I have aphids on my rosemary plant. Don't know if they hitched a ride from B&Q or if they found their own way here.
Do they do a lot of damage? How do I get rid of them?
Thanks
Moggle
Hi..... :)
the organic way is to blast them with soapy water from a sprayer,the inorganic way is an Aphid spray from "Wilko's" etc......Alan
..er the squeamish should click the 'back' button now :-\
I squash them by rubbing them out between thumb and forefinger - wear gloves if necessary. Very effective if somewhat gruesome.
Perhaps I'd better not tell you what I do to slugs...... :o
AC
- and then you EAT the stuf?? =Tim
Never heard of washing things before you eat them Tim? Mostly I find the aphids aren't on the edible bits. Can't be worse for you than the chemicals in bug spray! Anyway - if it was good enough for Geoff Hamilton, it's good enough for me
AC
squishing is OK for tough things like established rosemary,for softer plants like baby peppers a dose of some type of soft soap is better.
The key is to keep an eye open and noble the blighters as soon as they appear.
Stephan.
Wise words, Stephan - I did the deed on some beasties on some Cerinthe and the leaves where the blighters were are looking a little sad.
Thanks all for the advice.
I have tried squishing, but there are so many that I think I will have to try the soapy water thing. Also I am a bit of a wimp and looking at so many little creepy crawlies makes me feel a bit icky. :-\
Is it ladybirds that eat aphids?
Hi Moggle - yes ladybirds and their larvae and lacewing larvae too.
AC
Thanks everyone for your advice. Have squished and soaped the rosemary, then found that the most severe infestation is on the daisy/crysanthemum plant next to it. This was only a bedding plant that didn't die at the end of last year, and is looking tall and ugly this year, so I think it is bye bye crysanthemum and hopefully bye bye aphids too. :P