Aphid Infestion - HELP!

[HotPepperPete]

Hello everyone,

I recently discovered that some of my pepper plants are infested with aphids. Looks to be in the hundreds range with 25-50 aphids bunched up on the under side of many leaves. I made a soap/water/vinegar/oil combination and sprayed all over the tops and bottoms of the leaves, letting it soak for about 20 min. This seemed to kill many of the pests so I sprayed the plants down with a mist setting and tried to take what was left of the pests off with my hands.

My question is in regards to prevention. I read that aphids hate garlic and onion so I crushed some garlic up and put it on the top soil of all my chili plants. I don't know if this has any benefit whatsoever, but I want to make sure I'm not harming my plants in the process. Is it OK to leave the garlic on the topsoil which would eventually rot and breakdown into the soil? I've never had a problem with pests before, so I have no idea what I'm doing...

Thanks in advance!!!

[rainbowgardener]

Vinegar is used as an herbicide to kill plants, so I would be very careful with that.

The garlic on the soil should not hurt anything.

Soapy water spray should work, if you use real soap, not detergent and not too much of it. A few drops of oil mixed in helps it stick to the plants better.

Aphids just sit there and are easy to squish.

[HotPepperPete]

Thanks for the reply!

[imafan26]

It also helps to put in plants that will attract beneficial insects. I have fennel (planted in a corner, not in the garden), dill, nasturtiums, marigolds, and sunflowers. I haven't had any real problems with aphids for three years now. You will have to bite the bullet though, planting to attract beneficial insects means no spraying and giving them a chance to take care of things and it does take a while.

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah, here's another thread that talks about aphids and (when you get down near the bottom), the beneficial insects that help control them.