How dangerous are aphids on petunia and how to effectively fight them

Petunia is an unpretentious and hardy plant. It has long flowering and resistance to cold weather. The flower grows quickly and, with proper wintering, can live for several years. However, diseases and pests can destroy a crop in less than a month. The most dangerous insect for petunia is aphids.

This is a small but dangerous pest. Insects settle on the plant in entire colonies and quickly lead to its death. Often, along with the pest, the flower is also affected by diseases. You can save an affected flower garden if you recognize the signs of damage in a timely manner and begin to deal with the problem. How to get rid of aphids on petunias - read on.

What are aphids

Aphids are insects of the order Hemiptera, with piercing-sucking mouthparts. It gnaws through the thin shell of young leaves and shoots of plants and drinks juice from them.

The pest is easily recognizable by its soft (without a chitinous shell) oval or ovoid body. Despite the presence of long legs, aphids move extremely slowly.

In most cases, the size of aphids varies between 0.5-2 mm. Some species reach a length of 7 mm.

The color of insects depends on their species. On petunias Usually green, gray or black aphids settle.

This is interesting! There are more than 1,000 species of aphids in Europe. Most of them are capable of attacking petunia. Methods of pest control do not depend on its type.

In spring and early summer, aphids do not have wings.In mid-July, some individuals develop wings, with the help of which they spread throughout the entire area or greenhouse.

Aphids reproduce extremely quickly. After one fertilization, the wingless female lays up to 20 times, 150 eggs every 2 weeks.

The insect settles on petunias in colonies. It affects shoots, leaves, buds and flowers. Often the pest attacks young plants.

Most types of pests lay eggs, from which harmful individuals then hatch. Some aphids are viviparous insects.

Reference. Sometimes aphids are born immediately with wings. Recent research suggests that this phenomenon occurs when the colony is endangered (for example, when there are many ladybugs in the garden). The purpose of the birth of winged individuals is the migration of pests to a safer place.

Why is the pest dangerous?

Aphids are among the most dangerous pests of cultivated plants. Most often, the insect infects young flowers and not only spoils their appearance, but also causes death.

How dangerous are aphids:

1. Dehydration. The pest feeds on the sap of the leaves and shoots of the plant. By sucking out moisture, the pest causes the affected parts of the petunia to dry out.
2. Decreased immunity. Due to the loss of juice along with nutrients and impaired photosynthesis, petunia becomes more susceptible to negative environmental factors and infections, and the plants' immunity decreases.
3. Virus infection. Insect saliva often contains viruses that are dangerous to petunias and other plants. Such diseases are considered the most dangerous because they cannot be treated.
4. Fungus. The sweet secretions of aphids (honeydew or honeydew) are an excellent substrate for the development of fungal infections.Most often, sooty fungus develops on sticky plaque.
5. Deterioration of cellular respiration. Honeydew penetrates the pores of leaves, interfering with cellular respiration. This leads to the leaves wilting and the inflorescences dropping before the insects suck the juice out of them.

Petunia affected by aphids often does not survive the winter even at home. Some types of pests can attack flowers not only in open ground, but also in apartments.

This is interesting! The sticky secretions of aphids attract ants to the area, as well as omnivorous insects that are dangerous not only for them, but also for plants, for example, locusts.

Causes and routes of infection

To understand the causes and ways of infecting petunia with aphids, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the process of reproduction and wintering of the pest in order to carry out timely prevention.

Aphids reproduce throughout the warm season. In spring and summer, the insect lays eggs directly on the leaves of the plant (usually on the underside of the leaf blade). In autumn, females descend as low as possible and lay eggs in plant debris or on the ground near the stem. This is done so that the eggs are covered with snow in winter and do not die.

In the spring, young individuals hatch. Most often they do not have wings. Some of them climb petunia on their own, although this is problematic with their weak legs.

Ants help spread aphids throughout plants by dragging eggs and young individuals onto the leaves and grow they are literally like pets to obtain sweet milk (pest secretions).

Note! Even a few aphids are dangerous to the plant. 2-3 individuals are enough for the colonies of the multiplied pest to cover the entire petunia.

In mid-summer, some individuals develop wings.With their help, the pest spreads throughout the garden. It affects not only petunia, but also other plants. At this time, ants continue to help the insects.

Thus, the causes of petunia aphid damage are considered to be:

• ants;
• plant residues not harvested in autumn;
• other infected plants in the garden.

