Aphid Control - What works and doesn't

[Knucklehead]

What brand of dish washing detergent works best? My wife brought home some Ajax brand and the aphids are just laughing at it. I need to go out and get something I know works.

Just mass topped the VA's today and brought the majority of aphids out with the tops. Brought them home, doused them with charcoal starter fluid, and burned the little nasty buggers right up. Most fun I've had with my clothes on in a long time. I guess I need to get out more.

 

[johnlee1933]

Brought them home, doused them with charcoal starter fluid, and burned the little nasty buggers right up. Most fun I've had with my clothes on in a long time.

Ever consider serious drinking???

John

 

[deluxestogie]

I have always used Dawn. It seems to work with early infestations. Removing the tops and even the tiniest suckers also helps a lot. Since the aphids won't crawl back up the tobacco plant, I just toss the tops and suckers in the nearby grass, imagining a soft, "uh oh!" when the discarded leaf shrivels in the sun.

Bob

EDIT: For dish detergent use on aphids, you don't need soft hands, just something powerful in dispersing lipids.

 

[leverhead]

I used Ivory this year, it seemed to work OK.

 

[Brown Thumb]

I have had no Luck Getting rid of themLittle Bastards this year
I even tried Murpheys oil Vegtable oil soap Nope just burned the leaves
When you have little time and have about 1500 plants it becomes a job not to have to have it work. I must have sprayed 5 times using Different Soaps.
Yesterday I had it and bought some Bug Be Gone Insect Control and Nailed them and Four bottles later that is concentrated they are still Freaking Alive. screw it I will Just smoke the little Bastards

 

[AmaxB]

Once the plant gets infested it is hard to get rid of them. I removed 2 plants from my patch..

 

[Matty]

I got a "few" aphids of my own. I was workin the patch this past weekend sprayin soapy water all over. I read the soap is supposed to dehydrate them. I just used whatever soap was around. We'll see how well it works. Also, apparently you can spray them off with a garden hose and then when they fall they break their jaw and can't feed. If the soap does work, a second or third application may be necessary to get what hatched from any eggs as the soap has no effect on the eggs.
Something interesting though, I have tobacco in pots on my balcony as well. One plant got aphids ( canadian virginia), just on the top. None of the other plants (about 25 plants. I can't use my balcony and have to bring half them inside so I can water them all) got any and now I think they are all dead. The aphids that is.. I didn't do anything to them it just happened that way.

 

[workhorse_01]

Cyonara lawn and garden will turn them black in two days and they wont come back no more. http://www.pestmall.com/cyonara-lawn-yard-garden-spray.html I paid like $15.00 at southern states.

I have had no Luck Getting rid of themLittle Bastards this year
I even tried Murpheys oil Vegtable oil soap Nope just burned the leaves
When you have little time and have about 1500 plants it becomes a job not to have to have it work. I must have sprayed 5 times using Different Soaps.
Yesterday I had it and bought some Bug Be Gone Insect Control and Nailed them and Four bottles later that is concentrated they are still Freaking Alive. screw it I will Just smoke the little Bastards

 

[Brown Thumb]

Thanks For the info. With all the soap I hit them with this year I will be blowing bubbles with every hit.

 

[workhorse_01]

This stuff really works and you should check out the toxicity report for the active ingredient Lambda-Cyhalothrin.

Thanks For the info. With all the soap I hit them with this year I will be blowing bubbles with every hit.

 

[Brown Thumb]

How toxic is it ?

 

[Knucklehead]

I have always used Dawn. It seems to work with early infestations. Removing the tops and even the tiniest suckers also helps a lot. Since the aphids won't crawl back up the tobacco plant, I just toss the tops and suckers in the nearby grass, imagining a soft, "uh oh!" when the discarded leaf shrivels in the sun.

Bob

EDIT: For dish detergent use on aphids, you don't need soft hands, just something powerful in dispersing lipids.

