanrek.

Ladybug eating aphids. © davidh-j

Folk remedies against aphids

Decoctions and infusions of herbs against aphids

Decoctions of herbs and crops are effective, for example, shield grass, wormwood, tansy, tobacco dust, yarrow, hot pepper, dandelion, garlic, onion, tomato tops, potato tops, mustard, rhubarb (for black aphids). Requires 2-3 applications at intervals of 7-10 days.

An infusion of garlic or onion is quite suitable: pour 30 grams of chopped garlic (onion) and 4 grams of laundry soap into a liter of water. And if you water a houseplant with a liter of warm water in which you dissolve 80 grams of table salt, you can get rid of both aphids and mites. Spraying and watering should be carried out at least three times with a break of 10 days.

You can use an infusion of onion peels and tomato leaves. The treatment must be repeated 3 times with an interval of 8-10 days. If there is a heavy infestation of aphids, small plants can be dipped into this solution after covering the ground. You can also place fragrant pelargonium near a plant infested with aphids for 2-3 days, and the aphids will disappear.

Malicious insects have a negative attitude towards the infusion of hot capsicum. 100 g of fresh fruits are poured with water and boiled for at least an hour in a liter sealed container. Then it is left for two days, the pepper is ground, and the solution is filtered. For spraying, the concentrate is diluted ten times with water and a tablespoon of soap powder is added.

Abundant watering with liquid nettle fertilizer can sometimes drive out aphids in a few days. Plants quickly absorb this nutritious, strengthening mixture and therefore, after a short time, become more resistant to pests.

Celandine collected during flowering (take the whole plant). 300-400 g of fresh or 100 g of dry crushed mass must be infused in 1 liter of water for 24-36 hours or boiled for 30 minutes. It also helps against false scale insects and thrips.

Dandelion officinalis (300 g of crushed roots or 400 g of fresh leaves are infused for 1-2 hours in 10 liters of warm water (not higher than 40 degrees), filtered and sprayed.

Tagetis (marigolds) during flowering (fill 1/2 of a bucket with dry raw materials, add 10 liters of warm water, leave for 2 days, filter and add 40 g of soap).

Lavender planted in a rose garden. © gardensnips

Other decoctions and infusions

Pour 100 g of dry citrus peels into 1 liter of warm water and leave for three days in a warm place. Then spray.

Tobacco, shag. 40 g of dry raw materials are infused in 1 liter of water for 2 days, filtered and another liter of water is added.

Also, when aphids appear, the plant is sprayed with a solution of tar soap (10 g per liter of water) or a settled and strained decoction of wood ash, prepared as follows: 300 g of sifted ash is poured with boiling water and put on fire for 30 minutes. Before use, add 10 liters of water.

Wood ash. 2 cups of ash are infused in 10 liters. water, add 50 g. laundry soap shavings.

Manual assembly

If several aphids appear on the plant, remove them with a damp cotton swab.

Healthy and well-growing indoor plants are the pride of the owner of any home. They add comfort and new colors to the interior. Therefore, it will be a shame when aphids appear on indoor flowers.

This insect not only slows down the growth of the plant, destroys its leaves and buds, but also leads to its death. This is inevitable if you do not get rid of the pest in time. What are aphids, how to get rid of them from indoor plants - we will look at this in this article.

Aphids are characterized by very high fertility if there is a good food supply. In a month, one female can produce up to 100 thousand new individuals. Wingless individuals are responsible for reproduction, while those with wings are responsible for distribution.

Causes and signs of damage to indoor plants by aphids

Indoor flowers are more often attacked by white or light green aphids. In order not to miss the moment when you can get rid of it without much harm to the plant itself, it is important to know the main signs when a flower is infected with aphids:

the appearance of the plant is unhealthy;
leaves wither and then turn black (fungus appears);
leaves and shoots become sticky to the touch;
young leaves quickly dry out and curl up;
Upon closer examination, small punctures can be seen on the leaves;
the buds wither, quickly fall off, and the blooming flowers look unformed and deformed;
Ants were spotted near the plant.

The pest itself is difficult not to notice: they are grouped along the shoots and on the underside of the leaf. There are many photos of a houseplant affected by aphids on the Internet. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the reason for the depressed state of the plant.

Do not think that indoor plants are completely isolated from the outside world. This is a misconception. Aphids get on flowers in pots as follows:

through open doors and windows (aphids have individuals with wings);
through new indoor plants infected with aphids;
through contaminated ground;
aphids can enter the room through clothing, shoes and other household items.

Aphids love plants with soft shoots. Therefore, begonia, cyclamen, chrysanthemum primrose and others are especially susceptible to insect attack. Aphids avoid indoor palm trees because of their hard leaves.

