Aphid transformation. Aphids: description, causes, means of control. What to consider when fighting aphids

Leaf aphids of any species, green or black, feed on plant tissues, mainly young shoots, and eat leaf and flower buds.

The harm it causes is colossal, first of all, because leaf aphids reproduce very quickly, forming huge colonies in a matter of days and producing about 50 colonies per season.

In addition to the general weakening of the plant: deformation of leaves and entire branches, loss of peduncles, buds, ovaries and fruits, aphids secrete sticky secretions that clog the stomata of the leaves, or a fungus settles on them. When biting leaves, aphids can spread viral diseases.

Aphids can completely destroy young plants that have one or two growing points.

The damage from aphids is aggravated by the fact that they are not at all selective in plants; they devour everything: garden flowers, seedlings and mature vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs and herbs.

She has special preferences, for example, plums, cherries, roses; currants are one of the first to be affected by aphids. Here, different species of aphids have their own taste preferences; black aphids prefer fruits - currants, apple trees, plums, green aphids - roses, chrysanthemums and other flowers. However, this is not a general rule; sometimes it seems that aphids eat everything!

Where do aphids come from on plants?

A fertilized female aphid lays eggs on branches and bark of trees, in the root zone, usually in secluded and hard-to-reach places. The eggs overwinter quietly in clutches, or they are kept until spring by ants, and then dispersed among any of the most attractive plants.

In the warmth, the eggs rapidly develop into adult wingless females, capable of reproducing without fertilization - they produce the main hordes of enemies of our crop.

By the end of June, and in warm weather by the end of May, a new form of adult insects appears in the aphid colony - flying females. They are the reason for the widespread spread of pests. They are called disperser aphids, their task is clear and understandable - to cover as large an area as possible and lay the next generations of eggs. If we take into account the help of the wind, then the spread of pests is several tens of kilometers from the place of departure. After mating, females lay overwintering eggs and a new cycle begins in the spring.

You may have noticed a phenomenon where aphids either disappear on their own or are found again on plants - these are dioecious aphids, in the first half of the season they actively reproduce on some plants, and with the appearance of winged females they move to another group of plants, at the end of summer - early autumn, they return to the first bushes.

Ants also contribute to the spread of aphids - they feed on the sweet syrup that aphids secrete (honeydew). Ants, like proper farmers, grow aphids, take care of their eggs, protect them from other insects and are constantly near the food source, trying to increase the plantations.

Prevention of aphids

Need I repeat the platitude that preventing an aphid infestation is easier than fighting it? However, any gardener will say that he has noticed how aphids progress on some plants, while on others they are rather sluggish and few in number.

The point is in the condition of the plants themselves, if they are healthy, the trees and shrubs are whitened, there are no aphids on them or there are very few of them.

Starting in the fall, remove leaf litter from the garden area and mow down the weeds in the tree trunks. During this time, cut out the tops and root shoots on which the eggs can overwinter.

Contain or destroy anthills during the spring and summer. Complete destruction of anthills, as a rule, is not justified, since in cold, windy or rainy summers, ants remain almost the only pollinators of plants (for bees and bumblebees, non-flying weather sets in).

To protect trees from ants, you need to destroy anthills located in close proximity to fruit bushes and trees. Then, to prevent the ants from making a new path, a strip of dry wood ash should be poured around the trunks - it will protect the approaches to the trees, like a Chinese border. If rain washes away the ash, you need to renew the topping.

Whitewash against aphids

It is necessary to bleach the trunks of fruit crops not in the spring, as is customary for most gardeners, but in the fall, preventing the laying of pest eggs and destroying spores of pathogenic fungi.

First you need to clean the trunks of lichens, mosses and loose bark with a brush - for old trees with a metal brush, for younger trees - with stiff bristles. Wash all damage to the bark and cracks with iron sulfate and cover with garden varnish.

For whitewashing with 20% lime mortar you need to take:

• 2 kg of slaked lime and dilute in 10 liters of water or
• Dilute 1-1.5 kg of quicklime in 10 liters of water

In addition, there is another recipe for whitewashing: dilute 2.5 kg of lime, 1 kg of clay and 0.3 kg of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water.

In garden centers you can purchase ready-made whitewash based on lime and adhesives.

