I ordered 3 Aji Amarillo plants online. Two seem to be struggling with aphids. I initially picked them all off with tweezers, but eventually resorted to soapy water sprayed on the plants. I didn’t know I needed to then rinse that off 😞 but now I do. These two plants seem to have damaged stems that are dried up. Should I cut those off to encourage new growth? Should I also cut the shoot at the bottom of the plant in the second photo? The last photo is the best of the bunch.
by avi8tornole
4 Comments
I’ve never had any luck with the natural pest management. Sevin is my goto. You really dont need to get anything. It should come back on it’s own as long as it has enough energy to do so.
You should never put household soap — dish soap, hand soap, Dr Bronners, etc — on your plants. They are all detergents, and they destroy the waxy layer that protects the leaves. If you’re going to use soap, be sure to use a [proper insecticidal soap](https://www.saferbrand.com/safer-brand-insect-killing-soap-concentrate-16-oz-5118-6), formulated for horticultural use. This is NOT the same as Dawn, or any other household product.
I’m battling aphids now, too. Last year I had good luck with pyrethrin concentrate spray, but right now they seem to be laughing at it. Next step is to order some Safer Brand insecticidal soap (above) and alternate that with pyrethrin, but I may have to cut my overwintered plants back to sticks and hope they survive. I’ve had good luck with the horticultural soap, but didn’t restock after having such good results with pyrethrin spray.
Aphids SUCK.
Aphids and mites both have eggs that hatch about every 3 days… The sprays don’t usually harm the eggs and they are under the leaves…. you have to spray every 3 days for several weeks…….. I actually switched to dipping my plants in agg insecticide soap. This kills everything and the eggs and fully coats the plants. You also have to wipe down the area the plant is in……
Deploy ladybugs. Cover in fine mesh netting.