These are miniature creatures, with a body length from 0.5 mm to 7 mm, but more often no more than 3 mm, the body shape resembles a drop, pointed at the rear end. See the photo on the right for what aphids look like.

Descriptions of insects may vary. Depending on the conditions of existence, they can be wingless or have 2 pairs of transparent wings, with the back pair always shorter than the front. Pictures of them can be seen below in this material. Aphids on leaves can completely destroy a tree or plant.

The color is very diverse - black, green, pink, red, or even the insect is completely transparent. On the head are dark eyes and a pair of antennae.

Is there a useful We'll find out about aphids later.

Photo of aphids

How do they reproduce?

Aphid reproduction occurs as follows. Aphids overwinter in the form of eggs, deposited in a secluded place - on the roots of plants or in cracks in the bark of a tree.

In the spring, the wingless female founder of the colony emerges from the egg. and begins to give birth to living larvae, from which only wingless virgin females emerge.

They received such a curious name because that they do not need a male to give birth to larvae, and in summer they give birth only to females. Read on to find out how long aphids live.

Rapidly multiplying - and one virgin female lives for about a month and gives birth to 50 to 100 larvae- aphids form a colony.

The aphid larva is a smaller copy of the adult and grows quickly, periodically shedding its skin. After 10-15 days a new individual also ready to reproduce.

When the size of the colony becomes critical, winged female virgins are born and, flying to other plants, they give rise to new colonies. And only in the fall, when unfavorable conditions occur, real females are born in the colony and real males, capable of mating and laying eggs, which will overwinter.

Over the summer, up to 20 generations often occur from one founder, and her offspring number in the hundreds of thousands.

How and what does he eat?

Each individual is equipped with a piercing proboscis for feeding plant sap. Some aphids feed on only one type of plant, some on two, and many can suck the juices from a whole group of suitable plants.

Excess ingested juice is released in the form of a sticky sugary droplet - honeydew or honeydew(or milk of aphids), which ants love to feast on.

Where do they come from?

There are a large number of and some of them switched to cultivated plants. What are the causes or what causes aphids?

Most often, aphids enter plantings with new, plants that have not been tested for infection. An old, unkempt area is always contains a large number of aphids and infects neighboring areas.

Moreover, Ants help aphids to settle, transferring them to new plants.

Why are they dangerous?

The damage caused by aphids is quite great. New colonies form on the lower surface of the leaves, so they are not immediately noticeable.

Aphids produce toxins that cause changes in the shape of plant organs. First of all, aphids attack young shoots, buds, flowers. The leaves begin to curl, the buds fall off without opening, the flowers become curled, and the fruits do not set.

With a high number of colonies, crop growth may be suspended. Spots or yellow mesh appear on the leaves, honeydew secretions contaminate the leaves and interfere with normal light absorption, In addition, black sooty fungus or other molds settle on them.

Shoots affected by aphids are weakened and freeze more strongly in winter. Such plants get sick more often. Aphid infestation can kill a cultivated plant.

Some species of aphids form galls- tumors on the shoots, from which ulcers subsequently form, which can lead to the death of the plant.

The big danger is that aphids can carry dozens of plant viruses!

Who is attracted to or eats the pest?

Natural enemies of aphids are some insects and songbirds. Birds can be attracted by feeders and planting berry bushes.

Among the insects, it is worth mentioning ladybugs, lacewings, certain types of ichneumon fly - the genera Aphelinus, Aidius, Lysiflebus, Praop, Matricaria, hover flies, mantises, predatory gall midges, ground beetles, and earwigs.

Planting plants that are attractive to these insects should also produce good results.

The ground beetle prefers nightshade plants, Earwigs love to settle in flower pots with wood shavings; such pots can be placed under trees; hover flies happily feed on daisy pollen. Effective in the fight against aphids and.

What is he afraid of?

The smell of some plants is not acceptable to aphids - these are onions, garlic and Dalmatian chamomile. If you plant or place Dalmatian chamomile in pots next to the seedlings, the aphids will disappear.

But there are plants, on the contrary, that are very attractive to aphids, a kind of “distraction”.

These are nasturtium, cosmos, poppy, mallow, tuberous begonias, as well as viburnum and linden. Alternating their plantings, you can reduce the likelihood of aphid attacks for garden and vegetable crops.

