# Aphids problem



## Andee77 (Sep 6, 2011)

We have carpenter ant issue due to couple of stumps in back of our house.
Because location of these stumps are borders to house behind us, we do need to get survey done and talk to them to remove.

I read somewhere, when you have carpenter ants and see signs of syrup from evergreen trees, you can see aphids too.

This year, I did see couple of carpenter ants, but not like before and it seems under control based on baits and spraying professional grade pestcide last year and this year early spring.
But aphids are still uncontrolled and even we have purchased 10 bags of ladybugs and spread into garden.

I don't see any improvment on aphids outdoor.

Last year, we had aphids inside house and it was difficult for sensative person like me to live with.

Luckly, I have not seen bad case of aphids inside, this year. But outside I don't see any improvement.

We do have some of fruit trees and we don't like using professional for total pesticing entire house plus garden.

But if that is the only way to get rid of aphids, I have to do that.
Can anyone help us? 

Need good help, please.


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## creeper (Mar 11, 2011)

Aphids are cyclic. Subsequent summers may not be so bad. They won't hurt you. I remember one year they were so bad I'd see them around everywhere. Some would land on people and make their way into the house.

Just focus on the particular plants they are attacking, and ignore the rest. Just the other day I noticed an infestation busy ravaging my lupines and in another bed, they were making short work of my roses.

In a spray bottle, pour a good squirt of dishwashing liquid. Add a shot of mouth wash if you have. Listerine works great. Fill the bottle with water.

Spray directly on the plant. It will kill the pest but not the flowers. This solution works great on earwigs as well, but they hide right inside the flower petals in the daytime, so go out after dark on a hot and humid evening


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen aphids indoors no matter how bad they are outside. Please make sure that you have identified these properly; otherwise everything you do will be a waste of time, un-necessary exposure, material, and money. At least get professional help to identify and assess the situation. What pros do is at least as safe, probably safer, as what an untrained person will do. There is no relationship between carpenter ants and aphids; ignore that advice.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

PAbugman;942353[COLOR=red said:


> ]I don’t think I’ve ever seen aphids indoors no matter how bad they are outside[/COLOR]. Please make sure that you have identified these properly; otherwise everything you do will be a waste of time, un-necessary exposure, material, and money. At least get professional help to identify and assess the situation. What pros do is at least as safe, probably safer, as what an untrained person will do. There is no relationship between carpenter ants and aphids; ignore that advice.[/quote]
> 
> 
> I agree :thumbsup:


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

Thank you chrisn.

I will amend my comment by stating that aphids can occur indoors on houseplants. They do not leave the plants though, and aphids that are outdoors will stay outdoors. 

Creeper gives good advice with the soap solution, especially for indoor plants. I didn’t know of Listerine as an additive; I imagine the alcohol is the desirable ingredient. 

Andee77: Is it possible that you are seeing “clover mites”? The stumps in the rear may be co-incidental to the carpenter ant problem. They will live anywhere. They especially like mature trees (living).


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## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

I had aphids on my linden....one year it was so bad that you could see the honey dew raining down on my deck, which caused a sticky black substance to form in areas on my deck. I used Bayer tree and shrub fertilizer since and have never had a problem with them.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

My guess is the OP has a fruit fly problem. They would be attracted to any fruit that fell to the ground as well as anything left out on a counter that had even a minute wound in the skin. I don't think ladybugs feed on fruit flies like they do aphids so as the bugman suggests, money is being wasted. Although real ladybugs---not the evil orange ones introduced in the South and that made it to Central Illinois---are nice additions to home gardens. You can set out a little dish with some vinegar and a bit of sugar and corn syrup to help with indoor fruit flies. Of course keeping any fruit that is marginal and spoiling out of the house, and picking up that has fallen from outdoor plants is 95 percent of the battle strategy.


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## creeper (Mar 11, 2011)

I dunno guys, I'm seeing them in the house. They come in as hitchhikers. For instance, I was just taking the laundry off the line and they're were about twenty hanging on to the sheets. If I wasn't careful they'd be in


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

creeper said:


> I dunno guys, I'm seeing them in the house. They come in as hitchhikers. For instance, I was just taking the laundry off the line and they're were about twenty hanging on to the sheets. If I wasn't careful they'd be in


Jan, I can see this happening but there is not much to keep their attention indoors but houseplants. If aphids they are not going to nest in anything else as far as I know.

You could always drown them to be sure. Just caulk all the windows tight and fill the house with water up to the top of the highest windows plus 2'3.82" more. Use bottled water so the minerals in the tap water do not stain your painted walls. 

Or there may be another way of exterminating that is a more appropriate response to the massive threat they pose!

I do understand some people are sensitive to bugs and spiders of all kinds. I am not wild about bugs and hope never to be bit by a dangerously venomous spider but am not paranoid either. I tended to catch and release spiders. With regular attention and scheduled service from the exterminator, pests of any kind are just not a problem for me. In all the years, only when I tried DIY approaches and retail consumer pesticides did I have problems and it ended up costing me more than a pro service anyhow.


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## creeper (Mar 11, 2011)

Ha An excellent suggestion, That way I can swim AND wash the linens at the same time. 

True they are not breeding inside, but merely stragglers.


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## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

its my understanding that aphids aren't a problem unless there's too many of them....kind of like grubs. Aphids are so small and fairly transparent that it's hard to notice them. They'll eat through leaves and can cause some serious issues that result in the death of trees and shrubs.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

They are a major ag problem if not controlled. Not much gets rose growers screaming louder. 

As mentioned, an aggressive orange species of Asian ladybug (I am violently allergic to the bites) was hybridized to control aphids in pecan orchards. They migrated north and were loved by soy bean growers who battle aphids as well. They reproduced rapidly and got into houses by the thousands. Gave off a nasty odor when you stomped them. They killed off natural and nice ladybugs but something in the bioengineering went wrong and they the orange ones began dying off after a few generations. Meanwhile all we could do was vacuum them and toss the bags in the trash.


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