[Martin Pentreath]

Does a dilute solution of washing-up liquid actually DO anything to
aphids? They are running amok on my clematis armandii. The ladybirds
seem to be quite happy eating a couple and then basking in the sun
while the aphids go on multiplying around them astronomically, and the
only effect I can see of my regular washing-up liquid attacks is that
the force of the spray dislodges the buggers. I can do that with
water.

If the ladybirds don't start earning their keep and breeding I shall
be down Robert Dyas next week buying some insecticide and saying
farewell to aphids, ladybirds and all other living creatures in the
vicinity.

Cheers!

Martin

[Will Wilkinson]

In message .com,
Martin Pentreath writes
Does a dilute solution of washing-up liquid actually DO anything to
aphids? They are running amok on my clematis armandii. The ladybirds
seem to be quite happy eating a couple and then basking in the sun
while the aphids go on multiplying around them astronomically, and the
only effect I can see of my regular washing-up liquid attacks is that
the force of the spray dislodges the buggers. I can do that with
water.

If the ladybirds don't start earning their keep and breeding I shall
be down Robert Dyas next week buying some insecticide and saying
farewell to aphids, ladybirds and all other living creatures in the
vicinity.

Cheers!

Martin

I sprayed my heavily infested fennel 3 days ago with a 10% solution of
ecover washing up liquid and it's killed all the aphids - there's just a
load of aphid corpses on the stems now that wipe off easily. So IMO it
works very effectively. I'd guess that it blocks their pores so they
suffocate, but I could be wrong.

Will
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[K]

Martin Pentreath writes
Does a dilute solution of washing-up liquid actually DO anything to
aphids? They are running amok on my clematis armandii. The ladybirds
seem to be quite happy eating a couple and then basking in the sun

The ladybird larvae eat more pests than the adults.

while the aphids go on multiplying around them astronomically, and the
only effect I can see of my regular washing-up liquid attacks is that
the force of the spray dislodges the buggers.

It's probably killing off the ladybird larvae quite effectively.

--
Kay

[shazzbat]

"Martin Pentreath" wrote in message
oups.com...
Does a dilute solution of washing-up liquid actually DO anything to
aphids? They are running amok on my clematis armandii. The ladybirds
seem to be quite happy eating a couple and then basking in the sun
while the aphids go on multiplying around them astronomically, and the
only effect I can see of my regular washing-up liquid attacks is that
the force of the spray dislodges the buggers. I can do that with
water.

If the ladybirds don't start earning their keep and breeding I shall
be down Robert Dyas next week buying some insecticide and saying
farewell to aphids, ladybirds and all other living creatures in the
vicinity.


AIUI the best way of using it is to shake up the bottle and envelop the
aphids in the foam.

Steve

[len garden]

g'day martin,

any water containing any sort of soap/detergent would probably do the
same and the same result of dislodging the aphids can be had from a
strong sray of water from the garden hose.

for me aphids seem to get more attention that what they are worth, yes
they make the flowers look not so nice but i could say so!!

anyway over here very commonly aphids are associated with ants so no
matter what you do to treat the aphids they will keep reapearing if
you don't get rid of the ants.

if you have lady birds then try to let them get a control and not to
upset the balance, remember though if you want a benificial insect to
manage a pest then they will never eat the pest out as they to need to
thrive to live to eat another day.

On 15 Apr 2007 08:30:38 -0700, "Martin Pentreath"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

[Martin Pentreath]

Thanks for the various words of encouragement, I'll persevere with the
washing-up liquid for a bit longer. I do notice quite a lot of
ladybird hanky-panky going on on the plant, so I have been surprised
at the small numbers of offspring. Anyone got any suggestions for
spotting ladybird larvae and avoiding wiping them out along with the
aphids? Or maybe it's better not even to use washing-up liquid and
just to let the ladybird larvae get on with it.

I'm in inner London by the way, if that makes any difference - not the
most natural of ecosystems in the first place. Slugs and aphids seem
to have inherited this part of the earth.

Cheers!

Martin

[Peter Robinson]

Martin Pentreath wrote:

Does a dilute solution of washing-up liquid actually DO anything to
aphids?

Never tried.

FWIW, I usually find fingers keep them down to reasonable numbers if
you're not too squeamish :-) They even knock off quite readily if you
don't want to get too much green aphid blood on your fingers.

Peter

[La Puce]

On 15 Apr, 22:28, "Martin Pentreath"
wrote:
Thanks for the various words of encouragement, I'll persevere with the
washing-up liquid for a bit longer. I do notice quite a lot of
ladybird hanky-panky going on on the plant, so I have been surprised
at the small numbers of offspring. Anyone got any suggestions for
spotting ladybird larvae and avoiding wiping them out along with the
aphids? Or maybe it's better not even to use washing-up liquid and
just to let the ladybird larvae get on with it.

I'm in inner London by the way, if that makes any difference - not the
most natural of ecosystems in the first place. Slugs and aphids seem
to have inherited this part of the earth.

You're of the right mind ) You're doing ok with the washing up
liquid - but it takes time. Patience is the trick. And as K has said,
we do take out the good with the bad with spraying washing up liquid
if we're not careful. And it's too difficult to find which is which.
Squashing them is another option - also reducing the lanky and long
stems of your clematis which catches the aphids in their flights would
reduce the infestation. I always every year get aphids on our rose
floribonda on a 6 metres long fence. It's totally impossible to avoid,
but seeing ladybirds multiplying, ants going up an down, and gangs of
bluetits along with Mr and Mrs Robin banqueting in there, it's worth
just using washing up liquid and giving a bit back to nature ;o)

[sam[_2_]]

Martin Pentreath wrote:
Does a dilute solution of washing-up liquid actually DO anything to
aphids? They are running amok on my clematis armandii. The ladybirds
seem to be quite happy eating a couple and then basking in the sun
while the aphids go on multiplying around them astronomically, and the
only effect I can see of my regular washing-up liquid attacks is that
the force of the spray dislodges the buggers. I can do that with
water.

If the ladybirds don't start earning their keep and breeding I shall
be down Robert Dyas next week buying some insecticide and saying
farewell to aphids, ladybirds and all other living creatures in the
vicinity.

Aphids are "farmed" by ants.
I don't know about clematis but when my broad beans
first show signs I grub 'em out between fingers and thumb,
then I rub my grubby fingers against the unaffected shoots.
It seems to send a signal to the ants " Don't farm here!"
Better than chemicals.

Sam