APHIDS!!!! RUN! :O)

Aphids love Lupines as much as we do. Ladybugs will eat aphids, but the Lupines generally grows before the Ladybugs make their entrance into the gardens. Lacewings also devour them, but they are late to our gardens as well.

The best way to take care of these is to go out with the hose and spray the plant hard to knock down the aphids. Once down, they die and obviously don't come back up, but there will be a new flush of those little buggers back on your plants in a few days so be vigilant about applying the hose to them. It won't damage the plant - the spray of water that is. I've battled these little ones every year and this is the best method.

Another effective method I use is to just actually squish them with my fingers by running the affected areas between my thumb and index and middle fingers. You might want to do this with gloves on if you are finicky. :O)

Linda,

Oh you sqeamish little gardener you!! LOL!

I also believe there is a product out there called Trounce which is an organic insecticidal spray which will take care of them each time you spray. You might try that.

Although the squishing is much cheaper...

Thanks Tiffy and Linda for the bug ID. In 28 years of gardening in the same local, I've never had white flies before.

On the other hand, I've never grown lupines before till I WS some 3 years ago. Must be the Lupine that is attracting them.

I don't think the hose idea will work as have been spraying them with soapy water twice a day now and they just keep coming back. Not as bad as the first day I found them though.

Will try and find some Trounce and give that a try as soon as I move my perennial herbs into their summer homes in the pots.
I don't want the trounce to get on the herbs and I don't want the white files getting on the other plants going in the bed, and I don't want them getting on the new WS lupines going in their either.

Fran

Hot sun and diluted soap (dishwashing) always works for me. I get them in my roses and new growth spirea every year. I think spraying them with the soap solution in the sunshine dries up their shells faster, they die, and are easily removed ('cause they're dead!) with a hose shower.
Keep up the soap..they will go.
Wendy

Fran, white fly aren't the same as aphid. Aphid can be numerous but compared to white fly, easy to get rid of because they 1) don't move much so make easy targets 2) are very soft bodied. They squash easy!

Take a paper towel and wipe them off if you are squeamish. Now me, something threatens my plants and I turn into Attila the Hun so stay out of my way :)

Did I really type white fly? Got to be the rare site of sun and some warmth outside that fried the brain on me. I meant aphid, not white fly.

White fly I've had too many times to count, but aphids are something I've never had on any of my plants.

Thanks Wendy, but hose showers are going to be a problem to do on a daily basis for me.
We are under a stage 2 mandatory water ban. Can only water every other day till Sept. 1st. But the numbers seem to be decreasing with the twice daily spraying of soapy water on every one that I can find.

Morz8, they are easy targets, which almost makes it fun to get them.

And yes, I'm attila the Hun too when something goes after my plants and WS seedlings.

You should have seen me when the groundhog got close today to some seedlings still in their containers.
If only I could have taken the pictures at the same time the creep got it with the jet spray of the hose. Didn't know that a groundhog could run that fast. Maybe I can train him to stay away with enough jet sprays.

It's war for sure this year. Between the 4 legged critters and these aphids, they declared war, but the battle has only just begun and trust me. I will win the battles and the war as well.

Fran

Fran,
How about some beneficial ladybugs?You could also let nature take it's course.Wait it out awhile,if the lupines are healthy they might just fight them off. The organic gardening forum is a good place to visit. I had aphids covering the buds on my rose bush. I looked everyday for about 1 1/2 wks. A few ladybugs and ants(I guess they eat aphids?)and some others not fimiliar with, but I believe they were there for the feast.The rose bush looks good know, just dried skins from the aphids. The organic forum says if you use certain things to kill the aphids, you also kill the good bugs too!Hmmmm...Here's some homemade recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Gardening FAQ Page

Organic way to get rid of aphids, from tomatoe growing forum. This sounds like a keeper: "Garlic Works great for me !! I had about 50 Pineapple sage plants in my greenhouse that were loaded with aphids,,so I sprinkled some garlic powder on them and they jumped ship. You can also put some garlic cloves or minced garlic in about a quart of water and let it sit for several days,,and then use that as a spray. I have had great luck with it. Aphids HATE GARLIC !!!"

Threas, I love that idea of garlic powder and I have a ton of it thanks to my daughter and her roommates.

On the other hand though, miracles seem to happen. The number of aphids is way down, way down and guess why?