When whitewashing tree trunks, in addition to direct toxic contact, you seal the already laid eggs of aphids or their possible hiding places. But in the spring, whitewashing needs to be repeated.

You may argue that aphids are flying insects and can settle on trees even with whitened trunks. However, the most dangerous time for plants is the opening of young leaves, flowers, and the formation of buds, and this is early spring. By the time the aphids develop females capable of flight, the trees protected by whitewashing have time to flourish, the leaves open and harden, becoming too tough for the aphids.

Improvement of berry bushes

To prevent berry bushes from being affected by aphids, proper agricultural practices must be carried out:

1. Do not overfeed them with nitrogen - nitrogen-rich fertilizer makes plant sap sweeter and more attractive to aphids. It is especially dangerous to apply nitrogen fertilizers in the second half of summer.
2. Add more ash - the need for potassium in fruit crops is very high. Potassium strengthens plant cell walls and increases the overall resistance of plants to stressful situations, such as cold. Aphids are only able to bite through the thin, delicate epidermis; they cannot gnaw through leaves with thick skin.
3. Do not overfeed the trees, but use fertilizers containing not only nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but also microelements (boron, zinc, molybdenum, iron).
4. Strictly monitor the acidity of the soil - plants absorb nutrients only at the optimal soil pH for them.
5. Replenish consumed calcium in a timely manner. Apply lime on soils rich in humus or peat bogs (1-2 kg of fluff per 3-4 year old currant bush for digging), and on sandy and sandy loam soils - dolomite flour. Let us recall the approximate application rates of dolomite flour (less on light soils, more on heavy soils):
   • acidic soils (pH< 4,5) 500-600 г/кв. м
   • medium acidic (pH 4.5-5.5) 450-500 g/sq. m
   • slightly acidic (pH 5.5-5.8) 350-450 g/sq. m

Fighting aphids

Watering with boiling water

You can water currants and gooseberries with boiling water when there is still snow on the site, and in the trunk circles of the fruit bush the snow has thawed (about 70 cm in diameter). Those. the snow on the branches has already melted, but the buds are still dormant and have not swelled!

Heat water to a boil, pour into a watering can with a sprinkler attachment. Then immediately water the bushes along the branches and the soil around the bushes. It takes about one watering can for a small bush. When pouring boiling water into a cold metal watering can, the water temperature drops to about 80 degrees; when watering the branches, its temperature drops to 70 degrees.

This technique allows you to destroy not only aphid eggs preserved on the shoots, but powdery mildew spores and mite clutches.

You can add 3 drops of iodine per 10 liters of water to the water for other diseases. It is important not to keep the watering can strictly in one place when watering, i.e. you need to scald, and not rinse the branches in boiling water!

Ash dusting

In the spring, before the leaves fully bloom (you can at the stage of bud opening), wet the branches with water and dust the moisture with sifted wood ash.

Soap and ash solution for aphids

Pour 300 g of ash (2 cups) into a bucket with 10 liters of boiling water, add 50 g of laundry soap shavings and leave to steep overnight. Pour the solution into the sprayer through triple gauze so as not to clog the sprayer with grains of ash. Treat all branches during bud break, at the stage of young leaves (salad greens).

Treatment against aphids with soap and Domestos

For 10 liters of water, take 100 g of tar or black laundry soap, add 5 drops (with a pipette) of Domestos (or any preparation containing chlorinol). You can spray on bare branches even at the moment when the leaves have already blossomed. 10-15 minutes after treatment, wash off the leaves with clean water from a hose. The procedure can be repeated after a couple of days.

Ammonia

Another proven way to combat aphids is ammonia. Two tablespoons per bucket of water, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of liquid soap. Helps almost instantly. No need to rinse off.

Dog shampoo against aphids

Flea shampoo for dogs and cats contains active ingredients of the pyrethroid class, they are toxic to aphids, i.e. the composition of the solution will be the same as, for example, a solution of the insecticide Iskra. The only difference is that the shampoo contains surfactants, i.e. adhesives. It is quite difficult to calculate the dose of shampoo (the concentrations of the active substance are different).

The safe dosage for plants is approximately 1 tbsp. spoon per bucket of water (10 l). Higher concentrations may cause leaf burn!

