Perhaps most common garden pest is the aphid. They are a small insect with mouth-parts the pierce plants and suck-out their nutrient-rich juices. Aphids vary in color they can be black, brown, green or white. They can also vary in size; mature well-fed specimens are about twice as large as immature aphids. They tend to cluster around the tender young tips of plants.
Your number one defense against aphids and all garden pests and diseases is a healthy plant. Plants that are strong, vigorous and healthy can resist attack much more effectively. What makes a healthy plant? Adequate water - when plants dry-out or are too wet they can become weakened. Try to keep the soil consistently moist but not wet this ensures the plant will never be stressed by water. Stick your finger one-knuckle deep into the soil it should be moist but not wet.
Adequate food - often chemical fertilizers make plants serge into growth, they send out LOTS of weak growth which aphids adore, it's better to use a gentler balanced organic fertilizer that will still produce lots of growth but support that growth with the nutrients necessary for long-term strength and vigor.
If you already have aphids there are several solutions. The gentlest way is to buy a packet of Ladybugs at your local independent Garden Center. They usually cost around $10 for about 1,000 ladybugs. Let the ladybugs go at dusk so they hunker down in your garden and they will devour aphids.
If you want a more instant solution using sharp water flow (skip this step if plants are especially tender or weak) spray-off as many aphids as possible, making sure you're not spreading them on to other garden plants. Following the package instructions spray with an Insect Killing Soap. You can also make your own with a gentle, pure, liquid soap like Liquid Palmolive. You want to make direct contact with the aphids because the soap works by plugging their mouth-parts so you have to spray it ON the insects (please also note that this means you cannot use insect killing soap as a preventative measure). Insect Killing Soap usually takes multiple applications several days apart to kill all the generations that were on the plant. However, if you are consistent, you will be able to keep the population under control.
Aphids rarely kill plants, however they can weaken them and reduce yields. In addition, aphids can carry viruses and bacteria that can cause much more serious problems down the line.
