Get ready for an aphid population explosion

It has been an interesting spring — not because of the rain and snow, but due to the consistent low temperatures.

Temps have not been extremely low, but we just have not had warm periods or false springs this year, so it’s delayed many of our plants from flowering.

The weather has also slowed down one of our spring insect pests, aphids. Aphid damage typically shows up as deformed leaves — puckered, twisted and curled. Often the leaves are purplish.

When you look closely, you will see small, green insects. These are likely to be aphids. Start checking on the new growth of roses or any plant that’s starting to grow.

There are hundreds of different species of aphid; however, contorlling all the different species of aphids is the same. With spring growth of fruit trees and roses just around the corner, the aphid population is just about to jump.

When it comes to controlling them or any insect pest, I like to use the least toxic chemicals first. For aphids, the least toxic is water. In early spring, when it still is cool to cold at night, you can wash off the plants with cold water. The water can dislodge the pests from the plant and can kill some of the aphids.

It is more likely that the cold water does not kill the aphids directly but makes them cold, so they cannot move quickly enough to make it back to the plants before they starve. The minimum the water will do is slow down their reproduction.

It is best to do this first thing in the morning when it is still cold; just make sure the air temperature is above freezing. This will allow the plants to dry off during the day.

Next on the list in toxicity is insecticidal soap. It is one of the safest pesticides available and will work very well for controlling aphids.

Insecticidal soap is based on fatty acids that kill aphids and other soft-bodied insects, but is extremely safe for humans, animals and even other insects that have hard bodies.

Insecticidal soap should be applied in the morning to be the most effective. It is an organic, contact insecticide, which means the spray must hit the aphids.

There is no residual effect to the spray, so it needs to be sprayed every three to seven days for the first couple of weeks and then once every two weeks to keep the aphid population down.

You must be careful with insecticidal soap in spring because it can also kill bees, if you spray it directly on them.

It is also best to purchase insecticidal soap, not make your own out of household soap because it may contain other products such as perfume and oil, which can damage your plants.

If you believe all soap is the same, just check your cabinets. You may have hand soap, face soap, dish soap and laundry soap. Would you substitute laundry soap for face soap if it was cheaper?

In fact, insecticidal soap is the most effective way to control aphids and I do not use any other pesticide. However, another way to control them over a longer period of time is using ladybugs or ladybird beetles.

Ladybugs eat the aphids, but as the aphid population decreases, most of the ladybugs move on. But some ladybugs will stick around, which can help control the aphid population.

Ladybugs cannot control a large outbreak of aphids, however. Instead, they can keep a population low. If you use ladybugs, be sure to place them out in the morning when the plants are moist and cool. Try to cover the ladybugs with a light covering of mulch or leaves.

Cold ladybugs do not move very fast or far. They will climb up the nearest plant, hopefully eat several aphids on the climb and decide to stay.

If you spread ladybugs over the top of your plants in warmer temperatures, they will probably fly away. Insecticidal soap will not kill them, so you can use both at the same time.

Aphids can be difficult to control due to their high reproductive rate. A single female can produce up to 100 offspring in her lifetime.

During the spring, summer and early fall, all the aphids are female and produce live offspring without mating. This means that it takes only one aphid to become billions of aphids in the course of one summer.