Out of more than four thousand known species aphids, about 250 of which are considered harmful to crops. Also known as green lice, aphids are one of the most prosaic and successful garden pests around the world. Moreover, the same species are found everywhere, which is quite rare for the world of insects. These tiny pests pierce the stems of plants, preferring the tenderest and freshest ones to enjoy rich nutrients juice, thereby depriving the plant of growth and strength.
In addition, aphids also often carry viruses that infect the host plant as the insect feeds. These viral pathogens are often "lethal" to crops such as potatoes, citrus fruits and grains. As for currants of all kinds, high yield and abundant branching of the bush is not to be expected.
Also, the honeydew secreted by aphids as they live creates a favorable environment for the growth of smoky forms of mold, which quickly spreads and covers the leaves of the plant in a dense layer, depriving it of sunlight.
While aphid infestations may start slowly, the insects multiply rapidly and large colonies These pests can easily destroy entire crops if the plants are not given timely assistance. Fortunately, there are many ways to kill aphids using a variety of natural and organic remedies that do not endanger garden and human health. Today we will talk about just such options for dealing with aphids on currants, which the pest attacks most often and everywhere.
How to get rid of aphids on currants - simple and proven ways
Below we present an outline of the most relevant and harmless methods that will help to destroy aphids most effectively in a short period of time. Although this indicator directly depends on the effort, attention and time spent. It is worth noting that if currants are treated from aphids in spring, the effect will be much stronger, since during this period the plant is actively “gaining momentum” in growth and preparation for flowering, and pest activity of insects significantly delays these processes.
Physical removal
With small aphid infestations, and also if the cultivation of currants is not put on an industrial level, physical removal of pests from the bushes will be a good attempt. To do this, you need a pair of gardening gloves and a hard brush, which will literally sweep pests from stems and leaves.
It is worth emphasizing that if aphids are especially numerous on individual branches of a currant bush, they can also be cut off and destroyed. If it is not possible to cut off the branches, they can be bathed individually in concentrated soapy water, and after a few hours wash in clean water. This procedure should be carried out when direct sunlight does not fall on the branches of the plant in large volumes.
water pressure
The oldest and most proven method is to flush aphids with a hose. Currant leaves contain enough a large number of fiber, so they are quite resistant to environmental negative impacts, including low temperature water, which comes from the central water supply system.
However, don't stress yourself out. cold water young shoots and leaves of currant. In this case, such processing is best avoided.
Among other things, the jet of water should not be directed to neighboring plants, because with it, the aphid will safely move to the "neighbors".
Soap and water
The basic chemical and physical characteristics of mild household cleaners make them ideal for mild to moderate aphid infestations. 
To prepare a working solution, dilute a few tablespoons detergent for washing dishes in a small bucket with warm water and use a sponge or sprayer for processing, paying more attention to those parts of the plant where aphids are always more - the lower surfaces of the plants, the base of the leaf and the highest point of each branch, where young leaves are tied.
Upon contact with the body of an insect, the soap dissolves the wax protective covering, sucks out bodily fluids and eventually kills insects without harming the plant.
It is important to note that most types of soap also kill beneficial insects. Caution should be exercised when using this remedy for garden plants, since the death of populations of natural aphid predators such as ladybugs, hoverflies and lacewings will leave the door open for new aphid colonies to colonize.
Neem oil
This product is used in much the same way as dishwashing detergent. The oil can be diluted with water and sprayed onto aphid-infested currant branches. organic chemical substances, present in neem oil act as a repellant, and against not only aphids, but also a wide range others garden pests, including cabbage worms, beetles, ants and caterpillars. In addition, the oil has an effective antifungal effect, therefore additional benefit it will help in the fight against the spread of many types of moldy pathological fungi that infect plants.
Neem oil does not predominantly kill beneficial insects, but it can repel them. For this reason, this and any other form of repellant insecticide should be used with caution.
Essential oils
The essential oils of plants, which give them the appropriate characteristic aroma, for the most part, have not only a repellent, but also an insecticidal effect. Realizing this, people have long used them in pest control.
To process currants, you can create a cocktail of equal parts of thyme, mint, cloves, rosemary oils. 4-5 drops of each of them per 1 liter of water should be enough. Next, mix this solution in a small spray bottle filled with water. Next, you need to shake well and process all the bushes completely. This powerful blend essential oils kills most insect pests, including aphids, as well as their eggs and larvae. In addition, this combination also works great as a general purpose outdoor or indoor repellant while still smelling nice enough.
insecticidal soap
On the market there are pest control products such as insecticidal soap. It must be emphasized that against arachnids, for example, spider mite, such a tool will be extremely ineffective, but against insects, which include aphids, the effectiveness will be the highest. 