Ways to control aphids at home

Upon careful inspection, you can catch the moment when the insect did not have time to completely capture the plant. At the initial stage, it is enough to carry out several procedures:

isolate a diseased flower;
Wipe with a soap solution the place where the plant stood before, as well as the window sill and the window itself;
remove damaged leaves and buds;
replace the layer of substrate in the pot with a new one (new soil must be disinfected);
Wash the plant with soapy water or a solution of methyl alcohol and water (1:1), leave for several hours and rinse carefully in the shower. The soil in the pot must be covered with cellophane.

If the pest spread is weak, this is enough. If the aphid has spread to the entire flower, then simple isolation and treatment with a soap solution is unlikely to help. Let's look at the main ways to combat aphids on indoor plants.

Chemical method

This is a simple but dangerous way to get rid of large numbers of aphids. If you use chemicals against pests incorrectly, you run the risk of removing not only aphids, but also endangering yourself, family members, and pets. To avoid danger, you must do the following:

Strictly follow the preparation method described in the instructions, do not exceed the amount of chemical used at a time and observe safety precautions.
Use the product immediately on all indoor plants, regardless of whether they have aphids. Otherwise the struggle will be pointless. During treatment, aphids may move to another flower and then return. By treating all plants at once, we reduce to zero the possibility of the pest spreading. When processing the plant, it is important not to miss a single area, as aphids move quickly.
Periodically change insecticides to control aphids. This insect quickly adapts to one drug and becomes invulnerable to its effects.

Most often, Aktara, Fitoverm, Kinmiks, Konfidor, Aktarin, Agravertin, Aktellik, Karbofos, Tanrek are used to combat aphids. It is better to use such “heavy artillery” when traditional methods do not help.

Biological method

The methods of fighting aphids that our grandparents used are effective and, unlike chemicals, much safer. The difficulty is that they take longer to cook. There are a huge number of recipes for traditional methods of getting rid of aphids, which are difficult to describe in one article. More often, indoor flowers are sprayed with ready-made mixtures; there are separate recipes where you need to water the plant with prepared solutions. We reviewed the most popular of them above, but we will consider them together with other methods for clarity:

Soap solution based on laundry or green potassium soap (a tablespoon per 300 ml of water). For greater effect, add a little ammonia. Treat the entire plant with the prepared mixture, avoiding getting into the soil. The soap solution itself can be added to all of the infusion recipes below to increase efficiency.
Methyl alcohol and water in a 1:1 ratio.
Ash-based tincture (a glass of 5 liters of water). Do not mix with coal.
Infusion of tobacco (or shag): 40 gr. tobacco per liter of water. Insist for a day.
Spraying with a solution of hydrogen peroxide: per 0.5 liter of water - 25 g. 3% remedy.
Red pepper infusion. Take approximately 60 grams. hot pepper, pour half a liter of water, boil over low heat for an hour, and then leave for a day to infuse. For spraying, take 10 grams of the prepared infusion per liter of water.
Onion-based infusion: 6 g. husks or 15 gr. leave the pulp itself, crushed to a mushy state, in a liter of water for at least 6 hours.
Garlic infusion (35 grams of chopped garlic per liter of water).
Infusion of mustard powder.
Vinegar solution: a tablespoon of 9% vinegar per liter of water.
An infusion of some fragrant plants: celandine, wormwood, horse sorrel, nettle, chamomile, dandelion, dill, parsley, tomato tops, pine needles. You need to insist for about a day.
Infusion based on citrus peels. Before infusion, the water along with the crusts must be boiled.

These are not all the methods of combating aphids known to the people. To increase efficiency, traditional methods should also be alternated with each other. The main difference between such recipes is their relative safety both for the plant itself and for all household members (if there are no allergy sufferers to odorous herbs in the house).

Preventive measures

In order to reduce the likelihood of aphids getting on a houseplant, you need to follow several rules:

be sure to disinfect soil brought from the street for indoor plants;
use mosquito nets on windows;
new plants in the house must undergo a week-long quarantine in isolation from other indoor plants;
destroy ants if they appear in the house;
a flower ruined by aphids should be thrown away without regret, the substrate should be disposed of, the pot should be disinfected;
keep geranium (or pelargonium), marigolds on the windowsill;
place dry bunches of fragrant herbs (wormwood, celandine, etc.) near the flower pots;
Keep donated cut flowers away from other flowers in the house;
periodically inspect all plants for pest infestation;
cut off dry leaves and buds;
monitor temperature and humidity (heat is aphids’ friend).

The most important thing in the treatment of all living beings, including plants, is prevention. If you follow all the measures to protect against aphids, you will have beautiful, healthy indoor plants. This way you can detect the enemy in time and quickly get rid of aphids at home, preserving the flower itself.

All lovers of decorative house plants must know how to get rid of aphids on house flowers. The insect is one of the most common pests. It enters the house with soil, through open windows, and with shoes. You can get rid of small pests at home using folk recipes and professional remedies.

