Aphid feeding symptoms
"White rose buds are blooming …", and on them clusters of aphids appear, which constantly enlarge their colonies with more larvae. These small insects are known to every garden owner. Nothing spoils the spring mood more than the sight of curled and damaged flowers and leaves of your favorite shrubs -roses , jasmine, euonymus, viburnum or other plants. Not only that - foraging aphids leave feces in the form of the so-called honeydew where fungi can grow. These small insects can sometimes drink as much juice from our plants as they weigh. Foodies and parasites!
In addition, they deform shrubs, discolor their leaves and cause the fall of flowers, buds and fruit. It is therefore necessary to discreetly ask them out of our garden. But how to do it?
Fighting aphids
We have a large selection of chemicals to combat aphids on the market. However, I believe that we should not resort to such drastic methods. These types of preparations can destroy not only pests, but also other useful creatures living in our garden. I know a much better way to fight these enemies.
Have you ever wondered who needs aphids? Well, they serve as food for other organisms. Among other things, they are a delicacy of ladybugs. These inconspicuous, red with black dots are invaluable allies of gardeners. Unfortunately, we often inadvertently destroy their larvae, because they look nothing like likeable adults.
How to invite ladybugs
A well-known way to lure ladybugs into your garden is to sprinkle the plants attacked by aphids with water with added sugar (half a tablespoon per liter of water). We perform this treatment once a week. Thanks to him, these useful beetles will surely accept our invitation and help in the fight against aphids. I read that a ladybug larva during its development period, i.e. from 20 to 30 days, can eat up to 600 aphids! Adult specimens eat 30 to 60 insects daily.
I care especially for these friendly creatures. I try not to cut the grass too low and always leave some leaves under the trees. In this way, I create the right conditions for them to reproduce. Ladybug larvae don't look very pretty, but I never destroy them. After all, I know how important they are for the life and appearance of my garden.
Justyna Sochan
GARDEN RECIPE
Environmentally friendly agents
There are selective preparations, that is, those that fight aphids without destroying ladybugs.These include: Apollo 500 SC, Aztec 140 EW, Biobit 3.2 WP, Dipel 3.2 WP, Nissorun 050 EC, Pirimor 500 WG, Roztoczol Extra 050 CS, Torque 50 WP.
