Need Aphid Advice

Hi All,

I have a cedar bush in my back yard. I do not know what it is called, but it is blueish green, about 25 foot tall, one of those bushes people like to trim into various shapes.

Problem: it has aphids. And, it has a HUGE colony of ants farming the aphids. And, and, a HUMONGOUS squadron on yellow jackets farming the ants. YIKES!!!!

I figure, if I can get rid of the ahpids, I will loose the ants and the yellow jackets. Is there any NON-HUMAN TOXIC way of driving the aphids away? Something that will make the bush not so yummy to them? Something I can pour into the bush's water supply? Something that doesn't rot the eyes out of my head when I spray it on?

Many thanks,

--Tony

Reply to
Tony
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Blast them off with your garden hose!!!

Reply to
Cereus-validus-...........

There are systemic pesticides, that the plant absorbs, and it kills or reduces the aphid populations. Such as

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sure if that falls in your threshold of non-human toxic controls.

If you can control the ants, then natural aphid predators, such as ladybugs can take care of the aphids easily. Otherwise there's the hose them off method, which rarely seems to be effective enough for me, but worth a try. Or insecticidal soap, maybe if you mix Palmolive in one of those miracle-gro type hose sprayer attachments, it should be able to spray most of the plant, not sure if it will reach 25'

Good luck.

Reply to
Snooze

That's a complete waste of time and money.

May as well take them out for dinner and dancing too!!!!

Just blast them off with a hose.

Reply to
Cereus-validus-...........

I would use the soap in the sprayer idea. If you accidentally blast the yellow jackets with your water hose, you will probably be going out to the hospital rather than dancing or to dinner.

I have used a Windex type hand sprayer on aphids in my fruit trees and they left after the second application.

The systemic idea would also be good because you put it under the affected tree, not the rest of your plants, and water it in. That would also take care of any pine borers that want to get into your bush also.

Dwayne

Reply to
Dwayne

Personally, I'd use Wasp/Hornet spray close to sunset when the hornets are settled down for the day. These sprays shoot 10 to 15 feet. The next day you might see some hornet activity; if so, repeat the application. This is somewhat toxic, but very effective--who wants to get stung?

After the hornets are gone use a forceful spray from the garden hose on the bush. A teaspoon of dishwashing liquid in a qt of warm water makes a good spray too. Dusting the bush with fine wood ashes will also kill the aphids by dehydration. Chickadees and wrens feast on aphids. Aphids reproduce very quickly and may spread plant viruses. My Rose of Sharon hedge has aphids but it also has a large ladybug population keeping the aphids in check.

Reply to
Phisherman

Never heard of a "cedar bush". Post a picture in alt.binaries.pictures.gardens.

Reply to
Travis M.

Interesting that you somehow think that has anything to do with aphids....

Plain old soap and oil will get the aphids. Precede with a strong spray down. I would be wise to whack the ants and yellow jackets first!

Reply to
Tom Jaszewski

I never said it did. I just want to see a picture of a "cedar bush".

Reply to
Travis M.

Why should the poster give a rat about posting a picture when you couldn't type two more sentences giving a direct answer? Then again it's painfully obvious from most posts you're nothing more than a bored hobbyist.....

Reply to
Tom Jaszewski

I am not bored.

Reply to
Travis M.
3 to 5 tbs. of sulphur to a gallon of water and spray the plant a couple of times. It will get the aphids, run the ants off and the plant will love it.

From Mel & Donnie in Bluebird Valley

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Reply to
Mel M Kelly

Poor advise and a dumb idea! Could Steveski be right about webtv?

Reply to
Tom Jaszewski

but will not the systemic pesticides also wipe out the ladybeetles?

i have used the following method for years and have been very successful with it (except when it comes to GUAVA, since they have their own variety of ants):

at night time, when the yellowjackets are not around (i have a fatal allergy to them so i like to avoid them at all costs!!), i take a flashlight and wander around the garden looking for aphids...there seems to be a variety of coloured ones these days ...i must assume it is a type of camouflage...?? at any rate, when i DO find a colony, i put on a pair of surgical gloves (or those rubber gloves if i'm working on rose bushes) and squish the aphids where they lie slurping up the sap from the plant(s) they're covering. i flick whatever ants are in the area off the various leaves and then......i LEAVE the dead aphids ON the plant.

i've discovered when the new day comes and new aphids fly in to take over the next shift (so to say) ;o), they literally WILL NOT touch down upon plants where their dead buddies lay squished upon the stems and leaves.

of course, it is necessary to repeat the procedure when the dead and squished ones fall off or are washed off by rainfall....but usually by then, the ladybeetles have come to the rescue somehow alerted by the sight or scent or whatever..? and ladybeetle larva can be quite voracious.

ok. that's the end of "gypsy's organic advice" for this day (albeit twelve days later--but then, for those of us in my zone {usda zoneNH4a}, we have yet to encounter our ground much less worry about 6-leggers yet.)

Reply to
RAINDEAR

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