Once upon a time on usenet songbird wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:
...
The aphids on the tropical have just exploded in the past week and
the plant is covered with them. What can I use to kill them without
harming the butterflies? Soap? Half-strength dormant oil spray?

for one plant, soft brush them off or use a
spray of water, see if any remain after that
and then hit them with a weak soapy water solution
to drown them. keep an eye out for ants that may
be "herding" them. repeat as needed...

That's exactly what I do. Soapy solution is approximately 1% dish washing
liquid (10mls to a litre). Much stronger makes the milkweed grow twisted and
stunted.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)