How To Keep Aphids Off Your Houseplants – 5 Simple Methods That Work: Have you been having a hard time with aphids on your houseplants? Would you like to get rid of them naturally, without using harsh drugs or spray? If so, here are 5 great natural ways to keep aphids off of your flowers.
Aphids can quickly take over indoor plants like spider plants, peacock plants, and even herbs, as well as trees and plants that you find outside. Aphids are actually the most common bug that lives in homes.
How To Keep Aphids Off Your Houseplants – 5 Simple Methods That Work!
And because they are so small, aphids can easily get inside through door cracks, window screens, and other small holes that lead outside. Aphids can also come inside with plants you bring inside from outside, or they can even be brought on flower arrangements.
You can keep aphids off of your houseplants in a number of harmless ways. And by following a few simple tips, everyone can get rid of them quickly and keep them from coming back.
What Are Aphids?
Aphids are very small bugs in the family Aphididae. The adults are shaped like pears and are only about 1/8 inch long or less.
Aphids come in about 5,000 different types. There are light green aphids, but there are also black, white, and gray ones.
They can be hard to find because they are small and usually live on the back of leaves in groups. If you regularly look over your flowers or when you water them, you might notice an infestation early on, before it gets too bad.
How do aphids get into plants and hurt them?
Aphids can take over your plants before you even know there is a problem. Aphids are very easy to get and spread, so you will need to act quickly to stop them from hurting your flowers.
They are very flexible and can easily move from one plant to another. If you are inside, they can spread by flying or moving. If you see aphids on one of your flowers, they will quickly spread to the others.
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Aphids eat the soft, nutrient-rich parts of plants to stay alive. Anything from the plant’s leaves and roots to its buds and fruit can be eaten. They tend to gather in places where the plant is growing new leaves. Because aphids reproduce so quickly, this can do a lot of damage to plants.
Aphids eat plant matter and their waste is sticky and sweet. This is called “honeydew.” Fusus and sooty mold can grow on your plants because of this waste.
After a while, your plants will start to look misshapen and hurt, and if they have aphids, they might even start dropping leaves. Along with this, the buds and fruit may start to change shape and die.
How to keep aphids away from a plant Of course
You don’t have to use harsh sprays and chemicals on your plants to keep bugs away. A lot of the time, natural options like the ones below work better than chemicals and store-bought items.
Most of these options use things that you probably already have at home. Most of these ways work, but you might have to keep doing them for a while to get rid of a big aphid problem for good.
Water
When you want to keep aphids off of your flowers, water works well. It can be used in a lot of different ways to get rid of the problem.
If you only have a few bugs, soak a cotton swab in water. Wipe down parts of your plants where pests are present with the damp swab.
If your flowers have a lot of aphids, use a strong stream of cold water to get rid of them. It works great to use a simple plastic spray bottle full of cold water on the “jet” setting. If you can, do this outside. If not, do it in the tub or sink.
Unfortunately, if your plant has thin leaves, it might not be able to handle being sprayed. If so, you might be able to douse the plant in water. For a few minutes, keep the leaves in the water to get rid of bugs. Use clean water that is at room temperature.
If you use water, you may need to do it more than once to get rid of it completely.
Neem Oil
Another great natural way to get rid of aphids on flowers is to use neem oil. Neem leaves are used to make neem oil. It is a natural insecticide that is organic and biodegradable. It won’t hurt your plants or your family.
When you use neem oil, make sure you carefully follow the directions. Some goods come ready to use, while others may need to be mixed with water first. Besides that, neem oil can also kill beetles, cabbage worms, mealy bugs, leaf miners, and other small bugs, whether they are inside or outside.
Homemade Soap Spray
To keep aphids off of your flowers, you can make your own spray with water and pure liquid soap.
First, fill a small bucket with water. This will make your homemade spray. To that, add a few tablespoons of liquid soap and mix it in. Don’t use cleansers; only use liquid soap.
When you make soap, you use natural ingredients that break down over time, like oils, fats, and other fats. When you make laundry, you use chemicals that were made by humans.
Then, you can use a spray bottle to put the solution right on the aphids after making it. You should make sure to soak the whole area that is affected, even the leaves’ undersides. The homemade product will kill aphids right away and won’t hurt your plant.
Garlic Spray
A garlic spray can get rid of aphids on your flowers. Bugs won’t want to lay their eggs on plants or roots that are sticky, so it works.
To make an easy garlic spray, you will need water and garlic. Put a whole clove of garlic in two cups of hot water and crush it up. Let the mixture sit overnight.
In the morning, strain the garlic out of the water. Put the garlic pieces back in the pot and add one tablespoon of hot pepper and liquid soap to the water.
Put the garlic solution in a spray bottle so that you can use it to spray your flowers. Like with the homemade soap spray, make sure to soak the whole affected area, even the ground beneath the leaves. Putting the garlic mix in the fridge for up to a week is fine.
Oils of essential
You might also be able to get rid of aphids on your flowers with essential oils. The essential oils won’t kill the aphids, but they will keep them from trying to live on your plants.
When it comes to essential oils, lavender is the best choice. But you can also use oil from rosemary, peppermint, thyme, or clove. All of them make smells that bugs would rather not be near.
Fill a spray bottle with water and add four to five drops of the oil you want to use. Mix well, then spray the whole plant.
Make sure to spray a small area of your plant with the spray first to make sure it doesn’t hurt it. Spray your houseplant with the solution a few times a day until the aphids are gone. Keep the solution close by.
To Conclude
All of these natural ways will help keep aphids away from your flowers. These things are safe and won’t hurt the air inside your home or the health of your family or pets. Your flowers will be free of aphids in no time if you put in a little work.