Preparations for aphids

There are many drugs against aphids, the question is how effective they are. You need to understand that systemic drugs (solutions or tablets stuck into the ground) act from the inside - when plants are absorbed by the roots.

Enteric-contact drugs will help only if the leaves and branches are thoroughly moistened. When aphids collect a colony, the leaves become shriveled, curled up, and the solution does not reach them. In this case, before spraying with aphids, you need to cut off the tops of shoots with deformed leaves. This is possible on currant or gooseberry bushes.

On large trees and tall bushes, it is technically impossible to pick out aphids manually or cut off nests, so the success of the enterprise depends on how well you carry out the spraying.

Aphid spraying time:

• along the branches until the leaves open
• before flowering in the beginning of budding phase
• after flowering during ovary growth
• 30 days before harvesting fruits and berries

In general, there are three classes of insecticides that work against aphids: pyrethroids, organophosphates, and neonicotinoids.

It is best to use systemic neonicotinoid drugs:

• (thiamethoxam) or Confidor (imidacloprid) - they can be watered and sprayed. They help with a bang. The problem with these drugs is that they are incredibly expensive for the average gardener: for example, for the summer of 2016, a 4 g bag of actara costs about 100 rubles - this is for 5 liters of water. If there are a lot of aphids in the garden and few trees and shrubs, treatment is very expensive. Watering is advisable only on vegetables (cucumbers and tomatoes); on trees “from the inside” (with watering) the efficiency is low.
• Tanrek is also a neonicotinoid, the active ingredient is the same as that of confidor - imidacloprid, but the cost is lower, more affordable and very effective against aphids. Consumption of 3 ml per 10 liters of water - 5 liters per tree.
• Spark Gold - also the active ingredient imidacloprid, for spraying 5 ml/10 l of water.
• Other analogues of Tanrek and Confidor: Biotlin Bau and Biotlin, Zubr, Imidor, Kalash, Commander, Confidelin, Korado, Monsoon, Prestige, Respect, Taboo, Tsvetolyuks Bau. The principle of operation is the same, the prices are different, choose any one.

The organophosphorus compounds Actellik (pirimiphos-methyl) and Karbofos, as well as their analogs - Antiklesch, Alatar, Fufanon, etc. also help against aphids, but recently there has been increasing resistance to these drugs, so they are less preferable.

Of the permethrins available and effective to us, Kinmiks, .

Bio-preparations for aphids

The drugs and Akarin are very popular in gardening. The advantages of their use are obvious - the active substance does not penetrate through the cell membranes into the fruits and leaves, i.e. does not accumulate in plants. The preparations are non-toxic to bees already 4 hours after the sprayed leaves dry.

Biological drugs are not far behind chemical ones. A properly selected product can completely remove a colony. or ensure the non-viability of subsequent generations of pests.

In addition, the substances have selective destructive activity and safe for people, beneficial insects and animals.

The most effective method has long been recognized as chemical. Ease of use, availability of drugs, guaranteed excellent results - all this allows chemical insecticides to take first place in terms of effectiveness. The fly in the ointment can be considered the negative impact on the environment and the relatively high cost of funds.

Pest control is a complex process, and aphids are one of the most harmful insects. Next, you will learn how to treat aphids and much more.

Measures

Very numerous and varied. However, it is worth remembering that the greatest efficiency will be brought by a complex of a number of measures, which includes all available methods for controlling aphids.

To minimize the number of existing pests and prevent their reproduction in the next season, it is recommended combine different measures to get rid of aphids.

Agrotechnical

• timely destruction of weeds;
• autumn deep digging of soil;
• changing the location of planting potatoes every new season;
• planting plants that repel aphids or distract them between potato bushes;
• cleaning and disposal plant waste in autumn.

If you don’t know what aphids and their colonies look like, then look at the photo, and also read below about fighting them.

Chemical

What to poison?

How to kill aphids? Means aimed at destroying aphids, can be used directly on plants or for soil treatment.

How to cultivate the land?

Experienced gardeners have long noted wood ash as a means of killing aphids. The use of stove ash significantly reduces the number of pests. It is enough to simply scatter it under the potato bushes on top of the soil.

