Content
- Help! We have aphids on our roses - What to do?
- To effectively prevent an infestation
- What to do if it is already too late? Effectively combat aphids
- Home remedies for aphids
- Treatment with soft soap and alcohol
- Aphids with lavender oil to deal with
- Use nettle for aphids
- Combat aphids naturally
- Biological and chemical control agents
- Tips
The faster aphids are fought the better
Help! We have aphids on our roses - What to do?
If you suddenly see deformed and sticky leaves on your roses or damaged areas on the shoots, this is most likely an infestation with aphids. These green, red or white plant lice occur quite often in roses and feed on nutritious sap. Infestation is so likely that there is even a subspecies specialized in roses, the rose aphid. Fortunately, the lice can be easily controlled with simple means.
To effectively prevent an infestation
Since prevention is better than cure, you should prevent a possible aphid attack in advance. The effective prevention starts with the purchase of roses, whereby you should only purchase healthy and undamaged goods with strong roots. On the other hand, if the rose looks a bit slippery, it even shows withered leaves or shoots, it would rather keep your hands off it. The likelihood of getting a plant disease in the house or in the garden or to attract aphids is simply too high. Namely, the animals infest preferably weakened plants, which is why the further prevention aims at strengthening the roses. This in turn happens not only through special, plant-based tonics, but also through optimal site conditions and good care.
What to do if it is already too late? Effectively combat aphids
But even if you do everything right, aphids can settle on your roses. Act as fast as you can to minimize the damage. In addition, the lice are easier to fight in an infestation in the initial stage.
Home remedies for aphids
In particular, with a lighter infestation, various home remedies have proven that protect the plant, but make the unloved aphids run out. These include above all these three methods:
Treatment with soft soap and alcohol
The mixture of soft soap and alcohol has proven particularly effective in the control of aphids, with different recipes. Instead of soap and alcohol, you can also use dish soap and sunflower or rapeseed oil, using non-flavored agents wherever possible. Ecological detergents are particularly well suited for sensitive skin.
Aphids with lavender oil to deal with
That you should plant roses and lavender together, you have certainly heard or read before. In fact, this combination in the garden looks very aesthetic and effective against aphids, but the two plant species have very different needs in terms of location and care. Instead, you can also treat the aphids with a mixture of water and a few drops of lavender oil, because the animals do not like the aroma of this Mediterranean plant very much.
Use nettle for aphids
Stinging nettles are also not very popular with aphids, which is why treatment with stinging nettle usually has a good effect. In addition, this remedy has the advantage of being both invigorating and adding essential nutrients to the rose - stinging nettle is an excellent tonic and a good fertilizer.
Combat aphids naturally
In addition to the home remedies described, various useful insects or their larvae can be used to combat aphids effectively. Beneficial animals such as ladybirds, lacewings, Hainschwebfliegen and earwigs can be great with the help of an insect hotel settle. You can also buy the desired animals and buy directly in your garden.
Biological and chemical control agents
Biological and chemical control agents like Neem and others should be used as little as possible. These substances are toxic not only to aphids, but also to humans and other animals.
Tips
Where aphids are, there are often ants. Look out for these little crawlers and scare them away, because they can cause serious damage to the roots of plants.