Aphid Wars
I’ve been battling with aphids, massive herds of them. Have tried everything… and have finally found something that is working great for me.
I mix some DE (diatomacious earth – food grade) with water and a little bit of dish soap (so that the DE will mix well with the water and so that the mixture will cling to the leaves) in a spray bottle. Spray it on the aphids and next day they are gone… just gone! Totally amazed me.
I haven’t measured – just put enough DE in so that the resulting mix is milky. Got to keep the bottle shaken because the DE will settle to the bottom. And do be aware that the DE is juuuuust gritty enough that it will destroy the trigger mechanism in your spray bottle – one reason I started using a pump sprayer.
Works so well that I’ve started putting it in my 2 gallon pump sprayer and just soaking everything – particularly the undersides of the leaves. Being careful to avoid good bugs – like ladybugs and their larvae.
I’ve not tested it on other bugs yet but I see no reason why this wouldn’t work on many others too.
Aphids on a very small okra leaf
Pump sprayer (around $10)
Pepper plant after being sprayed
Underside of pepper leaf the day after being sprayed with DE (this leaf was more heavily infested than the okra leaf pictured above
September 1st, 2010 at 7:40 am
I have lots of milk weed that is always covered with aphids. I love butterflies and my whole garden is geared towards drawing them into my yard. Would the DE solution kill the butterfly eggs and caterpillars? THANKS!
September 1st, 2010 at 8:56 am
Yes, Debbie, I’m afraid it probably would.
FIrst thing you need to determine is “are the aphids causing any significant damage to the plants”? If not, I would suggest leaving well enough alone.
Second question would be “are there ladybugs and larvae munching on the aphids”? If there are, again I would suggest leaving them alone – the DE spray will kill them.
Do you have eggs and/or caterpillars and/or chrysalis on the milkweed right now? If not, then you might consider spraying, leaving it on for 12-24 hours, then rinsing it off.
BUT, if there are any eggs, caterpillars, or chrysalis on the plants I would just crush the aphids by hand or dislodge them with a strong blast of water from a spray bottle. Any other treatment would be detrimental to those precious butterflies.
If (and that’s a very strong if) there are only eggs and or chrysalis, you could very carefully spray the aphids in areas where there are no eggs or chrysalis and then rinse a few hours later. Do keep in mind though that if the eggs hatch, the new caterpillars will be subject to being killed by the DE as they crawl around munching.