Other means you can use:

1. Garlic infusions and onion peels;
2. Tobacco infusion;
3. Potassium permanganate solution medium pink color;
4. Copper sulfate;
5. Insecticides: Aktaru, Force, Hrolpyrifos, Regent, Thunder 2.

What to spray with?

A huge number of folk, biological and chemical remedies can be used for spraying potato bushes.

All any gardener needs is to decide which method appeals to him and choose a remedy from the list.

Chemical insecticides

• group of organophosphorus compounds - Actellik, Marshall, Nurell D, Fufanon;
• synthetic pyrethroids— Intavir, Spark “Double Effect”, Karate, Kinmiks;
• neonicotinoids - Bankol, Biotlin, Calypso, Commander, Confidant, Tanrek.

Neonicotinoids are recognized as the most effective because they have pronounced systemic and translaminar qualities.

Biological drugs

Completely natural products that are the result of the activity of fungi (radiata). Affects the nervous system of aphids, causing paralysis.

1. Agravertine.
2. Akarin.
3. Aktofit.
4. Vertimek.
5. Lepidocide.

Folk remedies

How ? Here are some of them:

• solution of tar, potassium or laundry soap;
• herbal infusions or decoctions: garlic, onion, tobacco, dandelion, marigold, chamomile, horse sorrel, hot pepper, dry peels of any citrus fruits, celandine, tomato tops;
• a mixture of iodine and milk;
• Coca Cola American origin;
• alcohol solutions;
• essential oils of cedar, clove, tea tree, lavender;
• suspension from any vegetable oil and water.

How to withdraw?

In order to get rid of aphids, it is not at all necessary to kill them. You can use the repellent abilities of plants and medications and simply drive the pest out of the garden.

Plants whose smell cannot be tolerated by aphids.

• lavender;
• pyrethrum or Dalmatian chamomile;
• peppermint;
• garlic;
• coriander;
• fennel;

  Prevention helps prevent massive aphid attacks, helps get rid of single specimens before they begin to reproduce, and prevents pests from flying from neighbors.

  Treatment against aphids in summer has its own nuances. You will learn further how to combat aphids and what will help against them, pest control measures.

  What needs to be done for this?

  1. Actively use all the agrotechnical measures described above.
  2. Attract natural enemies of aphids.
  3. Planting plants, repelling harmful insects.
  4. Carry out preventive treatments of plantings to destroy possible single individuals. You can use chemical and biological insecticides or folk remedies.
  5. Inspect plants regularly in order to track the appearance of aphids in time.

  If you use available methods of protecting and destroying harmful aphids in combination, you can reduce populations and colonies as much as possible.

  Then potatoes will thank you with a bountiful harvest.

  Useful video!

  If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

An aphid is a white, drop-shaped insect, no more than half a centimeter in length. There are winged and wingless ones.

Where does it come from and what plants does it affect?

Typically, aphids come indoors on other plants. This could be a bouquet of cut flowers or a purchased infected flower. Sometimes an insect can fly into a room while airing.

To detect aphids, you need to examine the leaves and stem from the inside, where the females lay eggs. The larvae look like small white specks.

White aphids attack dicotyledonous plants; legumes are especially susceptible to attack. White aphids overwinter on pistachio trees.

Favorable conditions for the reproduction of pests are dry soil and high temperatures.

Photo

Take a look at what the insect looks like in the photo:

How to get rid of pests on indoor flowers?

Pest control on orchids

Aphids are dangerous for orchids; they spread over the entire surface of the plant from the stem to the blooming flowers.

The insect is easy to detect by its white coating. It is necessary to check hidden places - the bases of shoots, buds, the underside of leaves.

Most often, aphids appear on orchids in a dehydrated room. Humidity should be maintained above 60%.

If these methods do not work, you should use chemicals. For orchids, Aktara, Fitoverm, Neoron, Fosfomit or Actellik are suitable.

You should not carry out more than three treatments with the same drug.

More details about how to deal with aphids on orchids can be found in.

How to fight in the garden?

In the garden, aphids most often attack young shoots and buds.. Leaves and stems affected by aphids have a sticky surface because the insects secrete an odorous mass - honeydew, which attracts ants.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

One of the first places among pests of indoor and garden plants is rightfully occupied by aphid. These insects of the order Homoptera are a headache for almost any gardener. Settled in colossal colonies and possessing high fertility, aphids destroy plantings, feeding on the juices of the host plant.