I found about 20 beatiful, prettiest I've ever seen in my life ladybugs all over the lupine plant today.

So maybe a mixture of the garlic powder and those beautiful ladybugs will do the trick. The plant looks quite health still and has at least 15 bud stems and buds on it.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Fran

Okay..the garlic powder method sounds most viable for me. Tiffy,
Yes, I am a very timid gardener...even the hummingbird buzzing by sends me back into the house (because sounds like a big bug!
Makes ya wonder how I even get out the door into the dirt, huh?! lol

Linda

Aphids are a huge problem on my lupines -- they damage them such that the buds don't open or the flowers fall off. I do the squish method and have tried some sprays. I'm unable to be out there everyday. I'm wondering if there is something systemic that would work for aphids. I'm assuming they hibernate over winter in the lupines because they show up almost as soon as the lupines start growing.

I had literally thousands of aphids on my lupine but one spray of the Bayer rose and flower spray did them in. They were dropping off like flies. I have never seen so many in my life and hadn't had this problem in past years.

I used to be squeamish also, but now I can squish those disgusting slugs with my bare hands. Gloves are better tho, I mean still, YUK!

insects suck!!!

I have not gotten any aphids yet but other drive me crazy!

Also bunnies, I swear I would stomp on one if I caught it.

Karen

My three Lupine are infested by those little greenish bugs, are they aphids? They look too big for aphids. Thousands of them! I sprayed with neem oil and water mix...nothing happened. I had to cut down one to the ground. I am going to try garlic water but do you think the one I cut down will come back after a while...it is summer and in Colorado it gets quite hot.

I just finished searching for info about these lupine bugs. I have the same on my plant. There are apparently three types of aphids that love lupines, and they really do love lupines. Most people say the hard-spray-of-water trick damages their bodies enough to kill, as well as dislodges them from the lupine. I just squish them with my hands. Sounds gross, but it gives a primal satisfaction to know they are goners right under my hand. I have read about the garlic treatment and I'm curious to see if it's a "garden legend" or if it works. I'd love it if you would report back on how effective it was!

I have used a home made spray in the past that had water, garlic, hot pepper flakes and a drop of dishwashing detergent in it that was effective on a few different insect outbreaks, but really, I haven't used it in years. I'm actually happy when I see aphids show up because they feed the ladybugs. Within a week of the aphids showing up, I start seeing ladybugs on the plants and a week later, I can hardly find an aphid. BUT, I am an organic gardener and it took a few years of ignoring the aphids with no ladybugs in sight, before they started showing up. Not everyone is willing to do that I guess. Plus, if you are using pesticides that might be killing off the ladybugs, that's not going to work for you either.

I'd love to have ladybugs, and I've had some serious aphids on my plants for a long time with no ladybugs. I've considered buying ladybugs but I hear mixed reviews on whether they actually stay around to eat aphids vs. flying off. We now have chickens and I'm sure that's one reason I see so few, but even before that (chickens were new last year) I was so discouraged at how few, if any, I saw. In Georgia we had so many they would come visit inside the house, and each spring would bring migrations of hundreds in some buildings. Most people didn't mind ladybugs, but I certainly had no idea I would find it hard to locate a ladybug! I'd love have some aphid predators but I just can't understand where they went. I also never used any chemicals of any kind in the garden until last year, and last year they were used very sparingly. Even then I've never used a pesticide in the garden, only sparingly applied weed killer and some fertilizer to supplement until compost was ready. Our ladybug absence can't be blamed on pesticides. I'd love to not only be rid of aphids, but have some fun ladybugs for the kids to enjoy. Counting spots is a game!

My closest neighbor also doesn't use pesticides as she has horses and cows. Where have all the ladybugs gone?!

Deanna, I can vouch for wonderful success with purchased ladybugs from a local garden center.

Second time I've had to purchase them because of mass infestation of aphids on my lupins since first finding them in 2008.

I purchased them in 2009 around the beginning of May because of the same problem and after trying all non chemical ideas and nothing really helped; no sign of any insect help, ie ladybugs arriving on their own, I made the purchase.

Within 48 hours, the aphids where just about gone, within a week the ladybugs where gone as well, living in my neighbor's yard feasting there and they seemed to travel around the neighborhood "cleaning up the aphid disasters" in everyone's yards.

Don't know what happened to them between spring 2009 and spring 2011, but I had to purchase another container of ladybugs this spring as well, right around the same time as I did in 2009.
Those ladybugs did their job on the aphids this year as well, and have been traveling around the neighborhood again.

