In this guide, I will be giving you organic tips on how to make homemade aphid killers.
For those with vegetable gardens, you would have come across aphids. They are tiny insect pests, also called “plant lice” and they feast on garden plants by latching on to the leaves or base and suck up their nutrients.
This feeding habit is bad for your plants, as it causes them to turn yellow, curl at the leaves, or wither as a whole.
About Aphids
Aphids repopulate very fast, so if you don’t notice the problem on time, a lot of plants would have been damaged already. They can also spread viruses from one plant to the other.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to fight aphids, and you do not need a professional pest control service to achieve this. You can cook up several natural remedies right in the comfort of your home.
You may wonder, won’t chemical sprays work faster? Well, they can, but you have to weigh both options before you proceed to disinfest.
Homemade Aphid Killers Vs Chemical Aphid Killers
The major reason people plant fruit-bearing trees is to eat them of course. For this reason, a chemical aphid killer may not be your best option, as the spray may harm or kill your plants.
Other home gardeners plant for the sake of having the sweet-smelling fragrance of their flowers flow into their homes. If you use a chemical aphid killer on your garden flowers, the harmful chemicals will also be transferred into your home.
Organic homemade aphid killer on the other hand poses no threat to you or your succulents. There are several organic combinations you can use to kill aphids.
Below are a few recipes.
Natural Homemade Aphid Killer Recipes
Try these –
Soap And Water
A combination of liquid soap and water can do a lot of damage to aphids. It is simple to make and anyone can do it.
All you will need is a few tablespoons of mild liquid soap and about a pint of water.
Pour a pint of water into a container and add a few tablespoons of liquid soap. Mix the combination thoroughly until they are well blended then pour into a spray bottle.
When your mixture is ready and bottled, grab a sponge, and then you can proceed to head out into your garden.
You may wonder what the sponge is for. You’ll find out soon enough.
It’ll be a big mistake spraying indiscriminately across the leaves of your garden plants, but doing so will mean you’ll kill the beneficial insects in your garden along with the harmful aphids.
The best way to apply the soap and water mixture is to spray some of it on the sponge and gently wipe it across the leaves of the affected plants.
As you wipe, be sure to check under the leaves, just in case aphid eggs and larvae are finding there. Wipe those off too.
Vinegar
A combination of vinegar and Castile soap is a lethal weapon against aphids.
Castile soap can be used for many purposes. It is a vegetable-based liquid soap with its main ingredients being mineral oil and olive oil.
Combining Castile soap and vinegar with water, you can make a DIY aphid killer.
The good thing about vinegar is that it can also act as a repellant, who prevents aphids or other insect pests from returning.
Vinegar Aphid Spray Recipe
- 1 tablespoon Castile soap
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 gallon of water
After you have mixed the ingredients in a container, you can pour them into a spray bottle and visit your garden with it. Spray across the affected leaves and stems to kill the aphids.
Neem Oil
Neem oil is one of the most powerful organic substances you can use to win the fight against aphids. It is derived from the seeds of the Neem tree and it has devastating effects on insect pests, aphids inclusive.
All you have to do is mix some neem oil with a few drops of mild liquid dish soap and some water.
Stir thoroughly to make sure it is well blended in then pour it into a spray bottle. Go to each of the affected plants and apply them to the leaves and stems.
Search for the eggs and larvae that may be hiding under the leaves of the plants and wipe them off too.
Neem Oil Based Aphid Spray Recipe
- 1 tablespoon of neem oil
- 1/3 tablespoon of liquid dish soap
- 5 cups of water
You can also use a garden hose to spray across your plants. You can place your fingers at the tip of the hose to create a mist spraying effect.
Another advantage of using neem oil is that it doesn’t have any harmful effects on beneficial insects, just the harmful pests.
Essential Oils
As far as aromatherapy goes, essential oils have always been constantly used. But that isn’t all that it’s good for, it can also be combined in several ways to get rid of aphids and other insect pests.
Using a mixture of thyme, peppermint, cloves, and rosemary oils, you can whip up a highly potent pesticide that will annihilate aphids in an instant. The great thing about this combination is that it can also repel them and keep them from coming back.
Keep in mind though, peppermint oils can be very toxic to cats, so if you have one, you may skip this combination and try something else. Other than that, you’re good to go.
Tomato Leaf Spray
Tomato leaves contain a toxic compound called alkaloids, and you can use this to fight against aphids.
All you need to do is chop them up, soak in water overnight, drain and dilute with water, pour in a spray bottle, and head over to your garden. This is a simple but potent aphid killer.
If you’re allergic to tomatoes, then do not attempt to make this spray as it will also affect you. However, if you’re fine with it, then make as much as you need to treat the aphid infestation in your garden.
Besides those who are allergic to tomatoes, this tomato remedy is not dangerous to humans, animals, or plants.
Take the spray bottle to your garden and apply directly on the leaves, beneath them, and around the stems to get rid of aphids.
Garlic Oil Spray
Garlic is one of the most potent organic foods you can use to kill and repel pretty much any insect pest. It contains sulfur that these pests find extremely toxic and they cannot stand being around it.
The major disadvantage with garlic is that it can also kill beneficial insects such as ladybugs, so you need to be careful when you apply. Better still, only use the garlic-based pesticide if you have no ladybugs in your garden.
Garlic Oil Natural Aphid Killer Recipe
- Several cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons of vegetable oil
- 1 pint of water
- 1 teaspoon dish detergent
- Spray bottle
To prepare, add some cloves of garlic to the vegetable oil and let it sit for about a full day. After 24 hours have elapsed, strain the garlic and add the oil to some water then mix with some dish detergent.
Stir the combination thoroughly so they all blend in nicely then pour into a spray bottle. Visit the affected plants and spray accordingly.
How You Can Control Aphids In Your Garden
Besides using homemade sprays, there are other ways by which you can control aphids around your garden.
Follow these tips –
Attract Favorable Bugs
Some bugs would love to feast on as many aphids as they can find. Such bugs include lady beetles and lacewings.
Get as many as you need and introduce them to your garden so they can help you get rid of the aphids.
This method of aphid removal will keep your beneficial bugs well-fed, and your garden plants free from chemical pesticides.
Use Dormant Oil
Using dormant oil is another great way to keep the aphids off your garden plants. Dormant oil is a blend of several oils and water. It is applied to plants during the dormant season and it repels aphids after the winter period is past
This mixture will not harm any beneficial insects, since they won’t be around the plants during the dormant season.
DIY Dormant Oil for Natural Aphid Control
Here’s all you’ll be needing.
- 1 gallon of water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons of canola oil
- Spray bottle
To whip up this combination, combine water and baking soda with canola oil. The next step is to pour the mixture into a spray bottle and apply it directly on the leaves of your garden plants while they are dormant.
Plant Fragrant Herbs
Some plants have such a strong fragrance, that they repel aphids. If you plant such herbs around your garden, then the strong scent will help you repel the aphids.
Conclusion
Aphids are harmful to garden plants since they suck up all their nuttier. Follow these tips to prepare your homemade aphid killer.
Good luck!