Insecticidal soaps can be produced in dry form or as a liquid concentrate, and it can also contain chemicals that enhance the insecticidal effect. Which tool to choose is up to the buyer, but you need to remember that if there is no special need for chemistry, it is better not to abuse it.
It is necessary to prepare a working solution of soap in strict accordance with the instructions, as a rule, immediately on the day of treatment, since the active substances quickly lose their properties when combined with water.
Natural predators of aphids
The most famous enemy of aphids in our middle lane Russian are ladybugs. Other insects are more thermophilic, so attracting them and even more so keeping them is worth considerable effort. In one of our articles, we talked about how you can do this by building a special facility for breeding beneficial insects on your site.
In some cases, much more interesting solution will be the acquisition of a population of ladybugs. Although there are very few places where these useful insects are grown in our time, unlike the United States, where you can buy a kilogram of ladybug larvae in almost any rural shop.
One way to attract insect predators is to plant scented plants, such as wild garlic or catnip, whose flowers attract these tiny predators. It is also useful to grow clover, mint, dill, fennel, yarrow around the perimeter of the garden, naturally attracting ladybugs and lacewings.
Another method of naturally controlling aphid populations is to encourage birds such as wrens or tits to nest around the garden. the best way to attract these delightful aphid eaters will be the offer of food and nesting sites. These birds prefer to nest in the crowns of small trees and shrubs, which provide them with good cover.
They are also attracted by plantings of hydrangeas, abelias and other shrubs with dense foliage, in which birds can not only hide from predators, but also wait out adverse weather conditions. Evergreen bushes and trees are also great choices for attracting birds that prey on aphids. Small birdhouses specifically designed for these species are another great option.
In addition, the bait in the form of food, which attracts small birds, plays an important role. Black sunflower seeds, pre-shelled sunflower seeds, and various finely grated nuts will provide a good bird density. The main thing here is not to allow an overabundance in feeding, since a large number of well-fed birds will not provide anything more than confusion, noise and pollution of the territory.
ant rearing
Honeydew, excreted during feeding by aphids, is a favorite food for many species of ants, because it contains a large amount of simple carbohydrates that have a strongly sweet taste. Ants, when they find a colony of aphids, do everything possible to protect it, including from predators, just as people protect their flock of sheep from wolves.
Ants themselves are also very useful, so blindly destroying them, without much need, is absolutely not worth it. But to offer them something that could distract them from "herding" their "herd" of aphids is quite possible. A good option is to place small portions of honey or sugar syrup on the ground. In any case, ants will pay attention to such a “present” and betray their aphids, and predators will have a great opportunity to feast on them.
natural repellents
As we noted above, essential vegetable oils, which have a strong odor, are a good repellant for insects and aphids are no exception. For this purpose, many gardeners plant plants around their beds or in areas where currants grow. Onions, garlic, and some flowers are excellent for this purpose, as well as some flowers, such as nasturtium, aster, pink stock rose, larkspur, begonia, verbena, dahlias and zinnia.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that any human intervention in natural processes can lead to unforeseen and irreversible negative phenomena.
Trying to eliminate aphids in your garden does not necessarily mean the complete destruction of these pests. To take this example, if there are no aphids to be the dinner of predators that naturally consume these insects, then there won't be any.
Birds and ladybugs, let's say, will certainly scatter in all directions in search of more abundant sources of food, and this, as you know, will lead to a backlash. At the moment of the next arrival of the first female aphid seeker, who is looking for a new place for settling her future colony in the garden, there will be no one who could interfere with her in this, which means that the aphid population will grow to large limits quite quickly.
Instead of wiping out all the aphids in sight, it's a good idea to make an effort to grow plants that are hardy enough to withstand small aphid attacks. The right fertilizer and watering will allow currant bushes to grow, for example, strong enough to fully withstand a small amount of damage caused by pests. Once a balance is achieved between predators, prey and host plants, you will never have to worry about overpopulation of aphids in your garden in the following seasons.
Black, red and even white currant? Then you know firsthand that the plant is often affected by various diseases. Aphid takes special place on the list dangerous pests. It manifests itself in swellings on plants, and blackcurrant leaves roll into a tube.
Aphids often appear on white and red currants: red-haired or hairy. shoot gooseberry loves blackcurrant. Disease develops with auspicious days, it is often in heat and drought.
