A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 aphids. . .

are they airborne? I put out some hanging flower baskets the other week and voila aphids galore on one plant (theyre purple/white pansies). and i mean ALL OVER! This is in teh front of my yard, and in the backyard (only a mere 60' away) is my preciouse! (SMEAGUL!!!)

Do i risk having aphids in my garden? I plan on putting Seven on all my flowering plants (roses, baskets out front) But on my garden will be trying to find some garlic barrier or in extreme, use dish soap/water solution.

once again. . .a are they airborne?

Danno,

Im no expert, but some of the critters that hang out on my rose bushes have wings. So Im guessing wings = airborne.

Hope they fly away soon!!

'In spring an egg hatches, producing a wingless female aphid who soon begins parthenogenetically producing new wingless females. Generation after generation of wingless females survive one another until hot weather comes or maybe the plant on which they are living dies and then suddenly some of the females grow wings and fly off.
Though aphids look so plump and dumpy that they could never fly far, in fact they can travel hundreds of miles with the assistance of low-level jet winds.'





from here http://www.backyardnature.net/aphid_lc.htm

read ur link longy. . now my question is . . will soap/water solution kill them? I dont want these pests around

Danno, are you sure seven is even listed for aphid control? I wouldn't mess with it, just get some insecticidal soap. plants that are healthy and happy have few pest problems, and when they do, there are often safe, simple solutions. I never worry about pests unless there's an obvious infestation. Knock the aphids down once or twice and our problem should be solved. As to your back yard, there are always aphids around, the ones on the pansies are no more likely to infest anything than the ones that are already in the environment.

Danno...you posted while I was writing. Soap/water typically works, but I've heard some dish soaps can damage plants. You could try a dillute solution, or try it on a small part of the plant to see what happens, but I just go ahead and buy the real stuff, the major brand is Safer and it's available almost everywhere.

thx pepper. . . going out today to buy some

Also, they prey on fresh green lush growth. The type that comes after a high nitrogen fertiliser is applied. Ensure your ferts hhave a balance of potassium (K) to toughen the plants up and make them less susceptible to attack.