Aphids on seedlings: how to get rid of the pest without burning the leaves

More precisely, aphids – only within Russia there are about a thousand species of these miniature sucking insects, and many of them can encroach on your seedlings. However, your further actions, regardless of the specific type of pest, will not differ – you need to get rid of any aphids as quickly as possible before they destroy the seedlings (and with mass reproduction and failure to take measures, aphids can very well do this, since they live in colonies, reproduce very quickly and actively move from the infected plant to neighboring ones, depleting and deforming them too and simultaneously spreading dangerous viral diseases).

But if in the garden and vegetable garden against aphids on adult plants you can safely use strong insecticides (Aktara, Inta-C-M, Inta-Vir, Komandor, Tanrek, Neofral, Tsi-Alpha, Confidor Extra), then what means should be used at home so as not to disturb the microclimate in the apartment and not to destroy young, fragile plants with chemical pesticides?

How to detect aphids on seedlings

In order to effectively combat the pest, it must first be detected on the plantings in time and recognized “by sight”.

What do aphids look like? They are small (up to 0,8 mm in length) insects with a body that is usually drop-shaped or spherical. Their color usually matches the color of the food substrate and can be green, gray, brown, beige, red, black, etc. You will most often not see a single aphid – where there is one insect, there will also be its relatives.

When there is a mass infestation of aphids, plant crops lag behind in development, become covered with honeydew, their parts change color and structure (chlorosis, necrosis), stems become curved, leaf blades curl, dry out, and fall off. Yellow spots appear on the leaves at the puncture sites, which darken over time.

What to do if aphids appear on seedlings

How to deal with aphids on seedlings if the pest is detected and identified?

Regularly inspect the seedlings – at the earliest stages of infection, you can even manually remove insects from the leaves and prevent their further reproduction and dispersal. After this, it is worth treating the seedlings with a solution of laundry soap (25-30 g per 1 liter of water) as a preventive measure.

If the moment is missed, with a small number of aphids, in order not to harm young plants, you can first try folk remedies – herbal infusions and decoctions, often with the addition of soap as an adhesive. Choose the appropriate option:

• Chamomile infusion. How to prepare: leaves and inflorescences of chamomile (1 kg) are poured with 10 liters of hot water and infused for 12 hours. Before spraying, dilute with water (1:3) and add 40 g of soap for every 10 liters of infusion.
• Infusion of tobacco leaves. How to prepare: 400 g of dried and powdered leaves are poured into 10 liters of water and infused for two days. Before spraying, the infusion is filtered, diluted with water (1:2) and 40 g of laundry soap is added for better adhesion of the composition to the leaves.
• Infusion of onion peel. How to prepare: 200 g of onion peel is poured with 10 liters of warm water and left for 5 days, after which the infusion is filtered and used.
• Infusion of garlic. How to prepare: 150 g of crushed garlic heads should be poured with 10 liters of water and left for a day. Then strain the resulting infusion and treat the plants with it.
• Infusion of yarrow. How to prepare: stems, leaves and flowers (800 g) are poured with boiling water and left for 30 minutes. Then 10 liters of water are added and infused for another 4 days. Before use, 40 g of soap is added to the composition.
• Bird cherry decoction. How to prepare: 200 g of crushed flowers and young shoots of bird cherry are boiled in 5 liters of water for 15 minutes, left to brew for about a day. After that, the broth is filtered and the plants are sprayed – this can be done throughout the entire growing season.
• Elderberry infusion. How to prepare: 200-300 g of crushed mass of flowers and young shoots of red elderberry are poured with 10 liters of boiling water and infused for 24 hours. After hours, the solution is ready and, having previously filtered it, you can begin spraying the plants.
• A decoction of tomato leaves and roots. How to prepare: 4 kg of tomato leaves and roots are boiled for half an hour, the broth is allowed to cool. Then it is filtered, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 and soap is added at a rate of 40 g per 10 liters of liquid.
• Infusion of green potato tops. How to prepare: 1,2 kg of tops are infused in warm water (10 l) for several hours. After straining, 40 g of soap are added.

If there are already quite a lot of insects and home-made folk solutions do not work on them, you can use biological agents against aphids on seedlings – such insecticides, obtained from various natural sources (fungi, plants, animals, microorganisms, etc.) or synthesized by biotechnology methods, are harmless to humans and the environment and are not phytotoxic.

In the case of aphids, the following preparations have proven themselves to be effective: Fitoverm, MatrinBio, Doctor, O!trava Doctor Harvest, BioKill.

In the most extreme case, when the situation with aphids on seedlings is catastrophic, you can strictly follow the instructions to use stronger chemical pesticides approved for use on indoor plants – Inta-Vir, Kinmiks, Aktara. 

Do not forget that it is better to prevent the appearance of a pest in any case than to try to get rid of it later in the least time-consuming and dangerous way. Therefore, when starting to grow seedlings, do not forget about preventive measures – disinfect the soil and containers before sowing, treat the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, observe the temperature and humidity conditions for keeping young plants and agricultural technology.

If you have dealt with the aphids, but the seedlings are bothered by some other pests, our next material will help you identify and destroy them.