This is the time of year for aphids. Perhaps you’ve seen some in your garden. They look like little pale specks that attach themselves to the underside of leaves. After sucking juices out of the plant, they secrete a ‘honeydew’ like substance which is sweet as sugar to ants. Ants will, in turn, herd and protect the aphids to prolong this food supply. Eventually the aphids will destroy the plant altogether.

I began treating this problem with a simple mix of Dr. Bronner’s Castille soap w/water (one drop per pint) and spraying the aphids. This chokes and kills the suckers. While that worked for awhile, I’ve now turned to Organocide – which works in a similar fashion but is made of Sesame Oil and fish emulsion.When using this product it is imperative to actually hit the aphids. It is also important to remember not to douse any nearby lady bugs, this stuff does not discriminate.

Aphids on Pepper plant 5/26/09