red aphids on tobacco plants in the garden.

[cowboyjames74]

Anyone know of any good homemade bug killer for aphids to kill them off?
There all over my big gem plants and virginia plants in the garden.
Will soap and water in a spray bottle work? I used to use this for tomatoes.
Thanks yall !

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Soapy water works good, you just need to reapply it every couple of days. A strong stream of water from a garden hose will also do a good job of knocking them off but is more labor intensive.

 

[cowboyjames74]

thanks for the info yall !

 

[Tom_in_TN]

I sprayed them off with a garden hose, gentle spraying pressure because it makes no sense to blow holes in tender tip leaves, and as JBD says it is LABOR intensive. OK, in a drought situation this is an acceptable method because it also waters your plants, but they will climb right back up the stalk and start sucking the life (flavor) out of the leaves within a couple of days. Now that we've had 7 to 8 inches of rain in the last 2 weeks I'm ready to try the soapy spray method but hoping for a better outcome than 2 days.

 

[deluxestogie]

It's also good to remember that aphids prefer young, tender leaf. If you top your plants, and keep them clear of suckers, it will reduce the aphid burden.

Bob

 

[Tom_in_TN]

Yeah, I love to walk through the gardens and sucker my plants. Of course they have aphids on them and it can get a bit messy at times.

 

[Boboro]

I try to use as few chems. as posableI pick off worms.Aphids I can't stand for.They get chem spray.I use it weak and natrule pestacides.

 

[Jack in NB]

I use soapy water - Ivory liquid, 3-4 tbsp/gal. Repeated after 4 - 5 days to catch the new generation.

Actually spraying them off works too.

An entomologist friend did her PhD on the little suckers, and found that they attach a sucker probe into the leaf - kinda like skeeters do to us. But the probe stays in the leaf if the aphid is knocked off - akin to a honeybee stinger. And the aphid - no longer having a feeding tube - dies, even if it crawls back up the plant.

 

[Chicken]

iuse soapy water here also,

with perhaps,, just a dab { thats a southern word<} of some poision, in the mix,

 

[deluxestogie]

Actually spraying them off works too. An entomologist friend did her PhD on the little suckers, and found that they attach a sucker probe into the leaf... But the probe stays in the leaf if the aphid is knocked off - akin to a honeybee stinger. And the aphid - no longer having a feeding tube - dies, even if it crawls back up the plant.

Great information. My impression has been that when you wash them off, they don't climb back up. But the hose technique often requires spraying for 20 or 30 seconds per leaf (underside) to convince them to rinse away. A stronger, faster-acting spray tends to bruise the leaf's tender under surface. I've gone to using a mild soap spray in the cool of the morning or evening.

Bob

 

[BarG]

Has anyone posted actual aphids and aphid damage to their plants out of curiosity.

 

[Chicken]

i seen aphids, on my plants,

but killed them before, they had time to do damage

 

[BigBonner]

If aphids are left alone , they will suck the life out ofthe top 3rd leaves on tobacco . It will still grow out but it will be nasty with dead aphids , poop and aphid parts. The leaves will be less quality and weigh less than they should.