What to do against aphids?

The most important points in brief:

• Aphids also attract other insects and fungi
• The little animals multiply quickly
• Aphids vary in color, they are not always black
• A remedy can be found with simple home remedies

Actually, aphids are ancient vegans, because they feed exclusively on plant sap and have been living for over 200 million years. But where there are aphids, insects, black and soot fungi are not far away either. Because the plant sap absorbed by the aphids is excreted as sweetened honeydew, which among other things serves as a nutrient for other insects and fungi. Once aphids have made themselves comfortable with the plants, they multiply quickly and can cause significant damage to the plants. The small lice weaken the plants, which consequently become weaker, bear less fruit and, in the worst case, even break.

Aphids are different in color

In case you have not been affected by aphids and are now wondering how to recognize them at all; Aphids are about 1-2 millimeters in size and look like small dots on the plant leaves. The small insects are not only always black, they vary in color. There are also brown, white, red, yellow or green aphids. Most of the time they appear in a large settlement and are therefore easier to spot. The lice often appear in spring to autumn and attack our plants. Because of the damage that the small animals can cause, it is an advantage to get rid of them as quickly as possible. The following tips can help you with this:

• Oregano is not only known as a popular cooking spice, it also helps against those annoying aphids. With about 100g of fresh oregano you can already remedy the small animals. For this you boil water with the fresh oregano like a tea and after a steeping time of about 20 minutes you can spray it on the areas affected by aphids.
• One of the most popular and well-known methods of controlling aphids is using liquid soap. All you have to do is boil a piece of curd soap with hot water. You can then spray the cooled liquid onto the leaves.
• Boil about 40 to 50 grams of garlic with water. The mixture has to steep for several hours. It is important that the garlic is then removed from the mixture so that the liquid can be sprayed better.
• If your plants are only affected by a slight infestation, the simple water jet will also help. Hold the strong jet of water on the affected areas, the aphids will fall off automatically.

Aphids harmless to humans

Aphids pose a threat to plants, but not to humans. If an aphid accidentally appears on the lettuce and you eat it unnoticed, this does not pose a health risk. Nevertheless, lettuce should always be washed beforehand.