I paid $9.98 for what looks like a pint size container full of the ladybugs and it was worth every penny of it, since the aphids where really starting to destroy my lupins very quickly this year.

I too used to see ladybugs around my yard, the more insects around that they ate the more I would have, but see very few, if any now unless I buy them.

No one around me is using any pesticides, except for some roundup at the edges of the properties along the edges of the woods, as the poison ivy is returning and we don't want it to spread into the yards.
But I've been doing that for more than 20 years and it never affected the ladybug population and it isn't making a difference to any other insects flying around, including the bees, etc.

Fran

Thanks for the encouraging report, Fran. I'll certainly check out garden centers for ladybugs. I know my closest local doesn't carry, but we'll be going into Maine soon and I'll be on the lookout there for some to bring home.

I know what happened to the ladybugs here. They all apparently migrated south and decided they like the weather too much to leave. Considering how many ladybugs would appear inside houses each spring you'd think aphids fed on carpet and woodwork!

Sounds like you had lots and lots of the Asian ladybug that was around in mass numbers a few years ago in New England, several years ago as my 28 year old daughter was still in school then.

If I remember the story correctly, they where imported to this country to help out with insect control and it was believed that they didn't survive.

It was found that they had and in mass numbers and they, more than the ladybugs that were here all along, have an attraction to light colored exterior homes, especially white, as well as white walls and in the fall they would cover both inside and outside of light colored homes in mass droves, looking for entryways into the home for the winter.

My home is white exterior and the walls of my daughters room where white at the time and her bedroom was on a west facing side of the house. All disaster for her and her room.
Her room was infested with the beetles and I was vacuuming them up in her room, the walls, the floors the furniture, even in her bed for about 3 weeks and then they where gone.

Gone, that is, until the spring. Then these wonderful asian ladybugs reappeared all over the inside of her room as if I had never vacuumed them up. they where coming out of any and all crevices that they had gone into for the winter and we had to keep her bedroom windows open and the screens up all day, every day for about a week.

Since that year, and it seems to me that she was in middle school then, we have not had a problem like that repeat itself. We just would get the occasional ladybug in the house. That is as long as I didn't need them to eat the aphids. The years that I did, well none where to be seen.

A was talking with a friend of ours that is a farmer and he reminded me of one method to try and keep some ladybugs around over the winter for next year.

Get some corn stalks, if you don't grow corn, or use your own if you do. Let them dry out, and then place them on top of your garden beds in the fall. You only need a couple of stalks per bed and you can cut them down to fit the bed if need be.
Leave them there all winter and spring until you are ready to clean up the beds.

Apparently ladybugs love to stay under and around the corn stalks for the winter and come spring, are very content that you provided them a place to winter over and will stay in your beds.

That's my plan for the fall. Corn stalks in the beds for the winter. If lucky ladybugs in the spring and I won't have to buy them.

Fran

You're right, Fran, because I remember somebody mentioning that they were an import to deal with pests and got out of hand. We left while they were still in great numbers, but I never saw a problem as big as the one you described. Sounds like New England had more than enough ladybugs to last a lifetime.

I will try the corn trick this year. Anything to get ladybugs to stay.

And, of all the days, today I saw my FIRST ladybug since early spring. Where was it? ON MY SHIRT! I scooted over to the lupines, feeling like a host for a fancy restaurant, in hopes that she's find a gourmet meal, but she flew away after I'd walked just a few steps. But, there is hope!

Aphids are a curse. I've not had much success with just the garden hose. Using a strong enough spray to knock off the aphids I have broken off stems of the plant. I have more success with spraying soapy water, then rubbing my fingers over to either squish or remove them. And whatever you use be sure to get the under side of leaves- aphids like to hide there.

I use soapy water in a spray bottle like the one linked. The rotating nozzle can be turned in any direction- makes spraying bottom of leaf easy.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: rotating nozzle spray bottle

I get aphids on my roses every year as well. I read somewhere that lady bugs like cilantro so I planted a bunch around my roses and sure enough I had a ton a lady bugs that year. I have done it ever since with great sucess. I also read that grasshoppers dont like the smell of cilantro so I started planting it in my veggie garden to. Nasty grasshoppers eat everything! The cilanto will spread but it is pretty easy to maintain so I think it is worth it.