Plant aphids on roses
How to get rid of plant aphids?
It often happens that houseplants do not look entirely healthy. In most cases, this can be the result of poor care – too much or too little watering, inadequate light, poor soil, and weather conditions. However, if you are sure that you are taking care of your plant properly, and it still looks weak, the reason for this is most likely plant aphids, or as we call them, leaf aphids.
Why do plant aphids appear?
These insects most often enter your home through a new plant that you have brought into your space, or a plant that has been outside during the summer months. You usually cannot see them immediately because they are treated with chemical pesticides in the nurseries from which the plants come. However, larvae of the insects often remain on the leaves or in the soil, which, depending on the species, develop over a period of several weeks. The speed of their reproduction also poses a significant problem. Namely, one or two insects will not cause any damage to your plant, and you probably won't even notice them. Therefore, the best method of controlling plant aphids is their prevention. It should be noted that once you see insects on the plants, the only way to successfully clean your plant is with the help of insecticides.
Prevention of plant aphid appearance
- Provide your plants with optimal conditions for growth and development. Study what type of plant it is and provide everything it needs. Weak plants are much more susceptible to insect infestations than healthy plants.
- When buying a new plant, carefully examine its appearance, the condition of the soil, and the pot. If you notice plant aphids or their larvae, isolate the plant from other plants in the apartment while treating it with an appropriate product or pesticide for aphid control.
- When isolating the plant, carefully examine the appearance of its leaves. Pay special attention to the underside of the leaf as larvae often gather there. If necessary, use a magnifying glass.
- When repotting a plant, do not use soil that has come from outside, but rather soil that is sold in stores.
- Wash the leaves of your plant at least once a week.
- Cut flowers may have plant aphid larvae on them. Therefore, it is advisable to keep them away from pots with flowers.
- You should prophylactically spray the plants with Fitoneopirox spray at least once every 3 months, even if you have not noticed insects on them.
What to do if plant aphids appear?
If you have determined that, despite all precautionary measures, your plant has plant aphids, you should take all chemical and non-chemical measures to get rid of them.
- The first step is certainly to isolate the plant you suspect is infected with plant aphids. Keep it away from other plants until you are completely sure that you have solved the problem. This process may take several weeks.
- If you think that only some leaves are affected, remove them.
- If you notice plant aphids on the entire plant, remove it from the soil and inspect the roots. If they have started to rot, cut off the diseased parts.
- Wipe the leaves of the plant with a piece of cotton soaked in alcohol. This way, you will remove larvae from the leaves. After that, wash the plant with lukewarm water.
Proven and safe ways to get rid of plant aphids
Use of INSECTICIDES against plant aphids
When non-chemical methods do not yield results, you should resort to the use of insecticides.
Before choosing these products, it is important to correctly identify the pests that have attacked your plant. Generally speaking, one type of insecticide will not work on all types of insects.
Our product Fitoneopirox works on plant aphids, both on adults and larvae. You can use it on both houseplants and garden plants.
Before use, carefully inspect your plant. Manually remove plant aphids from it. If there are many, wipe the leaves with a piece of cotton soaked in alcohol, and after one day, wash the plant under a gentle stream of water. After that, you can start treating it with Fitoneopirox spray or powder.
Fitoneopirox works particularly well on plant aphids from the family Aphididae. These are small, soft-bodied insects, usually green, but can also be black, brown, or pink. Some of these insects have wings, while others do not. They feed on the young shoots of the plant and their roots. You can read more about them on our website in the article Plant aphids - Aphididae.
You can order this product through our website by calling our phone number or by visiting our retail outlet.
It is advisable to spray each new plant with this product before placing it near existing plants and keep it in quarantine for a few days.
It is also important to note that, especially in cases of a large infestation of plant aphids, multiple applications of this product will be necessary to keep the problem under control.
