If you take pride in your garden, then there is probably one thing you feel that you’re always battling against: aphids. Aphids, also known as greenflies, are sap-sucking insects that can destroy your plants, resulting in them being a constant source of frustration for gardeners. There are more than 500 types of aphids in Britain, and while some feed on just one or two plant species, others will feed on a whole range, and almost any plant can be susceptible to the pests.
Your plants’ growth can be stunted by aphids, and they can also cause distorted leaves. You can generally tell if your plants have been affected by white cast skins of the insects being left on the upper surface of leaves, or by sooty mould.
However, when it comes to tackling aphids, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends against using pesticides. This is because most pesticides reduce biodiversity and impact soil health in your garden.
Gardener Ish, known on TikTok as @gardening.with.ish, shared his three hacks for getting rid of aphids. His first method involves dish soap and is “super simple”.
He explained: “Take a few tablespoons of dish soap and pop it in a spray bottle, and top the rest off with water. This solution is fantastic at destroying the aphids’ exoskeleton which effectively finishes it off, but doesn’t do any damage to your plants.”
The next method is fragrant planting, as plants like salvias, marigolds, onions, and garlic can work as natural deterrents. Aphids cannot stand the smell, so they will stay away, Ish explained.
He added: “A little tip for you about marigolds, whilst these do have a bit of fragrance to them, they might still try and go for the leaves, so some people also use these as a bit of a trap plant, so it keeps your bigger plants healthy, and they’ll go for these instead.”
Finally, if you are still struggling with aphids and the other two methods did not work, you can blast the pests off with a jet of water, or use ladybirds. You can buy these online to introduce into your garden, Ish said.
“They’re great pollinators, but they’re also the natural predator of aphids, so they’ll thrive on those and keep your plants happy and aphid-free,” the gardener explained.
In addition to damaging plants, some aphids can transmit plant viruses, which is particularly worrisome on soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries, the RHS says, as well as tomatoes and plants in the cucumber family.
Plants affected by a virus should be destroyed to prevent the disease from spreading to other plants, RHS advises.
