Major aphid problem

anyone know a sure fire way to get rid of aphids in a small hobby greenhosue?

Hose them off?

If you like organic approaches, the hose and/or insecticidal soap is probably the best way to go. The trick with aphids is you have to keep after them--even if you use a more toxic pesticide, you'll never get every single one the first time and they reproduce like crazy so you need to go back and repeat the treatment until you get them under control.

If you're not into organic approaches (I'm still on the fence about them), use a systemic insecticide. When sucking insects get out of control, I've no problems with retaliating with chemical warfare. ;)

I have found aphids to be quite sensitive to soap sprays.

How about Neem Oil?

I've been battling aphids for over 2 months in my little greenhouse. Wish I owned stock in Safer since I can go through a bottle of insecticidal soap every 10 days or so. I broke down and ordered some ladybugs yesterday and figured I'd give them a try since the aphids are now attacking my little seedlings and I hate to spray them too much with the Safer.
I do have a question or two with respect to the ladybugs though. I have yellow sticky traps all over my greenhouse. Do I need to remove those before I let the ladybugs loose? And I read that it's best to let the ladybugs loose at night so that they'll settle in better on the plants. Is this a good policy?

Cindy Look on the garden forums here someone posted a homemade receipe for a soap spray.
Look into it! It was cheap and safe. i have often used a real soap( fatty acids) not with LYE it has to be a soap..Murphys oil is one, and i mix it with dog shampoo. Many times I have found them for a 1.00 a bottle.
They have Pyrethrums ( crushed Crysanthemum flwrs) and Pyreth. are also found in flea and tick sprays
for dogs. If you can find some cheap enough you can add that to the soap and put it in a sprayer about a tablespoon per gallon. Stronger if needed. Go on the Brugmansias forum i think they have lots of good formulations there. Good luck.

What plants are the aphids on? If they can be taken out of the grhouse and put in full sun-that will get rid of the aphids-they hate being out in full sun with the heat. One day and they will be gone.

As the aphids struck back in Feb/Mar, there wasn't any chance of taking the plants outside to let any heat get them. First they struck my Abuitlon, then a black pepper and then it seemed like any seedling in range. They really liked the Nicotiana. I used bottle after bottle of Safer's, than tried mixing my own with dish soap. A good spray bottle with a hard stream seemed to help but they always came back. I resorted to buying ladybugs (a disappointing experience since there was nowhere near 1500 in that container and half were dead) but they started flying out of the greenhouse whenever the automatic vents would open. I resorted to washing each leaf with my fingers and a soap mixture. I just read about the Murphy's the other day and haven't had a chance to try it. Thank goodness it's planting weather because those critters were driving me crazy. I have a small hobby greenhouse and hosing off the plants in winter is just not an option for me.
Jazzzy - thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely going to look for some of those ingredients.

I have been told to watch for the ant trails. The ants "farm" aphids and take them to your plants. I am in a battle right now. Pure sun has not done the trick.

Christi

There is a chemical called Bayers Tree and Shrub that you can get from Home Depot that is a liquid that you mix with water and then water the plants with and that will last a month. Its a systemic, and very effective for aphids. Aphids are among the easiest of the pests to get rid of. If not using a systemic , then you just have to be diligent about spraying whatever it is that you are using as soon as you see them, and repeating in a few days, to get rid of the life cycle of the aphid. Horticultural oil works well, as well as Neem oil.
Always spray in the early am or late afternoon.

Tigerlily -
I have some Neem oil and will have to dig it out. The Bayer's sounds promising though. Are there any cautions regarding which plants it can be applied to? Maybe a two-pronged attack (with Neem and Bayer's) would be a little more effective. Second only to watering, aphid patrol has been high on the list of chores in the greenhouse since February.
Thanks for the suggestion!

I use Fruit & Nut Tree Spray by Greenlight.. it's awesome! Neem based with pyrethrins... it's in a plain white bottle at Lowe's or HD and works great on just about everything!
Also the 12 month Tree & Shrub liquid.. no more aphids at all.. I don't know what it's safe to put it on.. I drench everything.. if it doesn't survive, oh well, it wouldn't have survived the constant aphids either..

I think its safe to use on most anything-read the label and it should say what plants you cant use it on. It says 12 month coverage, but it really isn't, its a month. Because they say its for trees and shrubs, if you use it at a certain time of the year-towards August , it will cover the tree/shrub thru the rest of the bug season, and the older foliage-but not any new growth-thats how they say 12 months. but obviously there is always new growth on a plant and it wont be protected. I use the same active ingredient in other pesticides (Merit and Marathon) and its 30 day coverage. Its a good pesticide for certain pests. Easy to apply as well.

I use the Bayers Tree and Shrub on my succulents with no problem (1-2 tablespoons per gallon) and I think it's very effective. One thing I've learned recently is that the main ingredient in this product (Imidacloprid) has been found to increase the fertility rate of spider mites. So, after I use it, I'm very vigilant to watch for outbreaks of spider mites. It may not be as big a problem in your area as they are here (hot and dry) but just thought I'd mention it.
Sheri

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Until the greenhouse, I never had to worry about these guys. I have had to deal with white flies and spider mites that came into the house on an over-wintering fuchsia and went after every cutting and seedling within reach. But no white flies in the greenhouse with the same fuchsia plant in residence. The few spider mites I have only seem to bother two plants in the greenhouse. Outdoors, the mites aren't a problem. I'm going to try to empty the greenhouse in the next couple of weeks except for any new cuttings. I am going to get my arsenal lined up though since my Abutilon was just cut back for the third time and needs to fill out a bit before moving outside - the preferred aphid food.
Thanks again.

Hi there,

Just stepped upon this thread. Are you still battling aphids? I have a small commercial greenhouse that I run year round. Everyone tells me that i have to freeze or heat it out, but i can't really do that. I've had really good results with Diatect V. It's a dust that is approved for organic use. Here's a link to it. I also bought the dustin mizer to apply. It's great.

http://www.diatect.com/organic-insect-control.php

I'm having problems with spider mites. Diatect V is suppose to work on them, but i haven't seen the results that i get with the aphids.

Are you able to get the product on the undersides of the leaves? I imagine it probably works better on aphids since they sit on top of the plant, it's always harder to get product on (and get it to stay on) the undersides of the leaves where the mites hang out.

The dustin mizer comes with a reflector shield attachment that diverts the powder up. It works great unless of course you have foliage sitting on the soil. I've used it mainly on my tomato plants and have pruned any bottom branches that are touching the soil so it has worked great so far. Oh, and with the product ,the plants are suppose to be misted or sprayed with water before application to get the dust to stick. The aphids i have had are mostly on the underside of the leaves. Bummer, if they were on top, it would be much easier.