A friend just phoned, and said she has a problem with some chili plants in her conservatory. The leaves are curling, and she can see what look like little white eggs, with green things hatching out. What should she do? Anyone got any ideas about what the problem could be? My first reaction is a spray of rhubarb infusion.
Would she know green aphids if she saw them?
Either way, a good solution for any pest indoors is to find some ladybird larvae (look near blackfly outside), pick the leaf they are on (or tap it until they fall off into a container) and transport them to the indoor leaves under attack.
They make short work of aphids and lots of other suckers/nibblers and tend to stay where you put them until they have done their job (unlike ladybirds which just bugger off).
No pans/sieves, no mess, no smells, no washing up.
Cheers.
PS. The really big larvae are the least useful - they may start turning into ladybirds before they have eaten many pests.
Yep that sounds like aphids. Due to them being in the conservatory I'm guessing it's a lot more 'sheltered' and not as exposed to the outside world as a glasshouse might be in the nature of windows and doors etc. This means that once the aphids get in there is little to bother them. Easy and cheapest solutions for control are ladybug larvae as already mentioned but also lacewings ( I think both larvae and adult lacewings too). Another option is to mix up a mild solution of washing up liquid and water and spray on the plants/aphids with an atomiser. Repeat as necessary.