Signs of aphids

There are about 4000 in nature. They all live in colonies, multiply at tremendous speed, and infect a certain type of plant or all of them. The body size of a house insect is from 1 mm to 5 mm.

Note!

Spotting pests is very easy. It is necessary to turn the leaf over and inspect the stem. Aphids look like small specks accumulated in one part. If you look closely, you can see that they are moving.

Types of aphids on flowers

Females lay eggs without fertilization. Throughout the warm period of the year, females are born. The family lives on one plant or moves to neighboring ones. At the end of summer, winged individuals are born - females and males. This migratory generation of aphids is capable of moving to any plant and establishing huge colonies in a short time.

Over the course of several weeks of her life, the female lays about 150 eggs. Each time 40 pieces. The larvae develop in the egg in room conditions in 10 days. They penetrate into the leaf plate, disrupt its integrity, and draw out important substances. Within a month, without emergency measures, the plant risks dying.

Different types of aphids clearly differ from each other in body color. Several pests appear on indoor flowers:

White aphid. Migrating individuals with wings. Dicotyledonous plants are affected; legumes are the most susceptible to attack. The pest overwinters on pistachio trees.
Green. Apple aphid that attacks pears, plums, and quinces. Overwinters near the buds under the bark.
. Garden aphids, covering several species. Body brown, blue, black. Affects any garden, vegetable crops, decorative flowers.
Yellow. It affects coniferous trees and lives permanently on their branches. 10 generations are hatched per season. He breaks into the house by accident.
Bloody. Characterized by a bright red color. Winters on elm. Several generations of wingless individuals grow there, then winged females and males appear and migrate to apple trees.

A photo of the aphid is located below.

There is no particular point in figuring out which species has captured the home flower. All insects are called aphids; identical methods and methods of control are used. But many people are interested in where pests come from.

Ways to enter the house

Aphids are extremely small insects. During most of the warm season, females are born, who do not need to look for a male to reproduce. The penetration of just one pest with a body length of up to 2 mm onto a windowsill is fraught with infection of all indoor flowers in a month.

Where do aphids come from:

penetrates into the house with the soil when transplanting plants;
along with cut flowers in the flowerbed;
with clothes, shoes;
when ventilating the room, temporarily keeping flowers on the balcony, street.

Note!
You can get rid of aphids on indoor flowers at home using professional biological products and insecticides. Popular ones are:
Fitoverm;
Aktara.

Fitoverm
Based on waste products of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. The drug is absolutely safe for humans and does not require treatment in the fresh air. Not phytotoxic.
Before use, you must prepare a solution. Dissolve 2 ml of the drug in 200 ml of water at room temperature. If there are a lot of flowers, prepare a 500 ml solution for aphids, using the entire ampoule. Pour into a spray bottle.
It is necessary to spray the plant carefully, paying special attention to the stems and the lower part of the leaves. After 5 days the procedure should be repeated. Mass death of pests is observed 4 days after the first treatment. The flowers should be sprayed a second time to consolidate the result.
Aktara
An indispensable product for indoor plants. The insecticidal drug blocks nerve endings, causing paralysis and death. Penetrates into the insect's body by contact and through the juice of the treated plant. The death of aphids occurs almost instantly.
Use it if there are aphids in the soil of indoor plants, on the flowers themselves. In the first case, soil cultivation is carried out by watering, in the second, spraying of the green parts of plants is practiced. The protective properties remain on the leaves for 20 days, and on the soil for 2 months.
A solution for treating home ornamental plants is prepared at the rate of 8 g per liter of liquid. Repeated treatment should be carried out after 2 weeks. During the procedure, flowers are taken out onto the balcony or street.
Aktellik
You can treat indoor flowers with another effective remedy – Actellik. A powerful drug allows you to remove aphids from the ground and plants in one treatment. It begins to act already during spraying.
When working with the drug, you must use rubber gloves and a respirator. Carry out the procedure in the fresh air. Recommended for severe infestation of plants by any type of aphid.
Removing aphids using chemicals is not difficult. It is necessary to strictly observe the dosage and adhere to the processing rules. However, you can still defeat the pest with safe, harmless homemade remedies.
Folk recipes

If cobwebs and white aphids appear on the flowers, you can quickly prepare an effective remedy with your own hands:
. Dilute 5 ml of ammonia in 1 liter of water. Stir, add a little laundry soap. Spray the plant. Flower aphids do not tolerate this smell, and for a sick plant there will be additional feeding.
Red pepper. Pour 30 g of spices into 250 ml of boiled water. Leave for 24 hours, boil for half an hour, cool, add soap.
. You can fight aphids with table vinegar. For 1 liter of water you will need 20 ml of product.
, salt. A mixture of baking soda and salt can instantly kill aphids. For 1 liter of water you will need 1 tbsp. spoon of the product. Stir well and start spraying.