Lice on the petunias: what to do?

Content

• Lice on the petunias: what to do?
• Regular control: Prevention makes the fight easier
• Home remedies for an infestation of petunias with aphids
• Combat aphids in the garden in the long term
• Tips

Water with dish soap is a popular home remedy for lice

Lice on the petunias: what to do?

Not only the tiny white flies belong to the pests, which prefers to suck at the plant sap of the Petunien. Also aphids form their large colonies preferably on petunia and can affect their vitality noticeably.

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Regular control: Prevention makes the fight easier

During the summer, aphids can multiply amazingly fast due to their fast generation sequence. Therefore, gently push the dense foliage of hanging petunia at least once a week with your hands to control the shoots for attached lice. A mild infestation with aphids is quite natural and does not necessarily represent a problem. However, aphids can also transmit viral diseases that may even kill the petunias.

Home remedies for an infestation of petunias with aphids

Usually, a sharp jet of water is already sufficient to rinse off a certain part of the aphids sitting on the shoots, thus making it more difficult for them to follow their generations and spread. There are several home remedies that have proven effective in controlling lice on the petunias:

While the coffee grounds are spread directly on the plant substrate in the pot, the soil should be covered when spraying the plants with the liquid home remedies. A biological alternative may be the purchase of beneficial organisms such as ladybirds from the specialized trade, as far as it is native to this species of the ladybird.

Combat aphids in the garden in the long term

Plants such as nasturtium, elderberry, roses, daisies and petunia magically attract aphids. If you grow many of these plants in your garden, you should always keep an eye on the infestation pressure with aphids. In the long term, you can minimize the care required by the lice, if you promote the colonization of the natural predators of aphids such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps. Offer ladybirds and other beneficial insects a suitable habitat with an insect hotel and they will take care of the aphid plague. Since ants cultivate and cultivate "plantations" of aphids on account of the popular honeydew, ant nests should be removed from the balcony boxes with petunia.

Tips

For the control of aphids, there are various chemical means in the trade, with the systemic acting means are preferable in case of doubt. These are inserted, for example, as sticks in the substrate around the petunia, so that the toxins contained are absorbed by the plants. As a result, aphids sucking on the sap quickly degrade without polluting the ambient air with an agent sprayed on the plants.