-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
It's a good idea to repeat the soap treatment every 5 to 7 days, for about a month to 6 weeks. Even then, aphids are just a part of the environment, IMO. I watch my plants for them on a daily basis, and as soon as I see anything like aphids, I wash off my plants with a spray of plain water. It doesn't kill the aphids, but it gets them off my plants.
although I didn't take pics, I have personally seen it, and you can certainly find numerous videos of it on youtube --has anyone personally seen ladybirds eating aphids? (and have pics to prove it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jP2DvcFfrg
The thing to remember about biological controls such as aphids is that they will keep the aphid population under control, but they will not ELIMINATE aphids. That would be like humans making cows or chickens extinct because we ate every last one.
I whole-heartedly agree with z, and could not have said it better myself:
When I grow food I plant some for myself and my friends, and some for the unexpected visitors (be they rabbits, aphids, raccoons, caterpillars, or homeless vagrants). I'm not sure how best to explain it, but to me it all fits in with nature's great abundance and the joy of giving and receiving. We become rich by creating massive value for those around us (our environment, if you will). This is true both spiritually and financially, and it holds true both in the garden and in life.Sometimes pests just have tobe accepted - I grow many of my plants to sell, and I always account for several losses due to pests, which I see as merely nature taking something back for herself.
I already happen to have some Dr Bronner's liquid soap under my sink, but it's mint scented. Can I use this or will the mint scent cause problems?Kisal wrote:Ivory soap is usually okay, I think, although I believe an unscented Castile soap is best. Then you can be sure you have real soap, not some kind of detergent. Whatever you use, read the label carefully. A lot of the things we refer to as "soap" are really detergents.
It doesn't matter if you use a solid bar of soap or a liquid soap. You can just dissolve a few shavings from a bar of soap in some water. My personal preference, though, is unscented Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, but I don't know if it's available everywhere.
You only need about 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls of soap to a quart of water. If you're using a solid soap, you might want to let the shavings soak overnight in the water to soften, then shake it up to mix it.
Spray your plant thoroughly, completely wetting the tops and undersides of all the leaves. Be careful to get all sides of the stems, too. Respray once every 7 to 10 days, to kill any new bugs that hatch from eggs that might be on the plant. Four successive sprayings is usually enough to eliminate any infestation.
