A visitor to As the garden grows told me that they’d seen some tiny red bugs on their bearded Iris leaves. Blasting the plant with water didn’t help because the bugs came back out again once the leaves dried off.
Spraying the plants with a blast of water was actually a good move and it can be helpful with many types of insect infestations. The insects that she saw were probably aphids. They love new growth on plants and you’ll often find them on tender young leaves or flower buds. They suck the plants juices and can get unsightly if they aren’t controlled.
Aphids breed quite quickly. If you have plants that are infested by aphids you should give them a blast of water daily. You might also add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid to a spray bottle and spray the areas of the plant that are heavily infested. The soap will smother the aphids.
Whatever you do you do not want to kill any ladybugs. Ladybugs love eating aphids and they are beneficial insects in your garden. So, if you use the soapy water method try to watch where you are spraying and avoid hitting any ladybugs.
That’s great to know about the dishsoap method of getting rid of aphids. I have also heard that some garden shops sell lady bugs to “plant” in your garden to keep aphids under control.
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Hmmm…never realized that soap was a killer. How have you been Tricia?
Soap works but so does a strong blast of water with aphids. Fast and easy.
With soap, just make sure you don’t mix it too strong or it can bleach flowers. 1:40 is the right proportions.
Earlier today I was reading some articles on how ladybugs can be used on natural pest control, and apparently they’re even selling them over at Amazon!
Also, regarding the whole concept of using soap to blast aphids away… you should be very careful not only with the proportions, but also the type of soap you use, since some soap formulas include very aggressive chemicals asides from bleach.