aphids
They are tiny and yet these undesirables cause extensive damage to plantings and are a major concern for gardeners. They invite themselves as well to the vegetable garden as in the pleasure garden, in the orchard or indoors.
Aphids settle on the plant and feed on its sap, which they suck after having made a bite. Deprived of a part of its sap, the plant then weakens little by little. This results in discoloration leaves that will deform, dry out, then fall.
Besides this, the excrement of these undesirables, called honeydew, promotes the development of sooty mold which is a fungal disease that blocks photosynthesis. You therefore understand that without rapid intervention on your part, your infested plant is doomed.
Determine the presence of aphids
In most cases, you can tell the presence of aphids by simply seeing them. As they reproduce rapidly, they eventually cover areas of the plantsuch as leaves and stems, which does not go unnoticed.
There are different species which can have different sizes and colors and the different species do not colonize the same plants. In general, they are characterized by a size between 1 and 4 mm, by their 3 pairs of legs and their 2 antennae.
These insects are called “suckers” because they feed by sucking the sap of the plant in which they have taken up residence. Under these attacks, the growth of the plant is slowed down and it is less and less vigorous.
If you don’t see aphids, other signs that can alert you are a sticky deposit on the leavesdistortion, discoloration or yellowing of leaves and buds.
black soap
black soap, a natural and ecological solution, can be purchased in supermarkets or in gardening or DIY stores. Widespread, it is a multi-purpose product that can be used for home maintenance, for skin care and in the garden.
Whether it is made from linseed oil or olive oil, in addition to being an excellent degreaser, stain remover and disinfectant, it is a very effective insecticide without chemicals. You can therefore use it to fight against aphids, but also mealybugs, spider mites and ants.
Action of black soap against aphids
Black soap is a powerful natural ally against undesirables, such as aphids. Here’s why :
- It acts as a contact insecticide which suffocates aphids.
- It is also useful for gently cleaning the honeydew. honeydew is a sticky substance secreted by aphids, which blocks photosynthesis, an essential element for the survival and development of plants. This honeydew must therefore be eliminated from the plant.
The precautions to take
Although it is a natural product, you must take care to respect certain conditions for a more effective result.
- Prefer treatment with black soap in the evening or early in the morning. Indeed, in direct sunlight, you risk burning the leaves when you spray your product.
- Also avoid using this homemade insecticide in rainy weather so that it is not immediately rinsed off and therefore ineffective.
- Do not systematically use black soap, because its fault is not to be selective. This means that you risk destroying the good insects as well as the bad ones. It is therefore preferable to use it only in the case of a massive infestation which risks killing the plant. You can promote the good health of your plants by diversifying your plantations, without forgetting to integrate plants that repel certain undesirables, and by installing insect hotels.
- Even if this product is not dangerous for humans, rinse fruits and vegetables before consuming them. But the rains will certainly have done it for you.
Recipe based on black soap with olive oil
To fight against aphids, you can prepare a natural insecticide based on black soap respecting the following instructions:
- In 1 liter of warm water add the equivalent of 5 tablespoons of black soap.
- Pour this mixture into a spray bottle and wait for it to cool.
- Spray the mixture on the plant to be treated, be it the stems and the leaves, without forgetting to check the back of the latter.
- After a few days, repeat the spray if necessary.
Recipe based on black soap paste
You can find liquid black soap on the market, but also black paste soap. If you black soap is in this form, here’s how to do it:
- Mix the equivalent of a tablespoon of black soap paste in 1 liter of warm water.
- Then use the mixture in the same way as seen previously by pouring it into a spray bottle and allowing it to cool well beforehand.
Recipe based on black soap and alcohol
When aphids are resistant with black soap, it is possible to use a more powerful mixture. This may be the case for woolly aphids which are commonly found on fruit trees and are more likely to withstand black soap alone.
To fix this problemyou just need to prepare a mixture based on 10 liters of water, 100 mL of liquid black soap and 1.5 liters of methylated spirit, then spray it on infested trees.
Conservation
We recommend that you prepare your natural insecticide according to your needs. In effect, you won’t be able to keep it for very long. This means that when you prepare your mixture, do it only with the quantity of water necessary for a spray and the corresponding quantity of black soap.
You can optionally prepare the mixture for two sprays, if you plan to do a second in the following days, but no more.