Aphids have to be one of the most troublesome of garden pests

Long, long ago, I had a honeysuckle vine growing on a trellis against the house. It was healthy, a substantial size, and produced copious flowers.

And then aphids discovered it, and they never forgot its location, returning each year to smother the flowers and attract powdery mildew.

I tried insecticidal soaps, homemade sprays, and may have released aphid eating ladybugs, but it was a large plant and whatever I tried was never enough to control the aphids. Each spring I looked forward to it flowering, filling the evening air with a warm, fruity fragrance, then the aphids would show up on cue and turn the plant into an eyesore. Finally, I had enough and it became an ex honeysuckle, replaced by a beautiful clematis.

Aphids have to be one of the most troublesome of garden pests and they can be a challenge. They usually show up on my roses, on lupines, and on plants in the veggie garden, but I’ve always been able to control them, at least without losing produce or blooms, and powdery mildew hasn’t been a big issue.

On some plants, I can even use the fivestep approach — take five steps backwards and the problem vanishes. Individual aphids are easy enough to spot, though small and often the same colour as the leaves or stems they’re feeding on. They do come in a range of colours and there’s never just one.

The problem with aphids is their sex life — they don’t have one, or rarely do, and yet it would be easy to believe they breed like rabbits. Male and female aphids typically mate in fall and the female will lay eggs that hatch the following spring. The aphids that emerge are winged or wingless females.

These females can then reproduce asexually for many generations. What’s worse, during garden season they no longer lay eggs but instead give birth to live offspring that are soon giving birth to more even more live offspring. Miss just one after following attempts at eradication and the cycle continues. They continue to reproduce in this way while simultaneously sucking the life out of plants — literally. As they feed they secrete (okay, poop out) a substance known as honeydew. It’s this honeydew that attracts spores of powdery mildew.

Ants love the honeydew and will set up a sort of protection racket, attacking any predatory insects intent on harming their aphids. They will even transport aphids to other plants, in a sense, farming them.

Now that you’ve realized it’s aphids feeding on your plants, what to do? Options are limited. Commercial or homemade soap sprays are useful as they will kill on contact; however, they can be harm foliage, especially during hot weather, and if you miss that one loner they’ll be back within days, so spray over and under leaves every couple of days. If mixing your own soap spray, use real soap (not detergent) at a ratio of 40 parts water to one part soap. Before spraying, look for smaller flecks of white. These are possibly the remains after predatory insects have been active.

I find it’s safer and just as effective to simply hose off aphids daily. That way there’s less chance of harming beneficial insects like parasitic wasps, hoverflies and, of course, good old ladybugs. Ladybugs can be purchased and released in the garden to control aphids. They’re useful and will do a fine job in the enclosed space of a greenhouse, but they tend to fly off whenever they feel like it in a garden.

You might spot ladybug larvae, which are as effective as the adults at gobbling up aphids. They’re about the same size, orange and black, and look a little creepy because they resemble a mini alligator, but be happy if you see them.

In the early summer garden, there’s always something eating something.

To chat with local gardeners, share tips, pics, or discuss aphids, see Grand Gardeners on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/Grandgardeners/.