Apparently if there's something growing for them to feed on they're out, lol!

Even if they die out in YOUR garden, there will be protected spots where their eggs won't freeze. Once the temps and humidity are right for them to hatch and grow, they'll swarm and you will have them. Spray all you want...if there are weeds and other plants "out there" to support them, they will migrate into your garden until it's too hot and dry for them to survive. I get them for a short period at the beginning and end of the season, but only in protected, mild spots around the hill when it's hotter and drier. Just over the ridge top, where there is much more coastal influence, they are year round. Just part of "Nature". Kim

We get them early here too and I got them even earlier when I lived in Dallas. Last year we had them through the summer which is very unusual. It tends to be a spring problem. A good spray with water every few days is my control method. Ants tend to milk them for their honeydew and will even boost them back up on the plants. Control the ant population and the aphid population goes down. That has been the advice from UCDavis and master gardeners in our area. Mary

I've got them too, in Dallas. LOTS!! But also a good number of Lady Bugs, so I gently transfer the Lady Bugs as I see them (in the house, porch, and other non aphid territory) directly to a bush, and hope they have the munchies!! Yes, the water spray is good too. Seems some years are heavier than others for them! But so glad to see spring coming!!!

Last year, our neighbor's un-tended "front lawn" (known locally as "Elizabeth's Meadow") hatched out an incredible flood of ladybugs. The march of Ladybug larvae continued for weeks.

We never saw an aphid.

Jeri