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Old March 19, 2019   #20
b54red
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
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Bell peppers overwintering inside is like ringing a dinner bell for aphids. I no longer fool with overwintering peppers because of the constant aphid battle that it entails. It is enough trouble trying to keep them off of my overwintering citrus.

I have found nothing that completely works inside on aphids but spraying with a fairly strong dose of Permethrin with soap, allowing it to set on the plants for an hour or so then spraying them off with clean water really slows them down. I usually do this three mornings in a row then keep checking and spraying any new ones that show up. The trick is to keep watch for them and make sure to spray the undersides of the leaves and down the stems and even the surface of the potting mixture or mulch. I use a milder mix for getting stray or new aphids that show up and only use the strong stuff for major outbreaks. I have been doing this for several years now and it still seems to work fairly well. I was so glad to finally get my citrus plants and my pepper seedlings outside two weeks ago where the natural predators seem to have taken over my job.

Bill
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