Remedy for Aphids

[velikipop]

My indoor pepper plants are infested with aphids. I have used various sprays..neem oil, insecticidal soap.. and they do not appear to be very effective. Introducing lady bugs into the house is not an option mostly because it will provoke the Main Coon felines into reverting to their predetory habits.
Does anyone have any solutions that are effective against these pests indoors. Advice greatly appreciated.

Alex

[PaulF]

I recently noticed the same problem here. After several attempts to the same end as you, my solution was to haul the entire crop out the back door just before the last blizzard and let the elements take care of the nasties. I will replant my peppers and start over.

Not a real good solution but it worked.

[Grub]

Though not indoors, my peppers suffered tremendous aphid infestations until... I sprayed WEEKLY with pryrethrum, which has only a one day withholding period and is pretty non-toxic and organic... later when the fruit were coming thr plant overcame the infestations naturally and the aphids appeared to move on. Try it.

[velikipop]

Paul and Grub,

Thanks for the response. The thought of thrashing the two plants before the infestation spread did cross my mind. But what I've read is that with a little bit of persistence I might be able to salvage the plants. I will give Grub's suggestion a try before I take extreme measures. I just hope that they don't spread to my tomato seedlings which are about to get going.

I do control them on my roses by interplanting garlic and giving them a nice cold shower to knock the buggers off, but that obviously won't work with peppers.

Alex

[Grub]

They absolutely won't go to tomato seedlings, but eggplants. Wow. THeir favourite lodging.

[potawie]

Hi, all. I'm new to this forum although I recognize Grub and maybe more from other chile forums
I bought ladybugs for my aphid problem and started some marigolds and radished to lure them onto. The ladybugs seem to be working, I now see Larvae crawling around. I've also heard of "Beauveria bassiana" which is a fungus that invades insects. I hear this stuff is expensive.

[mdvpc]

Grub-in my greenhouse, the aphids go a little on the toms from the peppers.

[Suze]

Speaking of aphids, turns out one of my Beaver Dam plants from last year had them and I wasn't paying attention. It had just never been a problem for me in the past.

John made the comment "Not the prettiest plants but the fruit look great, eh?" Well John, it was because of the aphids ; I'll keep an eye out this year.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=1922

[Grub]

Thanks Michael for your insight.
And Suze for the tip about Beaver Dam.
This is particualr relevant tonight after a big feed of stuffed Chervena CHushka sweet red peppers.
Life is good with these fruits at your disposal.
Ciao

[Love2Troll]

I'm wondering how Alex's application of pryrethrum worked out? I must admit that remedy is entirely new to me. (for aphids)

Ladybugs are the only thing that has ever worked in my house.

A very strong solution of dish washing detergent sprayed on the plants (outdoors) is helpful. How strong? Can't say exactly. I just squirt a bunch of the detergent into my 1 gal sprayer and fill with water. Completely drench the plant and let sit for 5-10 min and then rinse thoroughly with garden hose. The concentration must be strong enough that it would damage the plant if not rinsed off.

jt

[feldon30]

Neem by itself isn't very powerful. But Neem + Pyrethrin is good stuff. They are both naturally derived (Neem from the Neem Tree, Pyrethrin from Chrysanthemums). It can be hard to find a concentrate of pyrethrin for a reasonable price or in a small quantity. Green Light here in Texas makes a product called Fruit Tree Spray which is really just a good concentrate of Neem and Pyrethrin and I use it on everything.

[velikipop]

JT,

I decided not to use pyrethrin, not least because it is difficult to find, but also because of the warnings that come with it. I try to go as organic as possible. I did use Safer's insecticidal soap. It provided some temporary relief but did not eliminate the problem, that is after several sprayings. Hence, I put the three most infected peppers outside so as to minimize exposure of my other plants. Unfortunately some of my plants have been infected and are showing signs...very weak, yellowish and spindly. Others, on the other hand, are fine.

Normally, I deal with aphids on my roses by interplanting garlic and by giving them a nice brisk shower or just squishing them with my thumb. I did try neem oil and my own garlic/pepper spray without much success.

I think that next time this happens to my seedlings I will be a bit more drastic by simply trashing the plant as soon as I detect an infestation. There seems to be no other solution.

Alex

[Grub]

I was contemplating immersion... if you could somehow starve the aphids of oxygen without killing the plant... like dunking in a trash can of water. Just a thought. The grubs will certaininly let go

[Love2Troll]

I was contemplating immersion...

Not a bad idea. Actually some of the religious sects insist on it -) I often use in the fall before bringing containers in. (not immersing the entire plant, just the container) Usually used when ant colonies have taken over a container. The immersion often follows a drenching of entire plant with the strong detergent solution. You can leave immersed for a full hour (done many times) with no permanent damage to plant.

Note: My plants are usually very large when I bring them in for the winter. Many stand 4-6 feet above ground including container. Just no way I could immerse entire plant or I would. And some of them in 20 gal containers are just too big to immerse the containers so a good soil drench with the strong detergent/water mix for 5-10 min has to do.

Note 2: All these treatments are hard on the earthworms that I try to coax into my containers. Try squirting a night crawler with city water and see how they squirm in discomfort over the added chemicals. I quit using fluoridated water over two decades ago for cooking and drinking and only use on plants when absolutely forced to.

jt

[velikipop]

That does seem like a good idea. I still have a few small seedlings that are being attacked and they would have no problem being immersed. It's interesting that the aphids are a problem on some peppers but not others. Beaver Dam and Chuska seem prone while Fresno, Fish and a bunch of others have no aphids on them at all. The distance between the plants is less than three feet.

Alex