Aphids on pepper: how to process, how to fight at home

The question of how to deal with aphids on pepper seedlings worries many gardeners. The fact is that the juicy shoots of this vegetable are a favorite delicacy for aphids.

At the same time, radical methods of struggle with the help of strong chemicals can not always do a good job. Treatment with poisonous preparations can harm the plants themselves and ruin the crop. The situation is also ambiguous with ants, which coexist in deep symbiosis with aphids. They can harm plants, but they also provide tangible benefits by driving many types of parasites from the site, such as mites. It is undesirable to destroy ants, but it is they who spread aphids along the leaves of plants, protect them from other insects and hide them in hives for the winter.What to do in this difficult situation?

Let's try to figure out how to save peppers from extinction if aphids appeared in the garden, while not disturbing the balance of the ecosystem of your garden or greenhouse.

How to identify the presence of aphids on plants

You need to carefully examine the leaves on the seedlings of pepper. Aphids on peppers in a greenhouse or in a garden give themselves out by their characteristic features:

• leaves began to curl and dry on the shoots. This is an indication that the aphid that has appeared is drinking the juice of the plant;
• whitish stains of honeydew appear on the leaves, which are secreted by aphids;
• peppers are covered with thick sticky mucus that glistens when exposed to sunlight;
• if you bend the edge of the affected leaf and look at its reverse side, you can see adult insects and laying of their eggs.

After it became apparent that aphids are on the seedlings of pepper, you need to choose the most appropriate method of dealing with it.

Mechanical action

The easiest way to control the aphid population is to manually remove insects from affected leaves. You can use a jet of cold water for this purpose. Leaves affected by aphids should also be removed.

Unfortunately, this method does not completely eliminate the parasite. Aphids on pepper seedlings breed at an incredible rate, and no one will have enough time and effort to make a daily inspection of all plants. Insects and their clutches fall into the ground, from where they climb plants again and begin their harmful activity.

Important! Aphid eggs can be preserved in the soil for up to two years.

Biological impact

The pest has many natural enemies, both among birds and insects. You can take advantage of this by attracting them to your site with baits. The following predators will help to destroy aphids.

Among birds, aphids are exterminated by tits, wrens, warblers, linnets, kinglets and sparrows. In order for them to visit your garden more often, you need to place feeders, drinkers with water and bird houses in the immediate vicinity of pepper seedlings.

Insects that most effectively fight aphids are the Maybug, wasps, ladybugs, predatory bugs, ground beetles, lacewings. In order for them to appear in the garden, you need to plant plants in the garden that emit a spicy smell. These plants include parsley, dill, cloves, nettles, carrots.

Regulation of the pest population through biological control allows you to fight aphids on peppers both in the garden and in the greenhouse.However, for this mechanism to start working, you need to spend a lot of time preparing. Therefore, it is necessary to plan its introduction long before the pepper is planted in the ground, otherwise the aphid will have time to destroy the crops with complete impunity before fruiting begins. In addition, this method only works outdoors, greenhouse crops do not allow it.

Important! Bioinsecticides are an effective way to control aphids.

Use of chemicals

To get rid of aphids, you can use any drugs that include neonicotinoid, pyrethroid or organophosphate. Before using the tool, it is important to carefully study the instructions. The fact is that substances are toxic to humans, and if they fight aphids on peppers in a greenhouse, this requires the mandatory use of a respirator. At present, the following classification of remedies for aphids on pepper seedlings has been adopted.

Artificial preparations have a wide range of products from various manufacturers. There is always something new on the market. They are a radical way to deal with garden fauna, they can kill all life on the site. With excessive use, chemicals can both get rid of aphids and poison the soil. Once in the circulatory system of a plant, they can make the crop unfit for consumption and sale.

It is recommended to carefully read the instructions, where recommendations are given on how and how to handle aphids on pepper. It is important to accurately observe the volumes of the drug applied to the soil and seedlings so that the toxic mixture processes the smallest possible area of crops. Also, such substances should be used only if the parasites massively attack the site. The most popular are Fury, Actellik and Fufanon.

How else to treat aphids from peppers so as not to harm the plants? A compromise option is bioinsecticides. They are less aggressive to the environment, they basically have natural components that can protect plants attacked by aphids. The most famous representative can be considered Fitoverm. When used correctly, it allows you to grow the most he althy and he althy peppers on your site. However, the same precautions should be taken during pollination as with artificial chemicals.

Despite the fact that chemicals are effective against aphids, they must be applied alternately. Insects quickly adapt and develop immunity to them. It is desirable to process seedlings in dry and calm weather in the evening. Repeat this process every 10-14 days.

Folk remedies to combat aphids

Gardeners have empirically identified many ways to protect seedlings that have been attacked by aphids.To do this, improvised means are used to combat aphids on peppers in a greenhouse. Their advantage is the low cost of the components and the ease of preparing the composition at home. In addition, these methods are safe for the soil and plants. The most popular folk remedies for aphids include the following varieties.

Garlic solution is prepared by mixing pureed garlic with water. Used a glass of garlic on a bucket of liquid. The resulting mixture must be applied to the Bulgarian pepper. You can also use green onions instead of garlic. The unpleasant bitter smell of garlic makes the aphids leave the plant alone, since the components in its composition are toxic to it. You need to update the composition regularly after rain.

Soap solution allows you to get rid of aphids on peppers, creating a protective layer over the entire pollinated surface. To prepare it, you need to take one piece of laundry soap and dissolve it in a bucket of water.Then process the pepper shoots with the resulting mixture. It is also possible to use hydrogen peroxide. Such a protective layer needs to be regularly updated, as it is washed away by rain.

In addition to the above, straw or sunflower ash, tobacco ash are often used to prepare the solution. The use of boiled coniferous essence also shows a good result. In general, the processing of the garden with folk remedies is based on the use of components that have an unpleasant odor and are toxic to aphids, which makes the parasites change their chosen plant and look for another source of food.

Preventive control methods

After infesting the garden with aphids, it will not be easy to remove it. Therefore, it is much easier to take action in advance to protect your greenhouse with seedlings than to try to save a dying crop later. Get rid of aphids before planting seedlings using the following guidelines.

Cover the aphids all the way to the garden or greenhouse. To do this, it is necessary to disinfect it by calcination before introducing a new soil. This will destroy the egg clutches of the parasite on the treated crops. Seeds before planting must be pre-treated with a solution of potassium permanganate and hot water, hydrogen peroxide can be used. All containers and tools for working in the beds must be treated with lime. A soda mixture is also suitable for this purpose.

It is recommended to plant seedlings of green onions and garlic along the perimeter of the site to scare away migratory insects. Then they will not even fly into your garden or greenhouse.

If aphids have already been successfully defeated in the garden, it is important to remove the affected shoots from the ground. We remind you that aphid eggs can be preserved in the ground for up to 2 years, and then the parasite may appear again when favorable conditions occur.

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