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I was told last year that bees will take care of aphids. I was killing yellow jackets who were intent on building a small hive under my porch roof and my neighbor said, "Don't kill off the bees!" They're gentle creatures and not bothering me in the least, so I stopped. No more aphids!!!
So, if you see bees a-buzz in your garden, let them be(e)!
Spray with the soapy water and get your hands in there - rub them into mush.
It is gross but worth it - do it once, keep checking under the leaves, rinse the mush off with a gentle spray hose, then spray again with mild soap solution.
Time consuming? Yep. But that will get rid of 99% of the aphids. Then ladybirds can get in there and eat the rest.
Location: Los Angeles, which as I understand was once upon a time ago part of the United States of America
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Today I purchased a small container of around 100-150 ladybugs and released them on my bush being attacked by aphids. I look forward to seeing how well this works. At one point I actually saw two ladybugs fighting over an aphid, so I'm optimistic about this solution.
I tried the ladybugs and bless their little hearts--they all flew to my neighbors yard!!
You have to release them when the sun goes down. Then they bed down for the night, and wake up in the morning hungry for aphids.
It took me 3 tries (about $25) but it worked.
And after that, month after month, year after year, the baby ladybugs would hatch, so I never had the aphid problem ever again.
Never kill a baby ladybug! They look like little reddish-orange and black dragons.
Location: Los Angeles, which as I understand was once upon a time ago part of the United States of America
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I got mine at an Osh. Check your local hardware/garden store. They were packaged by a company that advertises non-poisonous solutions to garden pests (but I can't recall the name and I threw away the container).
I hope the ladybugs work out for you. I've heard that they often fly away, but its worth a try.
I used to have aphids really bad in my Illinois garden. The soap never worked for me. If I remember correctly, I used malathion and that did the trick. Of course by the time I figured it all out, I lost a honeysuckle vine to the nasty critters.
Location: Los Angeles, which as I understand was once upon a time ago part of the United States of America
849 posts, read 1,046,205 times
Reputation: 314
Looks like the ladybugs are nesting comfortably. It was three days ago that I released them, and I see some of them still hanging around. I think a lot of them are in the mulch that's under the bush, but I see some on its leaves and on an adjacent walkway when the sun is out.
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