Plant species that attract aphids should not be planted next to protected ones. Although nasturtiums are sometimes planted around fruit trees, so that aphids immediately settle on them. In the future, herbaceous plants along with aphid colonies can be easily mowed down and destroyed.

There are also various methods and methods for getting rid of aphids: agrotechnical, biological, mechanical and chemical.

Conclusion

It is precisely due to its high fertility that the small defenseless insect poses a serious problem for agriculture.

But by competently applying both the principles of organic gardening and industrial insecticides, you can count on successful cleaning of your field or garden from annoying enemies of the harvest.

Useful video!

Leaf aphids of any species, green or black, feed on plant tissues, mainly young shoots, and eat leaf and flower buds.

The harm it causes is colossal, first of all, because leaf aphids reproduce very quickly, forming huge colonies in a matter of days and producing about 50 colonies per season.

In addition to the general weakening of the plant: deformation of leaves and entire branches, loss of peduncles, buds, ovaries and fruits, aphids secrete sticky secretions that clog the stomata of the leaves, or a fungus settles on them. When biting leaves, aphids can spread viral diseases.

Aphids can completely destroy young plants that have one or two growing points.

The damage from aphids is aggravated by the fact that they are not at all selective in plants; they devour everything: garden flowers, seedlings and mature vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs and herbs.

She has special preferences, for example, plums, cherries, roses; currants are one of the first to be affected by aphids. Here, different species of aphids have their own taste preferences; black aphids prefer fruits - currants, apple trees, plums, green aphids - roses, chrysanthemums and other flowers. However, this is not a general rule; sometimes it seems that aphids eat everything!

Where do aphids come from on plants?

A fertilized female aphid lays eggs on branches and bark of trees, in the root zone, usually in secluded and hard-to-reach places. The eggs overwinter quietly in clutches, or they are kept until spring by ants, and then dispersed among any of the most attractive plants.

In the warmth, the eggs rapidly develop into adult wingless females, capable of reproducing without fertilization - they produce the main hordes of enemies of our crop.

By the end of June, and in warm weather by the end of May, a new form of adult insects appears in the aphid colony - flying females. They are the reason for the widespread spread of pests. They are called disperser aphids, their task is clear and understandable - to cover as large an area as possible and lay the next generations of eggs. If we take into account the help of the wind, then the spread of pests is several tens of kilometers from the place of departure. After mating, females lay overwintering eggs and a new cycle begins in the spring.

You may have noticed a phenomenon where aphids either disappear on their own or are found again on plants - these are dioecious aphids, in the first half of the season they actively reproduce on some plants, and with the appearance of winged females they move to another group of plants, at the end of summer - early autumn, they return to the first bushes.

Ants also contribute to the spread of aphids - they feed on the sweet syrup that aphids secrete (honeydew). Ants, like proper farmers, grow aphids, take care of their eggs, protect them from other insects and are constantly near the food source, trying to increase the plantations.

Prevention of aphids

Need I repeat the platitude that preventing an aphid infestation is easier than fighting it? However, any gardener will say that he has noticed how aphids progress on some plants, while on others they are rather sluggish and few in number.

The point is in the condition of the plants themselves, if they are healthy, the trees and shrubs are whitened, there are no aphids on them or there are very few of them.

Starting in the fall, remove leaf litter from the garden area and mow down the weeds in the tree trunks. During this time, cut out the tops and root shoots on which the eggs can overwinter.

Contain or destroy anthills during the spring and summer. Complete destruction of anthills, as a rule, is not justified, since in cold, windy or rainy summers, ants remain almost the only pollinators of plants (for bees and bumblebees, non-flying weather sets in).

To protect trees from ants, you need to destroy anthills located in close proximity to fruit bushes and trees. Then, to prevent the ants from making a new path, a strip of dry wood ash should be poured around the trunks - it will protect the approaches to the trees, like a Chinese border. If rain washes away the ash, you need to renew the topping.

Whitewash against aphids

It is necessary to bleach the trunks of fruit crops not in the spring, as is customary for most gardeners, but in the fall, preventing the laying of pest eggs and destroying spores of pathogenic fungi.

First you need to clean the trunks of lichens, mosses and loose bark with a brush - for old trees with a metal brush, for younger trees - with stiff bristles. Wash all damage to the bark and cracks with iron sulfate and cover with garden varnish.