Each aphid colony contains both wingless and winged individuals, each of which plays its own specific role in a given population. Moreover, the presence of wings is not determined by gender - both males and females can be winged.

On the frontal part of the head of an adult there are special antennae responsible for touch and hearing. The eyes have a complex multifaceted structure; wingless individuals additionally have three simple ocelli.

The color of aphid's compound eyes can vary from red to black-brown. Surprisingly, the visual perception of aphids is an order of magnitude better than, for example, that of. Aphids can even distinguish some colors.

The aphid's oral organ is represented by a small proboscis consisting of 4 segments. With this proboscis, the aphid pierces the integument of the plant and sucks out the nutritious juices. There are more than 4,000 species of aphids in the world. These insects prefer warm climates with high humidity. Aphids feel wonderful in greenhouse conditions.

Character and lifestyle of aphids

Aphids live in huge colonies, primarily attacking young shoots and leaves. The plant weakens, the foliage curls and soon dies. Often, aphid colonies coexist with anthills.

During their life, aphids secrete a sweetish viscous liquid (honeydew), which is regarded as a delicacy. Ants literally graze aphids, feeding on honeydew and driving away predatory insects, which are natural enemies of aphids (, hoverflies, etc.)

Types of aphids

Among the huge variety of aphids, individual species differ from each other in body shape - it can be spherical, teardrop-shaped, or ellipsoidal. Sizes can also vary from 0.5 mm to 8 mm.

The pea aphid is colored in light green tones; it prefers to colonize legume plantings, in particular peas. Black aphids settle on cherries, sweet cherries and other fruit trees. Of course, aphids are not capable of completely destroying a tree, but they may well slow down its growth and interfere with normal fruiting.

Black aphid

The biological method involves attracting to combat insect aphids-predators. Natural enemies of aphids are ladybugs, hoverflies, lacewings, and many others.

For this purpose, plants that attract aphid enemies are planted next to the problem crop. Also, to destroy the aphid population, repellent plants (garlic, dill, tobacco, lemon balm, marigold) are planted. Birds can also cause significant damage to aphid colonies, however, in this case, the harvest of berry crops may also suffer.

Fight with aphids, insect pests, characterized by great gluttony, is also carried out with pesticides. This method is good if we are talking about large agricultural lands. We should not forget about the dangers of this method - chemicals tend to accumulate in the plant and ultimately end up on our table.

Traditional methods aphid control represent spraying of the affected plant with various herbal infusions, a solution of laundry soap with ash. It is noteworthy that good aphid repellent is regular Coca-Cola. After irrigating the leaves with this popular drink, the aphids usually disappear.

Aphid feeding

Aphid - insect practically omnivorous, it attacks any vegetation. and only certain representatives of this suborder prefer certain types of grasses, shrubs or trees. Penetrating into the soft tissues of the plant through the proboscis, the aphid feeds on the amino acids contained in the sap.

Reproduction and lifespan of aphids

In the fall, the female aphid lays eggs on the host plant. With the arrival of the warm season, larvae hatch from them, which grow into adults that reproduce without fertilization (parthenogenesis). The result of such reproduction will be wingless female aphids.

One female can give birth to hundreds of thousands of her own kind in a month. When a colony is overpopulated, winged specimens begin to appear in the offspring, capable of flying to another plant and occupying it.

Closer to autumn, males appear among the winged aphids and reproduction becomes bisexual. With this method of reproduction, the number of eggs becomes an order of magnitude lower, but only they are able to survive the harsh winter. In some species of aphids, not only eggs, but also larvae overwinter.

The lifespan of aphids depends on the species and weather conditions. On average it ranges from several days to a month. In a cooler environment (8-10°C), a female aphid can live up to 60 days.

How to get rid of aphids

1. Dandelion is an excellent means of combating aphid colonies, and not only, but also with copperheads. 300 g of finely chopped leaves and rhizomes are poured with water (10 l) and left for 3 hours. After the infusion, you need to strain and immediately treat the affected plants.

