I am having a TERRIBLE time with aphids on my roses! I don't know if it's because our weather has been so weird or what, but they are awful. I sprayed with dishsoap & water~they loved it :twisted: What type of dish soap should I use? Does it really matter? I treated them with Bayer Rose Systemic on Sunday. I hope like heck it kicks in soon. Any advice??? I almost forgot to mention, my columbines have aphids too moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
I only use Dawn dish soap to spray for insects. It's totally safe and have never had a problem using it on any type of plant.
I use soap too. Sometimes soap with a dash of white spirits (for the black ones). What I did to prevent the little sap-suckers from eating up my roses was to plant a Lonicera on the same arch as my roses...the aphids went for the Lonicera and left my roses alone.
Hi Deanna, with all the rose bushes i have you can be sure Aphids and everything else appear in time,..yes Soapy water is cheapest and it works!,..but not too much soap and not a cheap washing up liquid. Over here we use anything based with Garlic,..Aphids don't like Garlic. Coffee Grounds or Tea Leaves around the base of the rose bushes,..or Banana Skins work,..i know for certain the Tea Leaves work as that's whats mixed in my soil,..i save Tea Bags,..break them up and add them to the soil. Apple Cider Vinegar!!,..yep that's the most popular belief,..1 oz of Cider Vinegar to 3 oz of water,..plus you get nice shiny leaves into the bargain.
I have used dawn dish soap and RUBBING alcohol mixed in warm water and sprayed in the little pests. it works great. Dishsoap, enough to make it soapy, and 1T. R. alcohol in 1 gal water. spray for the aphids every 3 days until they are gone. a fairly hard stream off water knocks them off also. the systemic will take a couple of days maybe a week to start working. I used the alcohol mixture on my cabbage and peppers in the high tunnel this year, because the aphids were so bad. Not a few, MANY on every plant, on every leaf Eventually there were none left. everything inside and out now have none on them. I was worried at the beginning of the season seeing so many insects already. The flea beetles were horrible as was the aphids. I still am seeing flea beetle damage and I think I will have to dust with sevin on my Pumpkins on a Stick.
I'm in agreement with Phillip here. I put coffee grounds, used tea leaves and banana peels in the soil under roses... Don't know exactly why, I just have heard over the years that it helps them somehow. I also agree with Sjoerd that they love Lonicera... Good luck!
Would the cider vinegar help with the cucumber beetles ??? I have some of that at the moment. I think I will try it tomorrow morning. I do not have any neem oil yet.
Cider Vinegar will help if you leave a few small containers half filled near the Cucumbers,..or plant something close to the Cucumbers that the Cucumber Beetle does not like,..Broccoli,Calendula,Catnip,Nasturtiums,Marigold,..of the latter then the stronger the better African,French,Mexican Marigolds. Neem oil IS good but tends to be best to treat Cucumber Beetle eggs and larvae,..not so good with the adult Cucumber Beetle. ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden )
I dont even have any cukes planted this year, unless that mystery squash happens to be a cuke? My beetles are the spotted ones, not striped. At least I have only seen the spotted ones and not the striped ones. I am headed out there to spray the cider vinegar on my roses and check on Goldie. surprise squash ( photo / image / picture from AAnightowl's Garden )
Cucumber beetles are nondiscriminatory when it comes to squash or cukes. I find them on my cukes, watermelons,cantelopes, squash, pumpkins to name the ones in my garden alone, that I am out picking them off of every day.
So far, I have not seen the little vermin in my veggie garden, but I have not really planted any veggies this year because I do not yet have a way to keep Goldie and Cody out of it. They ate all of my black raspberries, except for the ones I ate while weeding. I dug my garlic and have it saved back. Hopefully, they do not care for my Egyptian walking onions ! The asparagus they do not seem interested in, but neither am I interested in it. So far, my taters seem to be doing well. I thought those had drowned, but they are okay. No sign of the the sweet taters though. We had a cold May, so probably they froze ?... Just that lonely little squash out there and the taters now. It has been blooming away though, so maybe I will have something from that.