For whitewashing with 20% lime mortar you need to take:

• 2 kg of slaked lime and dilute in 10 liters of water or
• Dilute 1-1.5 kg of quicklime in 10 liters of water

In addition, there is another recipe for whitewashing: dilute 2.5 kg of lime, 1 kg of clay and 0.3 kg of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water.

In garden centers you can purchase ready-made whitewash based on lime and adhesives.

When whitewashing tree trunks, in addition to direct toxic contact, you seal the already laid eggs of aphids or their possible hiding places. But in the spring, whitewashing needs to be repeated.

You may argue that aphids are flying insects and can settle on trees even with whitened trunks. However, the most dangerous time for plants is the opening of young leaves, flowers, and the formation of buds, and this is early spring. By the time the aphids develop females capable of flight, the trees protected by whitewashing have time to flourish, the leaves open and harden, becoming too tough for the aphids.

Improvement of berry bushes

To prevent berry bushes from being affected by aphids, proper agricultural practices must be carried out:

1. Do not overfeed them with nitrogen - nitrogen-rich fertilizer makes plant sap sweeter and more attractive to aphids. It is especially dangerous to apply nitrogen fertilizers in the second half of summer.
2. Add more ash - the need for potassium in fruit crops is very high. Potassium strengthens plant cell walls and increases the overall resistance of plants to stressful situations, such as cold. Aphids are only able to bite through the thin, delicate epidermis; they cannot gnaw through leaves with thick skin.
3. Do not overfeed the trees, but use fertilizers containing not only nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but also microelements (boron, zinc, molybdenum, iron).
4. Strictly monitor the acidity of the soil - plants absorb nutrients only at the optimal soil pH for them.
5. Replenish consumed calcium in a timely manner. Apply lime on soils rich in humus or peat bogs (1-2 kg of fluff per 3-4 year old currant bush for digging), and on sandy and sandy loam soils - dolomite flour. Let us recall the approximate application rates of dolomite flour (less on light soils, more on heavy soils):
   • acidic soils (pH< 4,5) 500-600 г/кв. м
   • medium acidic (pH 4.5-5.5) 450-500 g/sq. m
   • slightly acidic (pH 5.5-5.8) 350-450 g/sq. m

Fighting aphids

Watering with boiling water

You can water currants and gooseberries with boiling water when there is still snow on the site, and in the trunk circles of the fruit bush the snow has thawed (about 70 cm in diameter). Those. the snow on the branches has already melted, but the buds are still dormant and have not swelled!

Heat water to a boil, pour into a watering can with a sprinkler attachment. Then immediately water the bushes along the branches and the soil around the bushes. It takes about one watering can for a small bush. When pouring boiling water into a cold metal watering can, the water temperature drops to about 80 degrees; when watering the branches, its temperature drops to 70 degrees.

This technique allows you to destroy not only aphid eggs preserved on the shoots, but powdery mildew spores and mite clutches.

You can add 3 drops of iodine per 10 liters of water to the water for other diseases. It is important not to keep the watering can strictly in one place when watering, i.e. you need to scald, and not rinse the branches in boiling water!

Ash dusting

In the spring, before the leaves fully bloom (you can at the stage of bud opening), wet the branches with water and dust the moisture with sifted wood ash.

Soap and ash solution for aphids

Pour 300 g of ash (2 cups) into a bucket with 10 liters of boiling water, add 50 g of laundry soap shavings and leave to steep overnight. Pour the solution into the sprayer through triple gauze so as not to clog the sprayer with grains of ash. Treat all branches during bud break, at the stage of young leaves (salad greens).

Treatment against aphids with soap and Domestos

For 10 liters of water, take 100 g of tar or black laundry soap, add 5 drops (with a pipette) of Domestos (or any preparation containing chlorinol). You can spray on bare branches even at the moment when the leaves have already blossomed. 10-15 minutes after treatment, wash off the leaves with clean water from a hose. The procedure can be repeated after a couple of days.

Ammonia

Another proven way to combat aphids is ammonia. Two tablespoons per bucket of water, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of liquid soap. Helps almost instantly. No need to rinse off.

Dog shampoo against aphids

Flea shampoo for dogs and cats contains active ingredients of the pyrethroid class, they are toxic to aphids, i.e. the composition of the solution will be the same as, for example, a solution of the insecticide Iskra. The only difference is that the shampoo contains surfactants, i.e. adhesives. It is quite difficult to calculate the dose of shampoo (the concentrations of the active substance are different).

