Aphids will probably be on your plants if you garden for a long time. In an organic yard, aphids are a very common pest. They hurt almost all plants, and it can be very annoying to deal with them.
Take a big breath. We’ll take care of you. We’ve been getting rid of aphids naturally for years, and today we’re going to share all of our best tips, tricks, and ways to get rid of them. Let us get rid of those annoying bugs!
What Do Aphids Look Like?
Aphids are very small bugs that look like pear shapes and are soft on the inside. Most of the time, they stick together on plant roots and leaves, which they bite into to get a drink.
Some aphids are pale green, some are black, some are red, and some are yellow. Potato aphids, which are pink, or green peach aphids, which are pale yellow-green, are most likely to be found on tomato plants.
Symptoms Of Aphids On Tomato Plants
Aphids can be seen when leaves are stunted and don’t look right. They may curl around the edges. This pest takes the sap and other nutrients from the roots and leaves, which makes it hard for the leaves to grow properly.
If you think there are aphids on the plant, look closely at the roots and the tops and bottoms of the leaves. Aphids can be seen with the human eye, but they are often very small, so it’s hard to get a good look at them at once.
Another sign that you have aphids? Ants! Yes, aphids do make something called honeydew. It is clear and sticky, and it will stick to the places where the aphids were. This honeydew is sweet and attracts ants.
If you see a lot of ants on or near your tomato plants, you may have an aphid problem. It’s easier to see ants than aphids, so if you see a lot of ants, take a close look to see if there are also aphids there.
Another sign could be that the leaves or roots of your plants look black. The saliva that aphids make can grow sooty mold, which turns plants black.
Why Are Aphids Harmful To Your Tomatoes?
There won’t be any damage to your yard from a few aphids here and there, but if they get too many, they can absolutely kill the soft parts of your plants. If nothing else goes wrong, aphid damage can slow your plants’ growth. In the worst situations, aphids can kill plants by eating too much or spreading diseases.
How To Get Rid Of Aphids On Tomato Plants Without Chemicals
We will talk about how to keep aphids from getting on our plants in a bit. For now, let’s talk about what we do when we see them for the first time.
1. Manual Removal
You can pick off a few aphids and drop them into a bucket of soapy water to kill them. Aphids like to hide on the undersides of leaves, so make sure you check those too. Every day, look for new aphids to see if you need to do something else to get rid of them.
2. Water Spray
For those who don’t like getting rid of aphids by hand or who have a lot of tomato plants, a sharp blast of water from the yard hose can get rid of the aphids on the leaves and stems of the tomatoes. Every few days, look for new bugs to see if the plants need to be sprayed again. One problem with this method is that water doesn’t care what it hits, and it can also kill good bugs that are on your plants.
3. Plant Bug Repellent
Lemon, peppermint, garlic, water, and dish soap are what we use to keep bugs away from our plants. It’s natural and won’t hurt the plants. This spray doesn’t kill bugs, but it does cover up the smell of their food plants, like tomatoes, so they get lost and hopefully go somewhere else.
Spray this on plant roots, leaves, and the undersides of leaves to keep bugs away. Use it again every few days until your plants have few or no bugs left.
4. Water And Dish Soap
Not interested in making bug spray? You can also spray the plants with a mix of water and dish soap. This homemade bug spray kills aphids by covering them in a film that suffocates them. Mix a quart of water with a few teaspoons of liquid dish soap to make it. Then, spray or wipe the mixture on the plant’s leaves, stems, and buds. If you have a lot of aphids, you might want to use the wiping method. It takes a long time, but it will make sure you get all of them on the plant.
Spray on neem oil. Neem oil is like garden-based aspirin. The mildew on rosemary and the bugs on tomato plants both seem to go away when you use it. Get this magic cure as soon as possible if it’s not already in your kitchen. To get rid of aphids, mix two tablespoons of Neem oil with a quart of water and spray it on once a week, making sure to hit the bottom of the leaves where they like to hang out.
Simple aphid spray. For this one, you only need a few simple things. Mix a quart of water with a few drops of dish soap and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Spray your plants when it’s cool outside, like early in the morning or late at night, so the oil doesn’t harden in the summer. You don’t have to use vegetable oil to make this. Dish soap and water should work just fine; it might take a little longer. Add a pinch of chili pepper to either recipe to help stop any more aphids from coming in.
Vinegar spray. This one is also pretty simple, but it works. You can spray your plants with a mixture of one-to-five vinegar and water. The fact that vinegar can also help stop mold and fungal diseases is an added plus.
5. Using Alcohol To Control Aphids
It’s easy to find isopropyl alcohol, which is also known as isopropanol or rubbing alcohol. It works fine, but make sure it doesn’t have any extra stuff added to it. Ethanol, which comes from grains, works the best. In stores, alcohol is usually sold at a strength of 70%, or 95% if you buy it professionally. To make an alcohol solution that kills bugs, mix water and 70% alcohol in equal parts. If you’re using 95% alcohol, mix 1 part alcohol to 1 ½ parts water.
A soapy mixture can also be made work better by adding alcohol to it. For instance, put 5 cups of water, 2 cups of isopropyl alcohol, and 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap in a spray bottle.
It is NOT a good idea to spray these kinds of treatments over the whole plant at once. Only spray or wipe down the places that have bugs. It will only kill the aphids it comes in contact with, so you may need to use it more than once.
CAUTION: Always test an alcohol or soap spray on a small part of the plant first, and only use it in the morning or evening, when the sun is not as strong. Before adding more, wait a few days to see if the plant has any bad responses. Dish soap and booze can be bad for plants. Also, some soaps have chemicals added to them that are bad for plants, so choose the cleanest kind.
Of course, the best way to deal with pest problems is to keep them from happening in the first place. Planting herbs, garlic, and other plants with strong smells (like chives and marigolds) next to each other is a great way to keep pests away and give your garden more life.