If you have spinach and you love spinach then you should keep aphids away from your spinach at all cost. Aphids are the number one spinach destroying pest so is become high priority to prevent and get rid of aphids from your spinach plant so,
How to keep aphids away from spinach? Water jet, diatomaceous earth, neem oil, essential oil, pesticides are some of the best ways to keep aphids away from spinach.
Read this full article to know 13 amazingly effective ways to keep aphids away from spinach in details and use them effectively
1. Water Jet
Is a simple and effective solution to get rid of aphids. Just spray water directly over aphids to get rid of them from your spinach. Aphids won’t be able to hold their grip against strong force of water and it will be easy win for you.
2. Use Neem Oil
Neem oil is said to be effective against 200 different species of insects and aphids are one of them. Just make a simple solution of neem oil apply it directly over aphids and boom they will be gone. Here is how to make the solution
- Simply add add 5 to 6 drop of neem oil in in 150 ml of water
- Stir it
- Put it in a sprayer and add more water
- Then spray it over aphids
You will see the effect immediately as they will fall off from your spinach plant. Neem Oil has no side effects over your spinach plants so it is safe to use for killing and getting rid of insects and bugs and it is safe how to use around humans so feel free to use it as required.
3. Use Essential Oil
Essential oils are also really effective against aphids. There are various kind of essential oil but I am going to give you the most effective and easily available essential oils that you can use against aphids
Lavender Essential Oil
Apart from his health benefit it can also be used to repel insects and bugs here is how to make the solution.
- Just add 5 to 6 drops of Lavender essential oil in 100 ml of water
- Mix it well and put it in a sprayer
- Spray it over the plants and also over aphids that will get rid of aphids. It will also repel them from attacking your spinach.
Peppermint Essential Oil
It is a very strong repellent of insects and bugs as peppermint itself is very strong. Here is how to make the solution that will be the most effective.
- Just add 5-6 drop of peppermint oil in 100 ml of water
- Put it in a sprayer spray it on your spinach plants
Peppermint is very strong you need to first check whether it is affecting your spinach negatively or not for that just pray this mixture over a single spinach leaf and leave it for 3 days. If its shows any adverse effect then don’t use peppermint oil instead use other essential oils please mentioned in this article however if it doesn’t show any adverse effect then spray it over your spinach plants and directly over aphids that will get rid of the aphids. You’ll see results almost immediately. Aphids simply can’t tolerate the strong peppermint spray.
Garlic Essential Oil
It is also a very strong repellent for aphids and here is how to make the solution
- Just add 5 to 6 drops of Garlic oil in 100 ml of water.
- Put it in a sprayer and spray directly over you spinach and aphids which will get rid of aphids easily.
Garlic spray are also very strong so you need to check the tolerance of your spinach plants as same as the peppermint oil
Spray it over in a spinach plant and leave it for 3 days if it doesn’t show any adverse effect then use it it over your entire spinach plants and if it shows any adverse effect which it usually doesn’t then don’t use garlic spray.
4. Use Flour
Flour works really well against aphids and is very simple to use. It’s available in almost everyone’s house so you don’t need to go looking for it. It also doesn’t have side effects over your spinach plants, it is safe to consume for humans. So, don’t need to worry about is harmful effect when you are using it against aphids. Just apply flour directly over your plants. That will constipate aphids and will get rid of them. Simple yet effective technique.
5. Use Soapy Water Mixture
Make a solution of soap and water and use it against aphids. This is also are really effective way to get rid of aphids. Here is how to make the solution
- Just add 4 to 5 drops of liquid soap up on 150 ml of water
- Mix it well
- Put it in a sprayer and spray it
This simple easily available do able solution is really effective against aphids after you have used this solution over spinach plants you need to wash your plants with clean water as you don’t want this soapy water to enter your stomach. Getting rid of the Soapy water is essential because it will wash away the soap along with the aphids so just was wash after keeping the soapy water solution for few hours or unless you see the desired results. Apply more if you don’t see desired results and then once you’ve got your desired result wash it with plain water to get rid of the solution.
6. Plant Aphids Repellent Plants
Plants like Lavender oil plant, Peppermint Plants, Rosemary and clove plant are repellent of aphids. If you plant this plants alongside your spinach plant then aphids won’t attack your spinach plant so easily because of the smell coming out of those plants. It’s a strong repellent for aphids. Put it around your spinach plant like creating a fence of this plants and also plant these plants within your spinach plants that will keep aphids and other harmful pests away.
7. Use Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth are really effective against aphids these are powder like substance that you can buy online which are made of fossilized remains of tiny aquatic animal called diatoms who have very sharp edges. These edges are not visible to human eyes but can be seen under a microscope. When aphids are exposed to diatomaceous earth it dries them up by absorbing fast and oils it also creates tiny hole on their skin and gets inside their body thus drying them up inside out and as result killing them. It is effective against wide range of insects and it doesn’t show any harmful side effects. Those sharp edges doesn’t hurt human beings even if you step over it so feel free to use it it against aphids and keep your spinach plant safe. Diatomaceous earth also doesn’t have any side effect over spinach plant so you can use it without any worry.
8. Use Your Hands
Wear gloves and just squash using your hands. This technique is really effective but is extremely labour intensive, you need to find all of those plants that are infested by aphids and you need to kill aphids manually using your hands. You can hire people to do this job for you but still it will take a lot amount of time but if done properly this technique is capable enough to get rid of aphids from your plants also since this technique has no side effect on your plants like pesticides and insecticides it is safe to use. So, if you can afford time and labour then you can use this technique to get rid of aphids.