Even if you get rid of all negative factors, it is not always possible to avoid infecting a flower garden, since the pest arrives from other areas.

Signs of petunia being affected by aphids

It is not difficult to detect aphids on petunias. Insect colonies are clearly visible on young shoots and on the underside of plant leaves. The photo attached to the description will help you identify the pest.

In addition to the insects themselves, a number of indirect signs indicate the infestation of petunia by aphids:

1. Deformation of stems. They acquire uneven thickening and thinning over the entire area, becoming crooked and drooping.
2. Stop development. The growth of petunia first slows down and then stops. New shoots and inflorescences are not formed. Flowers and buds fall off.
3. Waste products of aphids. White skins appear on the underside of the leaves and on the shoots - the empty shells of the eggs from which the aphids hatched. The plant becomes covered with sticky sugary droplets (copper dew).
4. Ants. The stems of diseased petunias are often covered with ants, which are attracted to the sweet substance secreted by the aphids.
5. Change in plant color. The leaves and shoots of petunia infected with the pest turn pale and lose turgor. Over time, they begin to dry out from the edges to the center.
6. Chlorosis. Infestation by aphids often causes iron deficiency, which causes chlorosis. In this case, the leaf blades turn pale and bright green veins stand out on them.

Ways to combat aphids

It is quite simple to fight aphids at any stage of infection, but treating plants damaged by them is problematic. The sooner an infected petunia is treated, the greater the chance of saving it.

They fight the pest in different ways. Gardeners often prefer folk remedies or mechanical methods of solving the problem that are safe for humans and plants over chemicals. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Read also:

A guide to cutting petunia in the summer for novice gardeners.

How to grow tulips by March 8th.

Mechanical methods

This method of fighting insects is considered the safest. The owner of a flower garden who has chosen the mechanical method of exterminating pests will not have to treat the plant with anything. In this case, aphids are removed from the bush manually.

To remove insects from petunias, wipe the affected parts of the plant with a dry or damp cloth, discarding all insects. It is recommended to lay film or cloth under the flowers so that the aphids fall on it and not on the ground. The collected insects are destroyed.

Another option is to remove the most affected leaves and stems from the bush, then wash off the remaining pests with a hose.

These methods do not guarantee that the insects will not return within a few weeks. Pests that fall to the ground can move back onto the bush.

Biological

Attracting predatory insects will help in pest control. However, it will take a long time to wait for results. The biological method is recommended for the prevention of aphids or when grown in large greenhouses.

Predators that will help get rid of aphids:

• ladybug;
• lacewings;
• sand wasps;
• spiders.

To attract beneficial insects, caraway seeds, daisies, tansy, mint, sweet clover, and yarrow are planted on the site. If there is little food for predatory insects in an area, they migrate to a new area. To keep predators around the garden, they scatter fertilizers or spray the plants with pheromones.

Chemical

Chemical agents are considered the most effective. They allow you to quickly destroy pests and prevent re-infestation for some time.

Chemicals are harmful to humans and the environment. They are absorbed into the cells of the plant, making it poisonous to insects. Petunia does not have edible fruits, so it can be sprayed at any time of the year.

How to treat petunia:

• "Commander";
• "Corado";
• "Spark";
• "Aktra";
• "Funanon";
• "Conidor".

The preparations are not washed off by rain and work for 2-3 days after treatment. They are absorbed into leaves and shoots, making them poisonous to aphids and other pests. There are three groups of drugs, and they work differently:

1. Contact. Penetrate directly into the body of pests, destroying them.
2. System. They penetrate plant cells, making them poisonous to insects.
3. Intestinal. They penetrate the intestinal tract of the pest, causing paralysis.

Such drugs are called insecticides. They are dangerous not only for aphids, but also for other insects.

Note! If you use the same drug many times in a row, it becomes ineffective.

Folk

Treatment with folk remedies is the safest method of control. Such preparations are prepared from products and other substances that are safe for the environment and humans. They are not highly effective, but they are quite capable of controlling aphids.

