SUPER APHIDS !

IN NEW MEXICO: Aphids invaded my front garden last year. I've had a garden in this spot for over 20 years and never had them before. So...I bought a product sprayed...population decreased but didn't go away. Sprayed again, same thing. Ditto again about 3 weeks later. Now, I'm cleaning up the space this year and STILL find evidence of aphids appearing again within the leaves of my IRIS!! Any suggestions on what works? I have a lot of stuff, iris, roses canna lilies, daffodils, etc. in this garden. HELP!!

Kindly send me a d-mail when you get the answer, I will patent it and make a fortune! The best answer I have found is to spray every few days! That does not kill them all, but my goal now has been reduced from getting rid of them to just controlling them. I can not tell insecticide does any better than soapy water. I have the same problem with white flies.

Hi Desertbunny...sounds like time to invest in some beneficial bugs for your garden. Some of them think aphids are the tastiest treats, and if the food supply and adequate plants and water are available, they will hang around and reproduce, giving you a pretty much pest free garden.

http://insects.about.com/od/insectpests/tp/top10beneficialinsects.htm


Where to buy them

http://www.gardensalive.com/category.asp?c=452&sid=0159346&gclid=CIPw-Yip5LUCFQvpnAodJSkAaQ

http://www.gardeners.com/Beneficial-Bugs-Garden-Pack/33-446,default,pd.html?SC=XNET9221&utm_campaign=cse&utm_medium=googleshopping&utm_term=&mr:referralID=db15ab63-852b-11e2-b779-001b2166c62d&kwid=productads-sku^33@ADL4446-adtype^PLA-adid^22720506998

http://hydro-gardens.com/ipm.htm

Also be aware that if you're going to go the pesticide route, you really have to keep after them. They reproduce very quickly so if you miss even one with your spraying and ignore them for a little bit, they'll be right back as bad as they were before. I like to say that aphids are easy to kill but hard to get rid of--they are soft bodied insects so pretty much any spray you use will kill the ones you hit with it, but you're always going to miss a couple so you need to be vigilant (don't wait weeks after the first spraying before checking again and taking care of any that you still see).

http://generalhydroponics.com/site/gh/docs/prod_labels/AzaMaxLbl.pdf

My new favorite pest spray = Azamax. Certified organic. Works well for me. Initial spray once every 7-10 days, for heavy bug population every 5-6 days. As a preventive once every 3 weeks. Not a "kills them on the spot" spray. Works long term. Keeps them from feeding, laying eggs, eggs from hatching and such. Please let us know if you try it out.

gasrocks,

I can't tell from the label if Azamax is harmful to bees? Pollinators? The label is kinda scary for an organic product

Azadirachtin (the activein AzaMax) is a component of neem oil, here's some more general info for you on neem in general, but it also has some specific comments on azadirachtin: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/neemgen.html

http://forum.grasscity.com/sick-plants-problems/570987-new-spider-mite-cure-throw-away-your-products.html

Interesting thread. I am still a fan of Azamax. Gene

This message was edited Mar 8, 2013 8:42 AM

http://www.igrowhydro.com/AzaMax-Pest-Control-4oz.aspx

Safe around Honey Bees. Gene

Wow by the looks of those links Moon I should have chose a different line of work. Fourty dollars for 3000 bugs I would have been Bill Gates rich.

Yup...who'da thunk bugs could bring in that kinda dough? Grin

Insects might become the newest, best way to raise protien rich food. I know I just paid $15. for a lb of fz dried Mealworms (for my tropical fish.) Maybe we should all be studying how to raise them at home. I know one of my Grandfathers raised worms that he sent via mail all over the country (for fisherman.)

My grandpa raised night crawlers and red wigglers when I was a kid.

In some cultures, bugs are already a staple in the diet, particularly some Asian cultures.

Bayer has an awesome product to take care of aphids, its called Bayer advance 12 month tree & shrub... I forget the rest but just google search that term and the rest should be apparent once you have looked it up