9. Use Isopropyl Alcohol
This alcohol a transparent in colour and really effective against aphids you can just buy from a local Store and mix it with water to create a solution you can add few drop of liquid soap to increase it’s effectiveness. So here is how to to use this solution
- Just add 20 ml of isopropyl alcohol in 150 ml of water
- Mix it well put it in prayer and add 500 ml of water and then spray it it over your spinach plant.
Make sure to check whether is creating any side effect on spinach plant if it doesn’t then no problem just spray this mixture on a single spinach plant if it doesn’t cause any side effect then spray it all over your spinach plants. Results are almost immediate. This is a very effective technique that will kill them and also prevent them from attacking your spinach plant.
10. Use Ladybugs
Ladybugs are natural Predator of aphids just release them around aphids to get rid of aphids and you don’t have to do anything by yourself. Larvae of ladybugs can be bought from online stores or from specialist nurseries just released the ladybugs around the aphids only and you will see them doing their job. Never release ladybugs on those plants where you have sprayed insecticides and pesticides as it will kill them. Ladybugs will also reduce the population of aphids by feeding on aphids larvae and stopping them from populating. Ladybugs don’t do any harm to spinach plants so you don’t need to worry about whether it will harm your plants.
11. Use Pesticides
Pesticides are the most common solution that are used to kill any kinds of insects and bugs. It is effective against aphids. It is the most widely used solution because of its effectiveness and ease of used you just need to spray pesticides over your spinach or any kind of plant and that will get rid of the insects. Simple. Definitely there is some money that you need to invest in pesticides but that will do the job. You can hire few men to spray pesticides in your whole farm or garden, Pesticides do has some side effects you should always wear proper mask and need to take proper protection before using it because it can be harmful for humans if inhaled in large quantities. it is also harmful for your plants and you plants can lose it’s nutrition and other important factors that help the plant grow if used too much. if you use and moderate level i.e. not on a regular basis the it can get rid of almost all sort of pests and then keep your spinach plants healthy and growing. The effectiveness of pesticides depends upon the concentration that that you are using If you are using it in diluted form then it will take more time to kill but if you’re using it in the concentrated form that will kill them almost instantly. It is true that if you use it in more concentrated then it will cost you more money and your pesticides will go out of stock very fast but if you are willing to save the money and if your plants have enough time i.e. they are not heavily infested then diluting it we will save your money but if you have don’t have time and you see that the plants are not getting destroyed by aphids then you should take immediate action and use the concentrated spray over your spinach plants. Don’t hesitate to use the concentration pesticides otherwise your plants can die.
12. Use Aphids Favourite Plants
Zinnias, dahlias, cosmos, and asters are the favourite foods of aphids they just love this plants and will leave your spinach plants if these plants are nearby so the best way to use this naturally attractant plants is to plant these plants few meters away from your spinach plants as a result aphids will move away from your spinach plants to their favourite foods i.e. those plants simple yet effective technique. If there is too much infestation of aphids in your spinach plants then you need to add mode of those plants so that all aphids can move away and has sufficient food to stay there for a good period of time. Once these plants are destroyed then you may need to buy and plant more of those plants. This looks costly but it can actually save you a lot of money as you don’t need to spray insecticides and pesticides on those plants nor do you need to hire people to do any maintenance of those plants so that’s why it can save you a lot of money.
13. Use Vinegar
This is easily available in everyone’s house and is really effective against aphids. Aphids and their larvae will die when they come in contact with vinegar thus reducing their population.
This is how to make the solution
- Add 35 ml of vinegar in 100 ml of water.
- Put it in a sprayer and spray it all over your spinach plants.
Vinegar is also good for your plants so you don’t need to worry whether it will harm your plant so feel free to use it. It is also not harmful for humans you can use it free without any worry of side effects of vinegar. Results are instantaneous. I will get rid of aphids very quickly. Just go to those infested plants and spray this mixture directly over aphids..
Some Information About Aphids You Should Know
Different kind of aphids. They are usually active in Summertime and you see a lot of them in summer the female Lays eggs in that time UN branches of plants and the X can survive throughout the winter time. Dairy production is very fast so your plant it can get infected very quickly buy a fit so you need to make sure that you can kill the larvae before it can grow up in festive plant. Female aphids can give offspring at 12 per day in warm weather and those offspring can mature and give birth two more offspring within just week. That can create an incredible amount of problem to make sure that you can get rid of the if is at their larva stage only
How To Identify That The Damage Is Caused By Aphids?
- When there is heavy infestation of aphids in a plant the leaves curls and become yellowish and then it gradually dies which is the most prominent sign that comes up when there is severe aphids infestation.
- Aphids create honeydew which is rich in sugar that attracts a lot of ants if you see lot amount of ant and honeydew on your young plants then remember that it is infested by aphids these ants actually protect aphids from getting eaten by Predator because they feed on the the honeydew which is rich in sugar.
- Honeydew can turn black if it is is affected by sooty mould fungus the black spot can stop your plant from photosynthesis and can eventually kill your plants so you need to be careful when you see this kind of black spots on your younger plant.
- Aphids attack the root of the plant that’s why it becomes very difficult to see them by eyes. They absorb the nutrients from the root of the plant making it malnourished and then killing it.
- If you see those above sign then immediately take a look at the root of the plant by digging and if you see the infestation then follow the above guidance to get rid of the aphids.
Welcome to my blog. I have been doing pest control for years since my house, garden and pets were always attacked by various kinds of pests and as a result I had to know proper pest control techniques that works. In this blog I share all the tips and tricks that I know and I hope you’ll find it helpful.