There are many recipes suitable for controlling aphids.The list contains the most popular of them:

1. Laundry soap. Dissolve a piece of grated dark laundry soap in a bucket of warm water. The resulting product should be sprayed on the petunia when the sun is inactive.
2. Iodine with milk. Add 2 liters of milk (whey or kefir will do) and 30 drops of iodine to a bucket of water.
3. Soda. 0.5 kg of baking soda is diluted in 10 liters of water.
4. Coca Cola. The drink is diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio. The product is used for spraying.
5. Mustard. 100 g of mustard powder are diluted in 10 liters of warm water. The product is allowed to brew for 2 days. Shake it before use.
6. Vinegar. Dilute 200 ml of table vinegar in 10 liters of water.
7. Vegetable oil with soap. For a bucket of water, take 0.5 liters of vegetable oil and 0.5 pieces of grated laundry soap.
8. Soap and tobacco. 0.5 pieces of laundry soap and 0.5 kg of tobacco are poured into 10 liters of boiling water. The product is allowed to cool and brew for 24 hours.
9. Potato or tomato tops. 0.5 kg of tops is poured into 10 liters of boiling water and allowed to brew for 24 hours. Then the infusion is filtered and 1 tbsp is added to it. liquid soap.
10. Onion and garlic. Add 3 heads of chopped onion and the same amount of crushed garlic along with the peel to a bucket of water. The mixture is allowed to brew for 2 days.
11. Hot pepper soap. 6 pods of hot pepper are boiled for an hour in a liter of water. The pepper is ground and added back to the broth. After a day, the tincture is filtered into a bucket of water. Add 50 g of liquid soap to the mixture.
12. A decoction of bitter herbs. Dandelion, wormwood or yarrow (0.5 kg) are poured into 2 liters of water and boiled for 30 minutes. The broth is allowed to brew for 24 hours, then filtered into a bucket of water.
13. Ammonia. Add 2 tbsp to 10 liters of water. l of ammonia and 0.5 pieces of liquid soap.

Folk remedies are easily washed off by rain, so they are used in dry weather. For the drug to be effective, they need to not just spray the petunia, but cover the entire above-ground part of the bush and the soil around it with the composition.

Rules for treating flowers against pests

For processing to be effective, it is important to know some nuances and follow the rules. They are presented in the list:

1. Plants must be treated at least 24 hours before precipitation. If purchased chemicals are used, spraying after rain is not required. Folk remedies are washed off with water, so after precipitation they are re-treated.
2. When working with chemicals, you need to wear a protective mask and gloves.
3. In order to finally get rid of pests, you need to spray the plant at least 3 times. For chemical preparations, the interval between treatments is 2-3 weeks, and for folk remedies - 5-7 days.
4. Before you spray all your plantings with the new product, you should try it on only 6 petunia branches. If the plant does not deteriorate for the worse within 24 hours, then the drug is safe.
5. For processing, you cannot use ice-cold or warm liquid; the temperature of the solution should be as close as possible to the outside temperature. Otherwise, burns or frostbite will remain on the petunia.
6. Treatment is carried out in the morning or evening, when the sun is not active. If you spray petunia during the day, it will die.
7. Particular attention is paid to the tops of the stems and the underside of the leaf blades. This is where the bulk of aphids accumulate. It is necessary to treat not only the ground part of the bushes, but also the soil around them.
8. If after two treatments the aphids have not disappeared, then the product is considered ineffective.

Prevention of occurrence

The consequences of petunia being damaged by aphids are worse than the pest itself. It is much more effective to take preventive measures than to deal with an existing problem:

1. Autumn cleaning. In autumn, all plant debris is removed from the site and burned.
2. Treatment soil. Before planting petunias in the garden, water the soil with a hot solution of copper sulfate.
3. Weeding. Often aphids attack weeds first, and only then crops.
4. Weekly site inspections. Aphids spread to petunia from other plants. Therefore, you need to regularly inspect the area and destroy it if a pest is found.
5. Planting useful plants. There are plants that repel aphids. These include tansy, marigolds, garlic, onions, etc. It is recommended to plant them near a flower bed with petunia.
6. Preventive treatments. It is recommended to treat petunia with insecticides in spring and mid-summer, when the pest is especially active.
7. Destruction of anthills on the site. Ants are one of the main causes of aphid damage to petunias.

Conclusion

Aphids are a dangerous pest that attacks cultivated plants, including petunias. The pest sucks juices from leaves and stems, leading to their drying out, impaired photosynthesis and reduced endurance. In addition, the pest carries viruses that are dangerous to petunia, and its waste products provide a favorable environment for the development of the fungus.

Dealing with aphids is not difficult. It can be easily eliminated using chemicals and folk remedies. The main thing is to promptly detect signs of the presence of a pest and get rid of it before it causes significant damage to the plant.