How To Get Rid Of Aphids
Many gardeners have puzzled over how to get rid of aphids. There is a product on the market now called Aphid Alarm, which may help to prevent the problem from every occurring in the first place. The product is made of small discs that release natural chemicals that interfere with the way the aphids live day to day. The discs don't actually drive the aphids away, but they won't be able to reproduce, and they will become confused. If you want to use a product like this, be sure to place them early in the season of growing, right before Spring begins. Aphids *can* become active while it's still cold outside, so don't wait for warm weather to place the discs. Affix the discs to any plant with a history of aphid problems, and all other plants that you want to protect.
You can also use Aphid Traps to get rid of the problem if you already have aphids in your garden. Aphid Traps have bright colors that attract the pests when they are ready to lay their eggs, and then the sticky paper traps and kills them.
Once your plants are confirmed to have aphids, you need not worry a lot - aphids are fairly easy to kill. If your plants are weakened from the aphids' infestation, you can use a non-insecticidal soap and spray it on your plants. It works fairly quickly to kill aphids, but there is no residual left to continue this work - you will need to re-apply the spray periodically during your plants' season of growth. Pump sprayers will make the application less of a hassle for you.
There are other products that are longer-lasting, if your plants are not already damaged by the aphids. You can use an insecticidal dust, which provides a good way to cover all your plants, and it lasts for a longer time than the soap does. If you cover your plants thoroughly, you may notice the dust all over them, which some people consider unsightly. But this does show that the dust is working and that's one way of totally resolving the issue of how to get rid of aphids. Deltamethrin dust is a good product to use, and it can be applied with a hand duster for small areas, or a "dusting mizer" for larger areas. If you are growing vegetables or fruits, you will probably wish to use a permethrin dust for aphids, on them.
You can also purchase sprayable concentrates that you will mix with water and spray over the affected plants. Be sure to read the label instructions, which will explain how to get rid of aphids with this product. This is the most efficient way to deal with the problem if you already have aphids. Again, if you have vegetable or fruit plants, use a permethrin concentrate for them. You can also purchase a ready-to-spray product called Cyonara RTS. You can just hook the container to your garden hose, and you're good to go. In addition, you can use Cyfluthrin, which kills aphids very quickly, but which will need to be re-applied every two to four weeks.
The strongest knock-down product for aphids is BIFEN. It is a synthetically-manufactured form of pyrethrin, and it is very effective. It can be applied with a sprayer like the permethrin products are.
All of these products can help you win the battle against aphids and get your garden back to blooming and growing.