How to get rid of aphids on trees quickly and effectively

What is dangerous for trees

This family of insects is a rather vicious pest. Settling on the underside of the leaves, aphids suck the juices from the fresh greenery of plants, destroying young growth. At the same time, it secretes poison, which is why the leaves curl, change shape and die, the shoots do not grow, the tops are bent. Aphid waste - sweet secretions - pollute the leaves, thereby disrupting the natural life of the plant. It also spreads viral infections through saliva. The greatest harm among fruit trees goes to young seedlings. Aphids are small insects familiar to us up to 7 mm. They have a special piercing-sucking proboscis, with which they pierce the surface of leaves, buds or new shoots and suck out the juice. The plant is greatly weakened, becomes susceptible to viral diseases. Some types of aphids damage plant roots. Aphids can be with or without wings. Some of them fly up to 25 km with the wind, while others reproduce on the spot 2 times a year, in spring and summer. The excrement secreted by aphids contains a lot of carbohydrates; ants love this special treat.

Interestingly, ants protect the aphid family from ladybirds and other predatory insects.

Ants carry aphid larvae over considerable distances to the juicy parts of the plant, protect them from bad weather even in their anthill. It is ants in symbiosis with larvae, winged and wingless representatives of aphids that can cause great trouble in your garden.

Insects adapted to seasonal changes, studied the physiology of the plant they liked. They reproduce in two ways: the first is natural by mating of males and females, and the second is the viviparity of virgin females. Aphids are a dangerous insect and must be fought with in spring and autumn. In autumn, females lay eggs, which overwinter on trees and bushes, from which wingless females will hatch.

Ants carry such wingless creatures from tree to tree. In May, winged females appear, capable of migrating over distances, which will give birth to males and females in September. They are fertilized again and this process is endless, which once again proves the complexity of the fight against this type of pest.

The aphid's diet is huge, it feeds on fruits on the trees of apple, pear, quince, plum, medlar, hawthorn, irgi and dogwood. It multiplies, and therefore harms sunflower, thistle, chamomile, sow thistle, comfrey. There are lovers of flower plants - roses, meadowsweet, tulips, black currant, viburnum. There are 450 species of aphids in our hemisphere.

Obviously, without applying special measures to destroy these pests, the garden and the entire site will be hugely damaged.

The fight against aphids is further complicated by its rapid reproduction. In addition to the methods of getting rid of aphids, which we will consider later in our article, you need to pay attention to preventive measures.

Prophylaxis

We have already mentioned that ants help aphids to hide in bad weather, and also ants transfer individual individuals to a plant, therefore one of the ways to reduce the appearance and spread of aphids is to treat clutches with ants' eggs with boiling water.

Take care of the health of your garden. It is necessary that the leaves on the trees be strong and tough, then it will be more difficult for aphids to bite through them. For this, sprinkling of the crown and mulching should be carried out, watering regularly, feeding the plants in a balanced way (do not be zealous with nitrogen).So that the plant does not weaken due to the appearance of a sooty fungus, it is necessary to wash off the pad from the leaves of the trees.

Special care is required for young shoots - remove tops, fattening shoots, root shoots, with a fairly soft cloth - aphid breeding sites.

Clean old and flaky bark from trees in the fall and early spring. Whitewashing the bark also reduces the number of viable egg clutches.

Remember about plant helpers. You can plant coriander, mustard, garlic, onions, mint, basil, fennel, lavender near the beds, right in the beds and around the perimeter, they will repel some types of aphids. If you plant calendula, carrots, dill or parsley in the garden, which smell will lure predatory insects: ladybirds, lacewings, ground beetles, predatory bugs, hoverflies, earwigs and some wasps, they will help get rid of aphids.

You can get rid of aphids with the help of birds, if you can attract them to your site. These are robins-robins, tits, warblers, wrens, linnet, kinglets and sparrows. They feed their chicks with aphids.

Folk methods of struggle

Agree that the use of folk remedies is much safer and cleaner for plants and your health.

The most common aphid remedy is the most common liquid soap combined with vegetable oil. The prepared solution should be sprayed with plant parts affected by aphids in the evening several times, until they are completely destroyed.

An effective way is a decoction of tar soap or wood ash. According to the same principle, a remedy based on a decoction of tobacco dust, yarrow, shield wormwood, wormwood, dandelion, tansy, hot pepper, onion, mustard or rhubarb will work.

These insects will also not tolerate hot pepper infusion. Dilute the concentrate with water and add soap powder.

You can make an infusion of chopped potato, nettle, or tomato leaves. This remedy is organic and will seem strange to many, because aphids feed on the juices of their leaves. However, if you soak these crushed leaves overnight or longer in water, strain, bottle and spray the damaged plants, mostly on the bottom of the leaves, the effect will not keep you waiting long.

Chemicals

The use of chemicals should be carried out 20 days before eating food from a garden, bush or tree. Chemicals are very effective, they are subdivided into contact, intestinal and systemic according to the affected areas. Let's consider each type of insecticide, their advantages and disadvantages.

Contact immediately kill the insect, penetrating through the integument of its body and, thereby, make life easier for the plant. These are drugs "Fufan" (aka "Fufanon"), "Arrivo" "Karbaphos" and "Fury". True, if the aphid senses the threat to life, it will multiply faster.

Intestinal remedies help get rid of the insect, getting into its digestive system, aphids die due to poisoning. Combined with contact ones, they will be most effective. This means "BI-58 New" and "Confidor".

Systemic drugs act on the plant, penetrating into its tissues; the insect feeds on the sap of the leaf, which is now poisonous for it. For example, only the lower layer of leaves on trees can be treated with Aktara, it will work even in rainy weather, but the effect is slow and will be noticeable only after a couple of weeks.

It should be remembered that the use of chemicals on your site will help get rid of harmful insects, as well as harmless ones - ants and all predators that hunted aphids will die.

Plants must not be processed during the flowering period, as bees may die. You should choose dry, calm weather and try to get under the sheet. Like any living organism, aphids can develop strong immunity from the agents used. From time to time, you need to alternate drugs.

Video "Getting rid of aphids"

The recording tells about some folk methods of getting rid of aphids on trees.