Aphids on currants how to fight

Aphids on currants are the most common insect that harms all fruit trees and berry bushes. Currants, apple trees, grapes - these are the favorite places of the pest. Especially favorable for the reproduction and development of the parasite is affected by warm weather without significant precipitation. Of course, you should not worry that the pest will completely destroy the plant - the aphid is not capable of this, but you should still exterminate it and prevent the appearance of an insect, since it can ruin the crop.

Aphids on currants: characteristics of the pest

It is not difficult to see signs of a pest on currants. There are a very large number of species of this pest. So, for example, if bubbles and dark bulges appear on the leaves or on the branches of a red or white currant bush, it means that leaf aphids have settled here. This is only one of 4 thousand species of the aphid family.

Another type of aphid is usually bred on black currants. It is also called gooseberry. Its presence can be recognized by looking at the leaves that curl and wilt. In addition, the branches and flowers of the shrub themselves lose their shape, since insects suck out all the juice from the plant.

Aphids on currants: insect damage

In addition to the above-described harm, the parasites make the plant very weak, unable to fight various diseases, which begin to actively spread over the area where a lot of this pest has bred. Allocating a sticky mass, aphids leave it on the stems and branches of currants, which is why the air does not pass through the bark well. In addition, pathogenic fungi and bacteria actively multiply in this sweet substance. After the aphid has divorced on the bush, the currant gets sick from sooty dew.

Ants, which, it would seem, help us get rid of the insect pest, on the contrary, contribute to an even stronger spread of aphids around the site, as they help the pests move, transporting them to different places where they continue to actively reproduce. Ants do not leave aphids alone, because, as lovers of sweets, they also love this very honeydew.

Therefore, if you notice a large number of ants and aphids on the branches and leaves of trees and shrubs, then you should immediately start killing insects, both the aphids themselves and ants and their structures.

Folk recipes for insect control

There are various ways to get rid of aphids. The choice will depend, first of all, on the degree of filling the site with insects. So, if aphids on currants have not yet multiplied much, and have not ruined many branches on the plant, then you can use safe means that can be prepared from household products. Such gentle preparations will not harm people and animals, but on the contrary, they will effectively deal with aphids.

1. You can prepare a solution consisting of two glasses of ash, and one tbsp. spoons of soap diluted in three liters of hot water. It is necessary to let the resulting mixture brew for about a day, and then treat the plant affected by aphids with the resulting solution. Both household and liquid soap can be used. Here, in addition to destroying the pest, you feed the plant with nutrients.

2. You can prepare a poisonous solution by stirring in water two tbsp. spoons of liquid soap or dishwashing detergent.It is necessary to process the bush with such a solution every day until the insects disappear completely. The mechanism of action of the solution is simple, the soap solution affects the respiratory organs of the pest, which leads to its death.

3. You can prepare a means to combat the pest from tobacco powder, popularly called makhorka. So, one liter of water will need one hundred grams of tobacco. The resulting mixture is boiled at low temperature for about an hour, after which the solution is filtered. Next, three hundred grams of the resulting product are added to one bucket of water and the bush or tree is treated. This processing will need to be done twice. To achieve the best effect, another four hundred grams of ash is added to the resulting composition. Treatment is recommended by spraying the plant.

4. To prepare a solution of soda, take one tbsp. spoon of powder and dilute it in one liter of water. It will be more effective to add soap to the solution.

Very effective in pest control and infusions of some herbs. The most popular ones are described below.

5. The infusion of celandine helps well. If you take fresh grass, then you will need about three kg of plant for ten liters of water, if dried celandine, then one kg of powder will be enough. The infusion is kept for about a couple of days, after which it is necessary to strain it and start spraying the bush.

6. Dandelion leaves or roots, about 400 gr. pour ten liters of warm water and infuse the mixture for about three hours. After this period of time, you can start processing the site.

7. If you have a lot of green onions, then you can prepare a solution from it by mixing three kg of greens with 10 liters of water. An infusion of 200 g of onion husks infused for five days in ten liters of water will also scare off pests well.

8. Hot peppers are also effective against aphids. Its fruits should be finely chopped, and ten parts of water should be added to one part of the pods. Next, you need to boil the solution for half an hour and infuse the resulting broth for two days. The filtered solution must be additionally diluted with water during processing, in the proportion of 100 ml of broth per one liter of water.

9. In a similar way, you can prepare a solution from citrus peels, from yarrow. The only thing is that the obtained broth should not be diluted, but the plant should be processed in the concentration obtained initially.

10. Tops from potatoes, tops from tomatoes and marigolds are also suitable for treating plants from pests. The chopped tops should be mixed with boiling water in equal parts and the resulting mixture should be infused for about two days. After that, the solution is filtered and currant bushes can be processed.

To achieve the desired effect, you should not just spray the bush anywhere, but try to get exactly on the back of the leaf, as the pests most often hide there. Using a special spray bottle will make your work easier.

Also, do not forget about your own safety, and use a protective suit, mask, glasses and gloves during the treatment of the plant.