The safe dosage for plants is approximately 1 tbsp. spoon per bucket of water (10 l). Higher concentrations may cause leaf burn!

Preparations for aphids

There are many drugs against aphids, the question is how effective they are. You need to understand that systemic drugs (solutions or tablets stuck into the ground) act from the inside - when plants are absorbed by the roots.

Enteric-contact drugs will help only if the leaves and branches are thoroughly moistened. When aphids collect a colony, the leaves become shriveled, curled up, and the solution does not reach them. In this case, before spraying with aphids, you need to cut off the tops of shoots with deformed leaves. This is possible on currant or gooseberry bushes.

On large trees and tall bushes, it is technically impossible to pick out aphids manually or cut off nests, so the success of the enterprise depends on how well you carry out the spraying.

Aphid spraying time:

• along the branches until the leaves open
• before flowering in the beginning of budding phase
• after flowering during ovary growth
• 30 days before harvesting fruits and berries

In general, there are three classes of insecticides that work against aphids: pyrethroids, organophosphates, and neonicotinoids.

It is best to use systemic neonicotinoid drugs:

• (thiamethoxam) or Confidor (imidacloprid) - they can be watered and sprayed. They help with a bang. The problem with these drugs is that they are incredibly expensive for the average gardener: for example, for the summer of 2016, a 4 g bag of actara costs about 100 rubles - this is for 5 liters of water. If there are a lot of aphids in the garden and few trees and shrubs, treatment is very expensive. Watering is advisable only on vegetables (cucumbers and tomatoes); on trees “from the inside” (with watering) the efficiency is low.
• Tanrek is also a neonicotinoid, the active ingredient is the same as that of confidor - imidacloprid, but the cost is lower, more affordable and very effective against aphids. Consumption of 3 ml per 10 liters of water - 5 liters per tree.
• Spark Gold - also the active ingredient imidacloprid, for spraying 5 ml/10 l of water.
• Other analogues of Tanrek and Confidor: Biotlin Bau and Biotlin, Zubr, Imidor, Kalash, Commander, Confidelin, Korado, Monsoon, Prestige, Respect, Taboo, Tsvetolyuks Bau. The principle of operation is the same, the prices are different, choose any one.

The organophosphorus compounds Actellik (pirimiphos-methyl) and Karbofos, as well as their analogs - Antiklesch, Alatar, Fufanon, etc. also help against aphids, but recently there has been increasing resistance to these drugs, so they are less preferable.

Of the permethrins available and effective to us, Kinmiks, .

Bio-preparations for aphids

The drugs and Akarin are very popular in gardening. The advantages of their use are obvious - the active substance does not penetrate through the cell membranes into the fruits and leaves, i.e. does not accumulate in plants. The preparations are non-toxic to bees already 4 hours after the sprayed leaves dry.

In the top post “Have a question? There will be an answer,” there are often questions the answers to which I want to make as accessible as possible to all readers of my magazine. They are so relevant.

Here larisa_revina writes: This season we have a terrible invasion of aphids in incredible quantities. Now, while removing tops from the beds and weeds from uncultivated areas, I discovered that the entire earth (in places where they are large) is covered with a white coating. This is probably an infection... How to cultivate the soil in the beds and the territory of the future flower garden, which is planned for digging in the winter?

Aphids overwinter in the fertilized egg phase. The eggs are oval, shiny, black, up to 0.5 mm long. They are easy to spot on the bark of shoots. Considering that aphids multiply exponentially. Each female gives approximately 100 individuals, and after 10-15 days, each new one itself gives another 100 individuals, and so on from early spring to late autumn. Thus, each overwintered female aphid produces up to 17,000 pests per season.

Let's start by clearly defining where the aphid overwinters, or rather its eggs, from which in the spring, as soon as stable warmth sets in, young individuals will hatch and begin to feed on plant sap.

1. Aphids lay eggs on the branches of trees and shrubs in the area of ​​leaf buds. In severe winters, some of them may die, but even a small number of surviving eggs will give rise to a whole colony of pests.

2. Most of the eggs are spent overwintering on root shoots and tops.

3. Garden ants bring aphid eggs into their anthills, where they hide them from the cold and enemies. And in the spring, it is they who spread the aphids in order to milk them for their food.