Why won't they crawl back up, and how do they get up there in the first place?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

+1 for Dawn. I've used it in the past with succes but this year I tried Dr Bronner's liquid peppermint soap. It did not work nearly as well. Additionally, keep in mind that you need to use "soap" and not "detergent". I went to the store yesterday looking for some liquid Ivory soap. There was nothing on the shelf except for detergents. I have not used detergents but it is my understanding that they are much more photo toxic to the plants than are soaps. I do not know if they are any better or worse for actual aphid killing capability.

 

[Knucklehead]

Cyonara lawn and garden will turn them black in two days and they wont come back no more. http://www.pestmall.com/cyonara-lawn-yard-garden-spray.html I paid like $15.00 at southern states.

I wish I could use it but it says it kills bees. It also says hazards to humans and domestic animals. http://www.pestmall.com/PDF/Cyonara_LG_Spray_label.pdf

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I hadn't bought any real soap for maybe 5 years or so. I went looking this spring and couldn't find any so that's why I bought the Dr Bronners. It should actually have the word "soap" on the label. Out of the 20 or so different brands I saw, there was 1 that said soap, but it was an antibacterial soap. The Dr Bronners might be worth a try. My problem might have been that I started out with a very low dose (never having used it before). By the time I worked my way up to a good heavy dose I hade a ba-zillion aphids. It still killed them but the population kept exploding everey few days. Maybe the excessive rain and cool temps contributed to an overpopulation of aphids?

 

[Knucklehead]

+1 for Dawn. I've used it in the past with succes but this year I tried Dr Bronner's liquid peppermint soap. It did not work nearly as well. Additionally, keep in mind that you need to use "soap" and not "detergent". I went to the store yesterday looking for some liquid Ivory soap. There was nothing on the shelf except for detergents. I have not used detergents but it is my understanding that they are much more photo toxic to the plants than are soaps. I do not know if they are any better or worse for actual aphid killing capability.

The Dawn I bought yesterday just said Dishwashing Liquid, nothing about soap or detergent. The Ajax brand said the same thing but it didn't work worth a flip, scratch it off the list. I'll give the Dawn a try today. I don't know what I was using before, but it worked pretty well. The wife is a coupon clipper so it changes all the time. She gets the refill size so there's not much way of knowing what's in the actual small bottles.

 

[Knucklehead]

Ever consider serious drinking???

John

Dang John, I wish you'd sent me a PM. Mama says you're a "corrupting influence" and doesn't want me running around with you any more.

 

[johnlee1933]

Dang John, I wish you'd sent me a PM. Mama says you're a "corrupting influence" and doesn't want me running around with you any more.

Hey, STOP!, hold it. This is all your fault.

You started this when you mentioned "fun with clothes on". All I (innocently) did was offer an alternative. By the way, PM's don't work. If NSA can read them so can she. LOL

 

[workhorse_01]

They fed it undiluted to rats and they lost weight. As far as bees, spray right before dark.

How toxic is it ?

 

[workhorse_01]

Animals
$
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]When eaten, lambda-cyhalothrin is highly toxic to mice and moderately toxic to rats (2). See boxes on [/FONT][/FONT]Laboratory Testing[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman], [/FONT][/FONT]LD50/LC50, [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]and [/FONT][/FONT]Toxicity Category[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]$ A lambda-cyhalothrin product is moderately toxic when inhaled (1).
$ Lambda-cyhalothrin is moderately toxic when applied to the skin of rats (2).
$ In skin irritation studies, lambda-cyhalothrin caused no skin
irritation in rabbits (2). The EPA classifies
lambda-cyhalothrin as very low in toxicity for skin effects (3).
$ Lambda-cyhalothrin causes mild eye irritation in rabbits (2). The U.S. EPA categorizes lambda-cyhalothrin as moderately toxic for eye effects (3).
$ Guinea-pigs exposed to lambda-cyhalothrin show no signs of skin sensitivity (2).
$ Investigators fed rats lambda-cyhalothrin for 90 days and at the highest dose detected lower body weight gains in both male and female rats. Investigators did not detect adverse effects at lower doses (2, 3).
[/FONT][/FONT]

I wish I could use it but it says it kills bees. It also says hazards to humans and domestic animals. http://www.pestmall.com/PDF/Cyonara_LG_Spray_label.pdf