Aphid

For many, floriculture is a pleasant and exciting experience. Plants by their one kind are able to cheer up, bring joy and comfort to the house. At the same time, every amateur florist must understand: in order for a flower to grow safely, bloom and smell, it needs constant care. Unfortunately, there are many factors that can negatively affect the health of the plant, and one of them is the attack of insect pests.

The most widespread and ubiquitous pest is the aphid. As practice shows, many flower growers dealing with indoor plants are unprepared to deal with it, believing that this problem applies exclusively to gardeners. However, it is aphids, in spite of their tiny size, that occupy far from the last place in terms of the scale of damage inflicted. Therefore, I will share knowledge that will help you better understand and exterminate these aggressors.

What are aphids?

Aphids are small sucking insects about a millimeter long. The color can be different: black, green or brown. Usually lives in colonies, breeds in huge numbers, especially in warm weather - in spring or early summer. It feeds on the juice of young greenery, so with the naked eye it can be observed in areas with a more delicate plant cover (i.e., where it will be easier for it to pierce the skin) - on young shoots, the underside of a leaf, buds, etc. Damaged leaves curl , turn yellow, wither, buds and may not bloom at all. In short, aphids can significantly weaken the plant and lead to serious illness.

Aphid control methods

The easiest and most popular way to get rid of this pest is to use chemicals. But I will not dwell on their description in detail: the modern market offers a fairly wide variety of insecticides and pesticides, and in a specialized store, on the advice of a sales assistant, you can purchase a really effective drug. However, it should be noted that not all of them are suitable for controlling insects at home.

The reason is simple: the various flavors and chemicals contained in the preparation can make you feel worse. Therefore, I give preference to folk methods of getting rid of pests. With correct and regular use, they can be used to achieve good results.

First, the aphids found on the plant in time can be completely eradicated by hand. If the infection is strong, use an infusion of tobacco, orange peel, onion, garlic or red pepper (and the stronger the infusion, the longer the pests will not return), mixed with a solution of laundry soap. Spray or wipe the damaged areas of the plant thoroughly with the prepared compound. Due to its viscous consistency, the mixture envelops the bodies of insects and causes difficulty in breathing (as you know, aphids breathe through the skin).

There is also a more radical method, however, it should be used in garden conditions or in a well-ventilated area. The recipe is as follows: dissolve 50 grams of laundry soap in 0.5 liters of hot water, then add a third of a glass of kerosene. We dilute the resulting concentrate in five liters of water. With this mixture we wash the plant areas affected by the aphid infestation, then with clean water.After a week, the procedure must be repeated.

Personally, I prefer another method of struggle: we put fragrant geranium next to the affected plants ... and that's it! For aphids, its smell is deadly, and in two or three days the pest completely disappears.