I have a honeysuckle vine that my hummingbirds absolutely love. Last year it got ready to bloom and then mysteriously the buds started to dry up and closer inspection the whole entire vine was riddled with aphids. I ended up spraying the vine with insecticide right away then I worried about the spray hurting the hummingbirds so I tried to wash it off. I ended up pruning the parts that had the aphids and then burning them. I fought fungus (which I read follows an aphid infestation) and more aphids all summer. What can I do to get rid of the aphids and not hurt the hummingbirds? I would like to do something proactive since I am in zone 5b and the leaves are just starting to appear.
Aphids on my honeysuckle vineHelp please
You can try ladybugs. You can buy them online and as long as they have something to feed on, are supposed to stay close. You can also buy a lady bug attractant which they like, and attracts them.
I fought aphids on my milkweed and roses last year. Those things are nasty! Good luck :-)
I don't know how it is where you live but here the asian ladybugs you can buy can become a terrible pest by getting in your house during the winter. I only have a minimal problem with these and don't want a big problem. Did you try ladybugs are your aphids? Did you have trouble with them taking over your house?
No, I didn't try them, but I know they sell them.
Oh gosh, don't buy those asian ones. Get the natives, or down here, I've done better with the lacewings.
If you do have an aphid infestation and feel like you need to get rid of it right away, you can just spray the plant hard with the hose and knock them off.
I agree with realbirdlady but if the infestation is bad I'll use one of those jars you attach to your hose. Fill the jar with water, add a little bit of dishsoap and attach it to the hose and spray down the problem plants. Wait about 15 minutes and rinse off the plants with just water after that to get rid of the soap residue.
When I have aphids on my Milkweed, I spray them off with water if possible. If there are some that I can't spray off, I squish them with a folded leaf. There were a few times that I couldn't do anything due to cats on the plant. Somehow, it was never a problem. Now I did have a significant Ladybug population...
I had same problem last year. I plan on planting several sunflowers but am considering getting some ladybugs if that doesn't help "corral them". Where can you get native ladybugs? Lots of places sell them online but do not differentiate b/w Asian and native...
They are back! So far the aphids have only been on one or two buds at a time. I am currently picking them off bud and all everyday. I think I will try the spraying them with water and dish soap if they continue to get worse. I'm afraid that I will end up picking all the buds off if I'm not careful.
Greater Seattle, Zone 8
I'm starting off the growing season with an awfully lot of aphids and it just makes me sick.
I am told that once they are off the plant (but still alive on the ground) they are as good as dead. I was advised to remove them with blasts of water but this has not worked at all. I have a 20 foot honeysuckle vine that was covered with blooms about to open and every one was thick with aphids. The hose blasting didn't knock hardly any off. a few days ago I cut off the last 6" of every single stem to get rid of the worst of the infestation, but I doubt if that is going to be a cure, so what do I do next?
I have been told that the REAL problem is ants, which place the aphid eggs on plants in order to harvest "honeydew". But I am not seeing any ants, so I am wondering if that is correct.
Now I am starting to see aphids on my lettuce, which I grow in hanging baskets on the patio beneath a clear polycarbonate roof. Aphids are also on my columbine which grows in a planter box out in the yard.
I've never seen so many aphids so early and I am beginning to get desperate. I used Safer soap a few years ago, but it isn't practical for plants with so many convoluted surfaces.
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You are on the right track with the advice of getting rid of the ants. Without ants, aphids won't exist. You can place ant traps on the ground around the plants you're trying to get the aphids off of. Our soil tends to be on the sandy side since we're near a lake so we have a lot of ants. I use an insecticide on the lawn and that pretty much takes care of the aphid problem. If you don't want to use the chemicals on the lawn try the ant traps. Good luck.
Several things to kill aphids that will not hurt the plants, birds, or bees...
Mix 4 tsp. Country time lemonade powdered drink mix or Real Lemon Juice OR Tang powdered Drink Mix with 2 cups water in a 16 oz spray bottle.
Spray the plants.
The limonoids in the lemonade kills the aphids.
OR
Mix 1 TBSP. Dr. Bonner's Peppermint soap with 2 cups water in a 16 oz. sprayer.
Sprayer. Peppermint repels aphids.
OR
Spraying a solution of one part sugar with 10 parts water onto aphid susceptible plants attracts beneficial insects that feed on aphids.
Those are interesting solutions mezoe. I am just discovering aphids on a few of the buds of my honeysuckle too. I hosed most of them off as my plant is only about 4' tall, but I expect they'll return. I was hoping the lady bugs would show up!
Another aphid spray is 2 teaspoons of dish detergent in a quart of water, plus a drop of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Since I use it on shrubs where aphids like to live, I use a Hudson sprayer. Like all of these sprays, though, you have to keep at it: I'll wind up spraying every two weeks.