Aphids are taking over!

[NaturalChick]

I need a natural way to kill aphids, they are taking over my indoor basil and pepper plants.

I am hopping for something that won't be harmful to me, because I eat my basil all the time.

Thanks

 

[patandchickens]

Squirt them off with a strong stream of water. Small houseplants can even be held (carefully, with a wad of paper towel over the soil to keep it from falling out) under the stream from a faucet or hose. Make sure to get the undersides of leaves too, and concentrate on the ends of shoots where the aphids are worst. Repeat as needed.

(You're sure they are aphids, right, not scale or spider mites?)

Good luck,

Pat

 

[NaturalChick]

Aphids for sure

But I do have a plant in the house with aphids AND spider mites.

I don't eat anything off of it so I am spraying it with an insecticide.

After I wash them off is there a safe way to keep them from coming back?

Thanks Pat

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I would persist in washing them off, even if you don't see any. Do that for a few weeks. Make sure they have ample humidity, as this can help the plant resist attack a little better. Mainly, just keep an eye on them.

 

[patandchickens]

Spider mites are a lot tougher to deal with than aphids (indoors), IME, and the main thing, for them, is to remedy the fundamental problem which is too-dry air. The whole 'put the plant on a tray with pebbles and water in it' is not gonna cut it. Ideally you need a significantly more humid house. Failing that, at least put it in a humid *room* (kitchen or bathroom are often good) if possible, and mist it good every time you walk past.

Aphids don't generally come back (in your house) from anything other than the few individuals who survived the last rinsing on the plant. So, basically, you just try to be reasonably thorough and repeat the treatment as soon as you see *any* aphids back again. Just keep after it, it isn't IME all that hard to get ahead of 'em and take care of the problem altogether.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[vfem]

Wow... and here I was with a fruit fly / nat problem! I did have bad Aphids outdoors on my cosmos this year... I honestly and CONSISTANTLY wiped them off with a wet soapy papertowel. They came right off all squished and gross. After a few weeks I no longer saw any. It was a lot of work to remember to do that. Inside should be easier though, since you'll see them everyday...

Now, how to get rid of fruit flies that are only on 1 plant in my windowsill?!