Natural enemies of aphids are the larvae and ladybugs themselves, lacewings, hoverflies, earwigs, flies and wasps. By the way, the fact that enemies have worked on aphid plantations can be seen from the dirty whitish coating on the leaves or soil, which is the remains of the pest’s corpses. Now is the time to provide them with a good winter by placing houses and pots with large shavings.

Inspect the shoots of currants, plums, cherry plums and other plants damaged by aphids in the summer. Cut off all twisted branches and burn them. Thoroughly clear the remaining branches of oviposition. Be sure to whiten the trunks and bases of skeletal tree branches with lime milk.

Methodically cut out all root shoots and tops, be sure to burn them or send them to a landfill.

Destroy anthills, before frost, pick them out with a stick and fill them with water, and in early spring start fighting garden ants, preventing them from spreading aphid eggs into the trees.

Review your garden plan. Please note that aphids actively reproduce on plants such as cosmos, poppy, mallow, nasturtium, linden, and viburnum. Try to plant them as far as possible from crops that are most affected by aphids. We must always take into account that there are species of aphids that feed on some plants and reproduce on others. You can reduce the number of aphids in the garden only if you have few plants that are “homes” for the rapid reproduction of this pest.

Therefore, destroy as much as possible all the weeds in the garden, plant crops such as sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke, chamomile, chrysanthemums, and most plants from the family Lamiaceae (Labiaceae) to a minimum. Plant lettuce and chicory, herbs from the Lamiaceae family, as far as possible from currants. Watch for the appearance of aphids on water lilies, egg capsules and other aquatic plants, destroy them in a timely manner, because it is on these plants that plum aphids reproduce.

As you can see, there is no need to cultivate the soil in any way to destroy the egg-laying of aphids. But there is a lot of work. And there will be even more of it in spring and summer, when you will need to regularly spray plants against aphids and knock them off the shoots of trees and shrubs with a stream of cold water.

In the process of growing flowers, vegetables and fruits, many problems arise, one of the most common of which is aphids. Almost every gardener has encountered this scourge. This article describes in detail what this pest is and how to deal with it.

Who is an aphid and how to detect it?

Green aphid.

The aphid family (Aphidoidea) belongs to the order Hemiptera. In total there are about 4000 species. What aphids look like: these bugs are very small in size (about two to seven millimeters), green and black in color (brown, reddish-brown and gray are very rare). They are attached to the plant using a special proboscis, which is used to pierce the stem or leaves and suck out the juice. There are wingless and winged representatives. They have six limbs, a distinctive feature being two long tubular appendages on the back of the body.

Black aphid.

Aphid reproduction. The eggs of these insects overwinter with the plant, and in the spring the larvae hatch and begin to rapidly reproduce asexually (the process of turning a larva into an adult capable of reproduction takes a week). When the shoot becomes lignified, winged individuals appear (in the photo below - winged aphids), which begin to fly to neighboring plants. Closer to autumn, the aphid flies to the previous host plant and begins to lay eggs there through sexual reproduction.

Winged aphid.
An ant drags aphids.

What is the danger of aphids?

First of all, it sucks out nutrients, which leads to weakening, delayed fruit formation, slower growth and even death of garden crops. The leaves fall off, the shoot becomes severely deformed and looks ugly. Among other things, aphids contaminate the leaves, interfering with the normal process of gas exchange and photosynthesis, and also contribute to the spread of sooty fungus. Pests are often carriers of infections that can infect the plants themselves.

Aphids can cause great damage to flowers or crops. It is important to prevent the spread of larvae in time before they begin to divide uncontrollably. Prevention should not be neglected. Regular checks will help identify whether pests have appeared in the garden or vegetable garden.

Any gardener, whether a beginner or an experienced one, makes a lot of efforts to ensure that indoor flowers grow and develop normally and at the same time are healthy and beautiful. However, it happens that pests settle on the bushes, because of which their decorative properties suffer, and because of them, the plants can become very sick and, in some cases, die. Aphids are one of the most common pests. Therefore, a gardener may often have a question: how to quickly eliminate aphids that have appeared on a house plant? The most effective and safest methods will be described below.

An aphid is a small insect with an oblong body, long legs, and its abdomen is wide and pointed. Most often, white aphids settle on house flowers, but there are many other species, both wingless and winged. The insect can be colored green, pink, pale yellow and black. Although aphids may differ from each other in appearance, they harm indoor flowers equally strongly. Such a pest makes a puncture in a shoot or leaf blade and sucks out plant sap, which weakens the flower.

