How to Kill Aphids

Killing Aphids

Aphids, the gardener’s nemesis. They infiltrate your garden and attack and will damage your plants. How does a helpless gardener respond to this unnecessary and unprompted attack? As a gardener, nothing irritates me more than when these little bugs take over my garden and I will provide you with a few simple ways to retaliate against this wretched bugs that can quickly multiply their ranks.

The first method to kill aphids is an easy one, you will need:

• 1 cup vegetable or white mineral oil
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons dish soap (without bleach) or Murphy’s soap

You have these things right? These are common household products, everyone should have them unless you’re poor then I apologize for assuming that you do. You know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of u and me. Anyways, you take these ingredients and mix them in some sort of spray bottle. You then spray it on the plants that are infected with the aphids. Spray it every couple of days or so until the enemy retreats. The mixture will suffocate them. However, you will want to keep the plants that you’ve sprayed out of the sun for a few days.

Another method to kill aphids is by bringing in additional troops or mercenaries. The ones that are best suited for this mission are ladybugs, lacewings and the most feared aphid predators. They will take care of your aphid problem for you by either killing them or by driving them away. These troops and mercenaries don’t require a lot, just a few plants that they like such as dandelions, mint and dill.

You can always resort to chemical warfare if needed. There are a number of insecticides that will aid you in this war. Be careful though, make sure you get some that won’t harm the plants you are trying to save otherwise it is just pointless. Some good ones are; Insecticidal Soap, Multi Purpose Insect Killer, 3 in 1 FIM and Organic Houseplant Insect Killer. These are all good options and should not harm your plants.

A last resort method to kill aphids is one that I don’t recommend unless you have had all you can take and are at the end of your rope. This is a risky one and again I emphasize as a last resort. If you have tried all I’ve already recommended and then some this is what you should do. You will need matches and gasoline. Take the gasoline and cover the garden. Then take a match, light it and throw it into your garden. Take a step back and watch your bittersweet victory as it burns to the ground. Yes you may have destroyed your precious garden but at least those damn aphids are gone right? Make sure you have water on hand, maybe a hose or something just in case the fire gets out of hand. After some time has passed and the scars on the ground have healed, you can plant another garden and start anew. That my friends is how you kill aphids.