How to deal with aphids on pepper at home, how to process
The question of how to deal with aphids on pepper seedlings worries many gardeners. The fact is that the juicy shoots of this vegetable are a favorite treat for aphids.
At the same time, radical methods of struggle with the help of strong chemicals can not always serve well. Poisonous treatment can harm the plants themselves and spoil the crop. The situation is also ambiguous with ants, which coexist in deep symbiosis with aphids. They can harm plants, but they also bring tangible benefits, driving many types of parasites, such as ticks, from the site. It is undesirable to destroy ants, but after all, it is they who carry the aphids through the leaves of plants, protect them from other insects and hide them for the winter in hives. What to do in this difficult situation?
Let's try to figure out how to save the peppers from extinction if aphids appear in the garden, while not disturbing the balance of the ecosystem of our garden or greenhouse.
How to determine the presence of aphids on plants
You need to carefully examine the leaves on the pepper seedlings. Aphids on peppers in a greenhouse or in a vegetable garden give themselves away by characteristic signs:
- leaves began to curl and dry on the shoots. This is an indicator that the aphid that has appeared is drinking the sap of the plant;
- whitish blotches of honeydew appear on the leaves, which are emitted by aphids;
- pepper becomes covered with thick sticky mucus, which shines when exposed to sunlight;
- if you peel back the edge of the affected leaf and look at its back side, you can see adult insects and their eggs.
After it became obvious that there are aphids on pepper seedlings, you need to choose the most acceptable method of dealing with it.
Mechanical impact
The easiest way to regulate the aphid population is to manually remove the insects from the affected leaves. You can use a jet of cold water for this purpose. It is also advisable to remove leaves affected by aphids.
Unfortunately, this method does not completely control the parasite. Aphids on pepper seedlings breed at an incredible rate, and no one has enough time and energy to inspect all the plants every day. Insects and their clutches fall into the ground, from where they again climb onto plants and begin their harmful activities.
Important! Aphid eggs can be preserved in soil for up to two years.
Biological impact
The pest has many natural enemies, both among birds and among insects. This can be used if you attract them to your site with the help of baits. The following predators will help to destroy aphids.
Among birds, aphids are exterminated by tits, wrens, warblers, linnet, korolits and sparrows.In order for them to visit your garden more often, you need to place feeders, drinkers with water and bird houses in the immediate vicinity of the pepper seedlings.
Insects that fight aphids most effectively are the May bug, wasps, ladybugs, predatory bugs, ground beetles, and lacewing. In order for them to appear in the garden, you need to plant plants in the garden from which a spicy smell emanates. Such plants include parsley, dill, cloves, nettles, carrots.
The regulation of the pest population through biological action allows you to control aphids on pepper both in the garden and in the greenhouse. However, for this mechanism to start working, you need to spend a lot of time on preparation. Therefore, it is necessary to plan its introduction long before the pepper is planted in the ground, otherwise the aphids will have time to destroy the crops with complete impunity before the start of fruiting. In addition, this method works only on open ground, greenhouse crops do not allow it to be used.
Important! Bioinsecticides are an effective way to control aphids.
The use of chemicals
To get rid of aphids, you can use any drugs that include a neonicotinoid, pyrethroid or organophosphorus compound. Before using the product, it is important to carefully study the instructions. The fact is that the substances are toxic to humans, and if you fight them with aphids on peppers in a greenhouse, this requires the mandatory use of a respirator. Currently, the following classification of aphids on pepper seedlings has been adopted.
Artificial drugs have a wide range of products from various manufacturers. Something new is constantly appearing on the market. They represent a radical way of fighting the garden fauna, they can kill all living things on the site. Used excessively, chemicals can both get rid of aphids and poison the soil. Once in the circulatory system of the plant, they can make the crop unusable and unsuitable for sale.
It is recommended to carefully read the instructions, where recommendations are given on how and how to handle aphids on pepper. It is important to accurately observe the volumes of the preparation applied to the soil and seedlings, so that the toxic mixture treats as small a crop area as possible. Also, it is necessary to use such substances only if the parasites massively attack the area. The most popular are Fury, Aktellik and Fufanon.
How else to process peppers from aphids so as not to harm the plants? Bioinsecticides are a compromise option. They are less aggressive to the external environment, based on natural components that can protect plants attacked by aphids. Fitoverm can be considered the most famous representative. When used correctly, it allows you to grow the healthiest and healthiest peppers in your area. However, during pollination, the same precautions should be taken as with artificial chemicals.
Despite the fact that chemicals are effective against aphids, they must be applied alternately. Insects quickly adapt and develop immunity to them. It is desirable to process seedlings in dry and calm weather in the evening. This process should be repeated every 10-14 days.
Folk remedies against aphids
Gardeners have empirically identified many ways to protect seedlings attacked by aphids. For this, improvised means are used to combat aphids on pepper in a greenhouse. Their advantage is the low cost of components and ease of preparation of the composition at home. Moreover, these methods are safe for soil and plants. The most popular home remedies for aphids include the following varieties.
Garlic solution is prepared by mixing mashed garlic with water. Used a glass of garlic in a bucket of liquid. The resulting mixture must be applied to the bell pepper. You can also use green onions instead of garlic. The unpleasant bitter smell of garlic makes the aphids leave the plant alone, as the components in its composition are toxic to it. You need to update the composition regularly after rain.
The soapy solution removes the aphids on the pepper by creating a protective layer over the entire pollinated area. To prepare it, you need to take one bar of laundry soap and dissolve it in a bucket of water. Then process the pepper shoots with the resulting mixture. It is also possible to use hydrogen peroxide. This protective layer needs regular renewal as it is washed off by rain.
In addition to the above, straw or sunflower ash, tobacco ash are often used to prepare the solution. The use of boiled pine essence also shows good results. In general, the treatment of the garden with folk remedies is based on the use of components that have an unpleasant odor and are toxic to aphids, which makes the parasites change their favorite plant and look for another food source.
Preventive control methods
Once the garden is infected with aphids, it will not be easy to remove it. Therefore, it is much easier to take action ahead of time to protect your seedling greenhouse than to subsequently try to save a dying crop. Get rid of aphids before planting seedlings using the following guidelines.
Block all paths for aphids to enter the garden or greenhouse. To do this, it is necessary to disinfect it by calcining before introducing new soil. This will destroy the egg clutches of the parasite on the treated crops. Before planting, seeds must be pre-treated with a solution of potassium permanganate and hot water, you can use hydrogen peroxide. All containers and tools for working on the beds must be treated with lime. A soda mixture is also suitable for this purpose.
It is recommended to plant green onion and garlic seedlings along the perimeter of the site in order to scare off migratory insects. Then they will not even fly into your area or greenhouse.
If aphids have already been successfully defeated in the garden, it is important to remove the affected shoots from the ground. We remind you that aphid eggs can be preserved in the ground for up to 2 years, and then the parasite can reappear when favorable conditions occur.
Plant diseases are not good, but for a better harvest, I would recommend one proven remedy that gives a great harvest, this BioGrow, it is a bioactivator of plant growth.