Gardening tips

Experienced summer residents also recommend effective ways to prevent the appearance of aphids on the site, namely, toss celandine stalks, ash and tobacco mixture under the currant bushes during the season. This will scare off the enemy and prevent him from multiplying on the plant. It is also good to process the branches with a dry mixture of ash and tobacco.

Aphids on currants: methods of manual processing of shrubs

When a pest attacked the plant after flowering, and when fruit ovaries are already forming, it is not safe to use chemical means to kill the insect, therefore, gardeners prefer mechanical methods of controlling the pest. For example, killing aphids by hand using gloves. Knocking down pests from bushes using a hose under a strong pressure of water.You can also pick off affected leaves and remove the tips of the branches on which the parasite has multiplied. In addition, in early spring, before the leaves bloom, it is important to recognize those buds in which the larvae of the pest hibernated, and also to break off and destroy them. These buds are round and large in size.

These methods, of course, will contribute to the fight against the hated insects, but they cannot be completely exterminated, since constantly new aphid larvae from the eggs will infect the plant again and again.

Thus, you will have to study the bush every day and do the same work, as a result of which not a single leaf will remain on the bush.

Other ways to kill aphids

Therefore, gardeners are trying to attract natural forces to help. So, you can lure birds, other insects that will eat aphids. These include sparrows, ladybugs, and hoverflies. You can put birdhouses and feeders that lure small birds, drinking bowls for them.

Insects can be attracted by planting near a bush of marigolds, calendula, nasturtium. You can plant tomatoes or dill. The smell of these crops will not only scare off the pest to some extent, but will also attract beneficial insects. If this does not happen, then insects can be bought in specialized organic farming stores.

You can not plant corn next to currant bushes, as it will attract aphids even more. Having destroyed the leaves of corn, the pest will charmingly move to shrubs and trees.

Weeds are sometimes involved in the fight against this insect. For example, for the purpose of bait, you can plant a quinoa under a currant bush, since the aphid loves it very much. When a pest multiplies on a weed, it must be dug up and destroyed.

Treatment of currants with insecticides

If the area affected by the bushes and the spread of aphids are large, then insecticides cannot be avoided here. Products designed to kill insects. There are a large number of them. If you follow the rules of the instructions indicated on the package, then, having processed the site, you may not remember about these pests. Since these drugs kill insects, they contain toxic substances. Therefore, it is necessary to process the plant only three times.

In early spring, until the buds have blossomed, then after the appearance of the leaves, and strictly 1 month before the appearance of the ovaries. It should be borne in mind that the drug can have a visible effect only after two weeks. Also, do not forget about the precautions, and carry out processing only in a protective suit, mask and gloves, and after processing, change clothes and take a shower. These drugs are a lifeline for a garden that has been affected by aphids.

The most popular and effective ones are: "Vofatox"; Aktara; Inta-Vir; Kinmix. No less effective are "Confidor"; "Karbofos"; "Fufanon"; Rovikurt and Fury. If the aphid spread during the flowering of the shrub, then it would be more logical and safer to use more environmentally friendly means, such as Fitoverm.

It is also necessary to change the active ingredient of the drug every year, since aphids are able to develop immunity to poisons. In this case, the desired effect will no longer be.

Aphids on currants: preventive measures

If your black currant bushes are attacked by a pest such as aphids, then the plants are weakened and have low immunity to pests. Because healthy and strong bushes have thick leaves and tough bark. It is difficult for an insect to gnaw through such obstacles, so they choose weakened plants. In order to avoid the attack of pests and the occurrence of diseases, it is first of all necessary to carry out proper care of the plants in order to increase their defenses.First of all, on shrubs in the spring, you should cut off dried and diseased branches, cleaned of fallen bark, since this is a convenient place for wintering aphid larvae.

In the spring, it will also be useful to douse the shrub and the ground under it with systemic preparations against insect pests. The soil under the bush should also be loosened and weeded regularly. You can plant garlic, onions, or mint around the bushes. This will scare away pests. You should also remove the shoots so as not to thicken the bushes. It is necessary to regularly water and fertilize shrubs. It is important that there is not a lot of nitrogen in the fertilizers.

In addition, it is necessary to remove anthills. You can simply douse the nest with hot water. It will also help protect the moat around the currant bush, filled with some sticky substance, from ants. Before wintering, it is necessary to loosen the soil under the bush, whitewashing the trunk of the bush will help in early spring. Mulching a piece of land under a bush will also be helpful.

Conclusion

In order to destroy such a pest as aphids on currants, all preventive measures should be taken and the reproduction of the pest should be prevented, as well as the health of the bush and its own strength should be strengthened by proper care of the plant in different seasons. If, nevertheless, the pest attacked, then it should be detected in time, and then you can use folk remedies for processing shrubs and destroying the insect. In addition, you can call for help from the forces of nature, birds, insects. Even some weeds will help you get rid of the aphids. Or it is permissible to deal with the pest and mechanical means.

But if all else fails, and the spread of the pest is too great, then you should use ready-made insecticides sold in specialized stores. Observing the instructions for use and the rules of your own safety, you can get rid of aphids once and for all and save the crop.