Help Please: Aphid Infestation

[Blackdawn_70631]

Another question; I was told another way to get rid of ants from my species of tree was to submerge it in water, not to the top, let the water settle then spray the ants off as they come out with the spray I use for the aphids. Is this true?
Glad I done my research and asked others before moving onward. I knew my tree was too finicky for any kind of household remedy, and my mother-in-law and others were telling me to use Dawn on the aphids. Glad I didn't.

[Blackdawn_70631]

Also I can't put my tree outside because we have termites. Or did. They got in the house from bringing my tree in meanwhile killing my first tree.
We caught them a week prior to Orkin coming by, and when they checked we had an infestation around the house. Every single piece of tree limb picked up was crawling with termites. They never had a chance ti come in because we caught them just in time and signed up for termite control. I was taking my tree outside on the back steps on pretty days and bringing it inside at nights.
One day my husband noticed a trail of bugs coming from the tree. The termites got inside the tree, killed it and hadd moved inside the house.
So I really don't want to be putting it outside. Closest my tree gets to being outside is its window seal with the window up.

[Dillbert]

aphids are "soft bodied" insects - the soft part in contrast to bugs with a hard shell that are not affected by soapy water.

the soapy water washes off their waxy coating and the aphids die from dehydration.

I advise some care in selecting your "soap" - you must stick with a natural soap - detergents have lots of 'other stuff' in them and they are positively famous for killing people's whole gardens / flower beds. you cannot count on word of mouth / what worked for somebody else / what worked last year because companies routinely change their formulations based on raw materials cost and different geographic areas may have different formulations.

people holler: but my grandmother always just threw the dishwater on the plants - okay, true. but your grandmother likely was not using the better-detergents-through-chemistry of today.

Safers was mentioned - it's a known good bet.
people talk about Ivory, and Dr. B's peppermint, etc.
you can probably find handmade/'natural' bar soaps in a lot of shops - tallow & lye - nuttin else perhaps but some scents.

you can eliminate aphids with plain water - just spray the plant and blast them off.
the soaps are all "contact" killers anyway - the real issue with controlling them is they are born pregnant and reproduce at an incredible pace.

when I get an infestation - on roses or peas for example - I blast them off with the hose _every comma every_ day for about a week.

for an indoor plant. one may be limited in 'facilities' to accomplish that - a spray bottle of insecticidal soap works with less 'mess'

[Blackdawn_70631]

I went lookng just now at the only lumber/garden shop in town (walmart is 20 mins when I have a 30 min break) and they don't even have a mild pesticide. It's all top dollar hard killing stuff for ants and other insects.
I'm going to buy some dish liquid, looking to make sure there is no detergent, and hope for the best.
I'm surprised my tree had survived the winter with the aphids & ants. Last summer it was mealy bugs. They were easy to get rid of, but these aphids are a pest.