Combat aphids: You should better keep your hands off a popular home remedy
Created: 05/30/2022, 14:24
By: Andrea Stettner
In order to effectively fight aphids in the garden, you don't have to resort to chemicals straight away.
Which natural home remedies work just as well – and which are more harmful.
Whether black, green, reddish or yellow - nobody wants
aphids
(Aphidoidea) in their garden.
The voracious bugs attack young leaves and shoots in droves, damaging the plants.
An aphid infestation on roses, beans, fruit & Co. is quickly noticeable in
wilted or falling leaves
and stunted shoots, but also in yellow spots or brown discolouration.
The plants are often damaged in such a way that the harvest fails or the entire plant dies.
Therefore, you should not take such a pest infestation lightly.
But don't worry: aphids can be fought with simple household remedies inexpensively, quickly and, above all, in an environmentally friendly way.
Many natural home remedies help against aphids in the garden, such as soft soap.
You can easily spread them over the plants with a spray bottle.
© Martin Bäuml/Imago
Fight aphids: Natural home remedies drive away the pests
Soft soap:
Soft soap, also known as potash soap, is a true all-round talent in the household and is also suitable as a home remedy for combating aphids.
In contrast to cleaning products containing soap, it does not contain any chemical additives and is therefore well tolerated by the plants.
Simply dissolve
50 grams of soft soap in one liter of warm water
.
Put the soap solution in a spray bottle and dust the affected plants with it.
Milk:
If you notice an aphid infestation on your tomato plants early on, milk can also help: Dilute
one liter of milk with four liters of water
and give the mixture to the plants weekly.
In the case of a stronger infestation, you should rather resort to other means.
Rapeseed oil:
Rapeseed oil has a double effect against aphids.
On the one hand, the slippery oil ensures that the pests lose their footing on the host plants, on the other hand, the oil covers their respiratory openings - the little animals suffocate.
However, you should never use rapeseed oil pure, but always mixed with water.
The magic formula for an effective aphid control agent is:
Mix 5 liters of cold tap water with about 90 milliliters of rapeseed oil, add
a dash of washing-up liquid so that everything combines, stir, done!
Repeat the process after four weeks if you still find a few aphids.
Black tea:
The tannins contained in black tea ensure that aphids die quickly.
On the other hand, it cannot harm the plants, which is why this home remedy is also ideal for sensitive plants.
Boil
two teabags of black tea in half a liter
of water and let it steep for about 15 minutes.
After the tea has cooled, spread it over the affected plants using a spray bottle.
Garlic:
A broth made from garlic cloves not only scares away vampires, but also pesky aphids.
The simple home remedy can be made from
40 grams of chopped garlic
, which is boiled in 5 liters of water.
Leave to steep and cool for three hours, then strain and transfer to a spray bottle.
Incidentally, the spicy broth is also said to provide excellent protection for plants against fungal diseases.
.
Potato water:
the next time you cook potatoes, it is better not to throw away the leftover potato water, but rather pour it into a spray bottle.
Especially in the greenhouse, the boiling water is excellent for biological control of aphids - at least if the infestation is not too severe.
Spray the plants all over and repeat the procedure after a few days.
Rhubarb leaves:
This broth made from rhubarb leaves is said to help against the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae): Boil
500 grams of the leaves in three liters of water
for half an hour.
Spray the cooled and strained broth with a garden sprayer once a week until the lice have had enough.
Incidentally, the brew also acts as a nutritious fertilizer for the plants.
Home remedies that do not help against aphids
However, you should keep your hands off a much-vaunted household remedy when fighting aphids:
Vinegar
.
If the dosage is too high, the strong acid it contains will attack the leaves and thus damage the plants.
In addition, vinegar only has a preventive effect on aphids anyway, because they avoid the acid.
Vinegar is even banned as a weed killer.
(as)
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