# Green aphids



## hotweldfire (14 Jul 2011)

Am growing some hydrocotyle in a tray on the window sill and noticed a couple of green aphids on it a few days back. Today there are tons on some of the plants- said plants are withering. Could anyone tell me the best way to deal with the little buggers?


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## BigTom (14 Jul 2011)

Ladybirds!


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## hotweldfire (14 Jul 2011)

Hmm, intriguing Tom :idea:  There's plenty of those in my garden.


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## Johno2090 (14 Jul 2011)

Hmm ladybirds are great but they fly off, you want to go and look for Hoverfly Larvae ~ they look like this 


 and don't fly. When they go hard they are just pupating and will emerge as a hoverfly (they look like bee's but don't sting)

Amazing Flys.


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## howanic (15 Jul 2011)

I don't think it is the adult ladybirds that eat aphids. They only eat them when they are in their weird alien-like juvenile stage. Which is good as they can't fly then


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## Johno2090 (15 Jul 2011)

It's true that juvenile ladybirds do not fly but they eat exactly the same thing as their adult counterparts. Usually consisting of spider mites, aphids and mealy bugs. 

Both hoverfly larvae and ladybird larva would be ideal for solving your problem, both are great to watch as I used to keep them when i was younger.

I did however find the ladybird larvae to be probe to wandering and can run pretty fast, not the case for the hoverfly larvae  I say get both as at this time of year there should be loads about.


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## ghostsword (15 Jul 2011)

I have lots of plants outside and the best tool I found is easy carbo diluted 3 to 1 with water, then spray on the plants. Wait 30 minutes and spray with tank water. I do it twice a week.

Snails are my biggest issue, but a bit of salt around the pots do the job.



.


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## dw1305 (15 Jul 2011)

Hi all,
Probably a spray with some soapy water will do or submergence for a couple of hours, although I'm well disposed towards the idea of a Hover-fly larvae, (Ladybird larvae are definitely too active). They also make really good fish food, just swish the plant about in the tank. 

I don't tend to have a problem with aphids in the garden, as I don't spray so I have lots of wildlife (if you want to grow aphids, spray your roses with an insecticide, after a couple of sprays, wait a week and you will have thousands of aphids), but Coriander on a window-sill inside always get them.

cheers Darrel


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## hotweldfire (16 Jul 2011)

Thanks all. Whilst I am all up for natural solutions for these things I have to admit I'm going to go for Luis' chemical option. This is because

a) it's easy
b) it's less likely to end in a divorce. Trying to explain to the OH why I'm transporting alien bugs from the garden into the kitchen will be a challenge


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## Johno2090 (17 Jul 2011)

fail, there's no fun in Chemicals! and the more you spray the more you'll end up with in my experience haha.

But good luck


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## gmartins (27 Jul 2011)

Immerse the plants???

GM


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## wearsbunnyslippers (27 Jul 2011)

+1 on the soapy water...


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