1st aphids of the season

[slugworth]

I had some precious seedlings and noticed 1 was infested with aphids I had to rip up.
Pretty strange for indoor only but it must have been the seed starting mix or porch location.
They were seeds my late mother saved and I am down to 3 seedlings.
One is still stuck at the big fat cotyledon stage.

[bower]

Dreaded. I saw my first ants in the greenhouse past two days. Found some old borax mix and put it out, even though it smelled a bit boozy. IDK if it'll work, but the sight of ants means the clock is ticking for aphids in house.

[slugworth]

I was just sitting outside and a ladybug landed on me.
I could have brought it indoors for all you can eat buffet.
What a difference a few hours made.
I could have saved a seedling.

[bower]

I'm happy to see that a huge clump of tiny spiders hatched and is now spread about the greenhouse. They'll eat the tiny stuff at least. No good for ants or aphids, alas they are too small.

[Seven Bends]

I had some precious seedlings and noticed 1 was infested with aphids I had to rip up.
Pretty strange for indoor only but it must have been the seed starting mix or porch location.
They were seeds my late mother saved and I am down to 3 seedlings.
One is still stuck at the big fat cotyledon stage.

I get aphids on my seedlings pretty much every year as soon as I start putting them outside on the porch or deck. I've never had to get rid of the seedlings because of it, though. Mostly I just squish the aphids with my fingers. They don't move fast, tend to congregate close together, and they're easy to kill. If a plant is bigger and there are too many aphids on it to squish manually, I take the plant to the sink and hold it upside-down under a stream of water from the faucet, to wash off and drown all the buggers. I direct the stream of water at the underside of the leaves and the stems.

[rxkeith]

i have had an aphid problem all winter with peppers i tried to winter over. i got
rid of all but one. insecticidal soap didn't seem to affect them. the stuff is a few years old.
i added dish soap to the mix, and that appeared to have some affect. the aphids have since
spread to my pepper seedlings. i spent over an hour today going over every single plant, and
crushing every aphid i could see. tedious, and time consuming. i wasn't sure if the spray would
harm the seedlings so fingers were the final solution. tomato plants don't seem to be a preferred
plant. the brassicas i have started are a favorite target. hates them, i do.


keith

[LindaJean]

The good bugs seem fewer each year and usually are late to the party. I've never bought a bag of ladybugs thinking my money would just fly away - it's tempting though. Last year I pulled lilies out that had the underside of the leaves entirely covered with abominable aphids . I'd love a flame thrower for my 68th birthday .

[slugworth]

I just found aphids on 3 trays of plants outside I was going to give away.
Oh well.

[bower]

More ants spotted in the greenhouse today. Tick, tock.... I think they found the cilantro, so I should just put it out asap.
Peppers are a high priority for ants and aphids here. Soaps don't work. Just makes a mess, and do it over and over to no avail.
The only thing that works for me is putting stuff outdoors. That nips it, for sure.
Hard to do that to pepper plants though, especially when they could be ripening some peppers any time soon...