Using Natural Products To Remove Aphids

Last week I went outside to inspect my plants, and found, to my horror, aphids (tiny insects) had colonized along the stalks and undersides of the leaves. Oh no, not in my garden. I’m no expert but like to become one whenever a new condition arises that I know nothing of, so I begin reading and researching, and of course, experimenting.

First, I clipped off an insect infested leaf and photographed it with the intention of using it for a broadcast on my digital radionics software, but had trouble sending the pic to my computer. My intention was to irradiate the aphids but I didn’t want to get the experiment started without the picture of the actual aphids, not just any aphids. Days passed without getting the picture transferred from my cell phone camera to my computer. I checked the plant again. Many of the aphids had disappeared (probably due to my intention) but not all of them. I better get started with plan B, least I loose the plant.

Having had a bout with nasty roaches, I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve. First tried spraying the aphids with a catnip tea solution I had already made up. The spray acted like a fire hose to them, knocking many off, and I figured that the ones left probably didn’t like cat nip. Then I took the leaf I had picked a week ago, and put it on the decagon, with a paper that said “REMOVE INSECTS FROM LEAVES” (previously dipped in salt water and dried). I also used my pendulum and asked that all insects from the plants be removed, allowing my pendulum to swing over the decagon. I must say, I did not get a good result from anything so far, so have moved on to using a 1/50 solution of dish soap and water to be sprayed on the under side and stalks of the plant, and I am determined to upload my the picture of the aphids and broadcast, according to my original plan.

In the meantime, here are some safe and simple things you, and mother nature can do to get rid of aphids;

• By hand- Prune off heavily infested areas and dispose of them to reduce the population.
• Water Jet- A simple and effective way of getting rid of aphids is to spray your plants with a jet of water. The water will knock the aphids off and they will generally die before they can climb back onto the plant. For the water jet method to be effective you need to spray your plant regularly 3 to 4 times a week or until the aphids are completely gone.
• Natural Insecticides- Boil 5 large cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a liter of water for 40 minutes. Strain it and when it is cool use a mister bottle to spray it onto your plants. Or you might try the 1/50 soap and water solution. Here is another; Mix one cup of any type of vegetable oil with 3 cups of warm water and add half a teaspoon of dish washing liquid. Spray using a mister bottle. The oil will clog the aphids’ pores and suffocate them (or you can rub vegetable oil directly on affected leaves).
• Natural predators- You can put mother nature to work for you by encouraging ladybirds and lacewings to make your garden their home. Some garden stores actually sell these helpful insects. Both of them feed on aphids and will help destroy those bugs before they can become a problem.