2. Celandine. Chop finely (3-4 medium bushes) and fill with warm water (1 bucket), add 20 g of dissolved soap or detergent, for example, Fairy. This solution must be infused and filtered after three hours. Spray the infected areas with the prepared preparation so that it reaches the pests themselves, that is, from the bottom up. You can directly dip the affected shoots into the solution.

3. Tomato tops. Finely chop 500 g and add one bucket of water, boil the whole thing for half an hour. The prepared solution is diluted in 1 liter of water. You can spray any plants. Tomato tops can be replaced with potato tops. 1.5 kg of chopped potato tops are poured into 10 liters of warm water and left for 3 hours, then filtered. After which you can spray.

4. Shag. Boil 100 g of tobacco in 1 liter of water for an hour, then strain. Before use, the resulting decoction must be diluted with water: 300-400 g of decoction per 1 bucket.

5. Soda solution. 1 tbsp. l. baking soda should be dissolved in 1 liter of water and add a quarter of a piece of chopped laundry soap.

6. Hot pepper. Boil several pepper pods in one liter of water. Then the broth is infused for two days. Before use, the solution must be diluted with water: 1 glass of infusion per 1 bucket of water.

7. Infusion of ash. It is considered the most effective folk remedy in the fight against aphid colonies. 200-300 g of ash is poured with boiling water, the cooled solution is filtered and soap or dishwashing detergent is added.

In order for the treatment to bring tangible benefits, the drug must reach the insect. And yet, all aphids do not like excess potassium. Therefore, generous feeding of plants with ash and abundant watering will spoil the taste of aphids’ favorite delicacy. Potassium is essential for plant health, and its proper use will only bring benefits.

But for those who do not inspire confidence in folk methods of fighting aphids without chemicals, I can recommend several drugs sold in our stores. Aktofit is harmless to aphids, but lethal to aphids.

The fruits, after spraying with this preparation, can be eaten within 48 hours. This drug can be alternated with the insecticide bitoxibacillin. AKTARA 25WG has high destructive power.

And the last recommendations: plant repellent plants on the site, such as mint, lavender, thyme and others. And also, it is imperative to get rid of the ants that breed aphids and feed on their milk, otherwise the fight against aphids will be ineffective.

Various pests can be found on trees and plants. Each species is dangerous in its own way for representatives of the flora. One of the unpleasant and harmful insects is. Small green or black individuals infect the plant in a short time, feeding on the sap of leaves, shoots of the root system, and buds of inflorescences. It is important for any gardener to understand where aphids come from on plants in order to take measures to eliminate them.

Causes of insects

Aphids cannot appear “out of nowhere”. There are several options for infecting a plant with this pest:

1. From eggs laid in fallen leaves during the winter, winged females emerge at the beginning of the summer season. They mate with males and, once fertilized, fly around the surrounding area in search of a suitable tree or flower. Having settled in a new place, the winged individual lays eggs on the lower part of the leaf. The young generation grows into females capable of viviparity without fertilization. They are the ones who create the main population of pests. A large infestation of insects can seriously damage the crop or the trees themselves.
2. After detecting a large number, aphids will soon form there. This is explained by the fact that ants are in symbiosis with aphids. Feeding on the sweet secretion from the abdomen of the beetles, shepherd ants move the pest to new leaves and protect them from other insects. Some species of ants breed aphids on the root shoots of plants.
3. Indoor flowers are no less susceptible to pests than garden crops. Most often after soil renewal. Insect eggs can be contained in soil purchased or collected from the street. When purchasing a new plant in a store, there is a chance that it may be infected with aphids, which will readily crawl onto other indoor flowers. Winged females can enter an apartment through an open window or even through a mosquito net.

To protect the root system of a tree or flower, it is recommended to sprinkle the ground around the base of the plant with wood ash. Tree trunks are covered with 20% slaked lime in early spring.

On a note!

One female aphid can bring up to 3 new generations of individuals over the summer with a total number of about 100 thousand.

To combat pest attacks in an apartment or house, you should choose the smallest mosquito net for the window. Pots of flowers on the windowsill provide a visual and fragrant reference point. In order to prevent infection of your favorite flowers, they can be covered with a special covering material that can transmit sunlight, but prevents insects from penetrating the plant. In addition, they help get rid of aphids. These include.