Aphids on an Elm tree

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MarilynneS Thunder Bay Ontario, ON(Zone 3a) Jul 03, 2008

I have discovered aphids on our Elm Tree :-( several of the leaves are curled and deformed. I made up a solution using Castille soap and water and sprayed the affected areas. Guess we'll see if it worked.

Am curious as to what others use to fend off Aphids? As well .. why did the Aphids choose the Elm tree? There are 2 apple trees a Maple and some birch and poplar near by that are untouched (so far).

~Marilynne~

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Resin Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a) Jul 03, 2008

Different species of aphids go for different species of trees.

Resin

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MarilynneS Thunder Bay Ontario, ON(Zone 3a) Jul 03, 2008

Well then .. I want Aphids that go for neighbours trees !!! :-)

~M~

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sweetpeadragon Tempe, AZ(Zone 9a) Jul 04, 2008

I've purchased ladybugs to attack aphids on my roses; they do a beautiful job, but treating a tree is another story. I've heard about using soap, hope it works for you. I've found that lacewings eat aphids, but don't think they're available to purchase. I've also purchased praying mantis eggs. Usually these good insects are available during the spring so I don't know if this info will help you or not.

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MarilynneS Thunder Bay Ontario, ON(Zone 3a) Jul 04, 2008

Thanks for the info sweetpea .. living WAY up north I tend to think that perhaps the ladybugs might work .. have a good friend living in Wisconsin who is mad as heck at the State Wildlife folks as they imported a Japanese Lady bug to fight off some sort of pest and now THAT Ladybug is a pest .. they bite people .. apparently quite hard !!

The Castille soap and water seems to have been quite effective .. will be re spraying the tree today .. am thinking the branches with the most damage will be pruned away and burned ..

~M~

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CoreHHI Bluffton, SC(Zone 9a) Jul 06, 2008

No, you don't have to prune the branches off. They're fine. Aphids don't usually do much damage it just looks bad. Soap will work but those guys multiply quickly so if you missed a few they be back in force in the near future.

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MarilynneS Thunder Bay Ontario, ON(Zone 3a) Jul 07, 2008

Well .. it's just that the tree looks kinda 'goofy' .. like lopsided .. I'm not talking a 'hard prunning' .. just want to make the tree look more balanced :-)

~M~

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