The pest is distinguished by its ability to quickly adapt to any habitat and its incredibly fast reproduction. It forms entire colonies. Just one female is capable of laying up to 100 larvae, and each of them becomes an adult in just half a month. Winged aphids are engaged in discovering and capturing new places suitable for life and food, and the function of wingless aphids is to reproduce offspring. Most often they settle on buds and young shoots, and they can also be found on the underside of leaf blades.

Where do aphids come from?

Many gardeners do not know where aphids can appear on a home flower? This can happen for a variety of reasons. For example, a winged female may well fly into an open window or balcony. An insect can also get into the house on the fur of a pet, or even the person himself can carry it on his clothes or other things. Aphids can be found on a recently purchased flower or on a bouquet given to you, and they are also sometimes present in the substrate used for planting or replanting flowers. There is a high probability of aphids appearing if you move flowers outside during the warm season, and then bring them back into the house with the onset of cold weather. There are also types of ants that love to feast on the excess juice sucked out by the pest (honeydew), and it has been observed that they themselves transfer aphids to various plants.

Prevention measures:

1. In order to prevent aphids from appearing on your “green pets,” it is recommended that newly purchased plants be quarantined. To do this, they are placed away from other flowers for a while. It is also recommended to give this plant a warm shower.
2. The soil mixture that you are going to use for planting or transplanting should be placed in the freezer for a while. Severe cold can clear the substrate of both adults and larvae.

The main signs of aphids

In order to quickly get rid of aphids, you need to detect them as quickly as possible and immediately begin to fight them. To do this, it is recommended to systematically inspect your home plants. If you are lucky enough to find aphids when there are still very few of them, then all you need to do to get rid of them is to crush the adults, as well as all the larvae. If possible, cut and destroy the affected parts of the bush. But in the case when there are a lot of pests on the plant, more effective methods will be needed to get rid of them. There are several signs by which you can understand that there are aphids on a flower:

1. The plant becomes less attractive and looks sickly.
2. On the surface of the above-ground part of the bush you can find very small punctures that aphids leave during their life processes.
3. The surface of the stems and foliage becomes sticky from the honeydew, their color gradually changes to black, they curl up and dry out.
4. The open buds become smaller and deformed; they quickly fade and fly off.
5. Near the affected plant you can find ants who are trying to get their favorite treat.

Aphids can greatly harm any home flower. This pest is considered one of the main carriers of viral and fungal diseases. For example, in those areas where honeydew appears, sooty fungus forms. Aphids pose the greatest danger to indoor crops such as orchids, roses, fuchsias, hyacinths, palmaceae, hibiscus, chrysanthemums, spathiphyllums and cyclamens.

As soon as aphids are found on the plant, it should be moved away from other flowers so that the pests cannot settle in them. After this, you can begin to fight insects.

To save a houseplant on which aphids were found, you must begin to combat this dangerous pest as soon as possible. To get rid of it you will have to spend a lot of time and effort, but it is not so difficult to do. Flower growers use various means for this, which can be divided into three categories, namely: chemical, mechanical and folk. There is also a radical way to do this by completely destroying the flower that has been infested by aphids if there is no chance of saving it.

Most often, at the beginning, a mechanical method is used, after which folk remedies are used. If these methods turn out to be ineffective, then they resort to the use of special chemicals that can eliminate aphids very quickly, both adults and larvae. To increase the effectiveness of the chemical, they not only treat the bush itself, but also spill the substrate in the pot. This measure is justified if white aphids have settled on the bush.

The mechanical method of cleaning a bush is effective only if there are very few harmful insects on it. To do this, you need to trim off all the affected parts of the flower if possible, and you should also give it a daily shower until the aphids completely disappear.

The most effective would be a shower using laundry soap, because this pest does not like it at all. It's important to do everything right. First, prepare a soap solution by combining water and soap in a ratio of 6:1. To protect your hands, wear rubber gloves. Moisten a piece of cloth in a soapy solution and wipe the affected buds, shoots and foliage with it, trying to remove all insects. After this, the bush is washed under running water. If necessary, this procedure can be carried out regularly until there are no pests left on the flower. However, make sure that the soap solution does not get into the substrate. During processing, remember that aphid larvae are often found in hard-to-reach places, so you must inspect every leaf and bud, while cutting off and destroying those that have the pest.

Treatment with medical alcohol is also a mechanical method. It cannot damage the sheet plates because it evaporates almost immediately after application.

Often, folk remedies turn out to be ineffective in the fight against aphids. However, when there is still very little of it on the plant, they may well help get rid of it. Many gardeners choose folk remedies because they are environmentally friendly. There are many time-tested means, for example:

1. Tobacco. Water should be combined with tobacco in a ratio (2:1) and everything should be mixed well. The infusion will be ready after two days; all you have to do is strain it and dilute it with water (1:1). The product can then be used to treat home flowers. Be extremely careful that the infusion should not get into the substrate, as this may damage the root system. In this regard, it is recommended to cover the surface of the soil mixture during processing.
2. Garlic. 30 grams of unpeeled garlic cloves should be crushed to a pasty state using a blender or meat grinder. The mass is combined with a liter of water and placed in a dark place to infuse for 24 hours. The infusion should be combined with a small amount of grated soap. You need to treat the affected bush 2 or 3 times with a break of 5 days.
3. Lemon (orange) peel. Take 100 grams of lemon or orange peels and combine them with not too much water. Place the mixture in a warm place for three days. When the infusion is ready, they need to process the flower.
4. Red hot pepper. 100 milligrams of water are combined with 50 grams of crushed pepper. The mixture should boil over low heat for 60 minutes. After this, it is left to infuse for a day and filtered. To prepare the solution, you need to combine 10 liters of water with 10 milligrams of decoction.
5. Wood ash. To prepare the solution, you need to combine 50 grams of crushed or liquid soap, 500 ml of wood ash and 1 bucket of water. After the solution is filtered, you can spray the bush with it.
6. White mustard. 10 grams of dry powder are dissolved in a liter of water. The mixture is removed for two days to infuse. When it is filtered, you can begin processing. If there are a lot of pests, then the infusion can be used undiluted, but in other cases it must be combined with a not very large amount of water before processing.
7. Needles. A couple of liters of water are combined with 0.4–0.5 kg of pine or spruce needles. The infusion will be ready after a week. It is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:7. To completely get rid of pests, plants need to be sprayed several times with an interval of three or four days.
8. Celandine. A liter of water is combined with 350 grams of fresh celandine or 150 grams of dry, the grass must first be crushed. The mixture is placed in a dark place for 24 hours. The affected flower is treated three times.
9. Tomato tops. Combine a liter of water with half a kilogram of chopped tops. Boil the mixture over low heat for half an hour. Place the broth in a dark place and wait until it cools completely. During processing, you can pour 3-4 mg of liquid soap into it.

It has been noted that such a pest is repelled by the smell of geraniums and marigolds. In this regard, it is recommended to place such a plant in a pot near the affected flower. Aphids also do not like the aroma of dill, parsley and mint.

It is recommended to use chemicals in the fight against aphids only when folk remedies have proven ineffective. Among the various drugs there are both gentle and aggressive. For example, Preparation 30 Plus mineral oil does not harm flowers at all.

The choice of product is influenced by the level of infestation and the number of pests. In the fight against aphids on house plants you can use: Iskra, Decis, Akarin, Confidor, Fitoverm, Neoron, Inta-vir, Actellik, Karate and others. When using Confidor, Actellik and Karate, you need to take into account that they have an extremely unpleasant odor; therefore, spraying is carried out in a well-ventilated room. Processing should be carried out warmly (from 21 to 25 degrees). In a cooler room, the drugs will not be as effective.

When using insecticides, you must be extremely careful:

• there should be no animals or children in the room;
• Before processing, read the instructions on the package;
• put on gloves and a respirator;
• treat both affected and healthy bushes.

Before you start spraying, wipe the foliage and shoots with a damp cloth or wash with soapy water. As a rule, after the first spraying, only adult individuals die, while the larvae remain. In this regard, several treatments from 2 to 3 with a break of a week will be required. If a certain drug does not give the desired result, it should be replaced with another, because aphids very quickly get used to the same insecticide.

Carry out a systematic inspection of indoor plants, especially carefully inspecting sick and weakened bushes. And:

• ventilate the room regularly, as aphids love stuffiness;
• systematically moisten the bushes with a sprayer and sometimes give them a warm shower;
• you should be alerted by the appearance of ants in the room;
• quarantine all new flowers;
• For prevention purposes, systematically treat plants with one of the folk remedies.