All the wonderful wonderful warm days delight not only people, but also this pest. Treatment of currants from aphids should be carried out regularly, because in general life cycle the pest is very short, and about 16 generations can live on a plant in one season!
The aphid is a small and harmful insect (about 2 mm). If there are a lot of aphids, and they have accumulated next to each other, then they look like large spots. The insect feeds on the juice of the leaves, sucks it from the back. Even minimal settlements take away the strength of the plant. Currant leaves first curl and then die. The waste of aphids on currants is honeydew, which ants love to eat. It is they who are considered pest distributors, they protect aphids and transfer them from one plant to another. Ants and aphids are a natural symbiosis of two species, it is important to destroy not only aphids, but also ants.
You can deal with aphid colonies by the following measures:
1. Rolled leaves are immediately plucked and burned.
2. Use a solution of ash and shag (350 grams per 10 liters of water). They spray currants and process each leaf.
3. Washing the sheets and spraying the bush with a solution of soap and soda will give an excellent effect (a lot of soap + 1 tbsp soda + 1 liter of water).
4. Aphids on currants do not like celandine, so it can also be used by preparing a solution (4 kilograms of celandine + 10 liters of water).
5. You can simply wash each leaf and shoot with laundry soap.
Beyond Data folk methods, treatment of currants from aphids can be carried out using special preparations: vofatoks, karbofoks, kinmiks, aktar, rokivoort.
The industry offers a wide variety professional tools, you can choose any, but no matter what product you prefer, spraying will have to be carried out 3 times:
1. In the spring, even before bud break.
2. After the formation of sheets.
3. In summer period time, 25 days before the harvest, often this is either the middle or the end of summer. It all depends on the variety of currant.
Prevention of the appearance of aphids on currants
For prevention purposes, next to currants, you can plant plants that insects do not like: mint, onions, basil, parsley, garlic, tomatoes, marigolds, coriander and tansy. by the most in an efficient way is to find and destroy anthills. Fighting aphids is difficult, but possible.
Aphids appear on currant branches in early spring when the leaves are just opening. True Signs gall aphid- reddish or orange swellings of galls, black and green aphid cause severe deformation of the leaves, they are twisted into a ball or folded into a tube.
If there is an opportunity and enthusiasm, you need to take care of currants from early spring, and in warm regions from the end of winter.
Scalding currants with boiling water
As a preventive measure against aphids and bud mites, scalding the bushes with boiling water helps to some extent. As soon as the snow begins to melt, there are already thawed patches, and the trees and shrubs are still sleeping, as soon as the circle of earth at the base of the trunks is freed from snow, you can prepare for the procedure.
We heat boiling water in an iron bucket, pour it into a metal watering can and go to water it. Water must be prepared in advance, because one currant or gooseberry bush takes from 5 to 10 liters hot water(it will cool down until you bring it to the berry). A shower head is required for the watering can so that the irrigation goes in thin streams, and not in a wide stream of hot water.
Before watering again, make sure that the buds are dormant and not swollen.
- What gives watering with boiling water: part of the aphid eggs lays directly on the branches, if you take a magnifying glass you can see them - small grains near the kidneys. And inside the kidneys, a kidney tick hibernates, scalding with boiling water helps to significantly hit this pest. If you see that some kidneys are thickened (currant bud mite) - immediately pluck into the fire. By the way, scalding also protects against powdery mildew!
To water or not to water currants with boiling water? For a long time I doubted whether I was doing the right thing with scalding, for some years I didn’t scald, and there were always more aphids and mites in these seasons. The problem is that when the pests go on a rampage, it is still very cold outside, and any chemical solutions have temperature limits, only folk remedies, but they are effective only with repeated spraying, sometimes it is too tiring and long.
The scalding procedure itself is actually not easy - you need to heat a lot of water (as on lightning on bricks or a barbecue), it is also somewhat annoying to walk around the garden with a watering can of boiling water, this is work for a man. We stand on a bench to water large currant bushes in order to process everything completely. Therefore, everyone must decide for himself whether this procedure suits him or not.
Fumigation
Gardeners often practice fumigating bushes from aphids by burning various means. They burn rubber, tobacco and a raincoat mushroom.
All fumigations help well, only you need to start not before the buds open, but at the moment when the buds begin to swell and are ready to open.
It's easiest to put in old saucepan a piece of a burned bicycle tire or car tire and put under each bush to smolder.
For mushrooms and tobacco, beekeepers' smoker is used, only large, ripe mushrooms are suitable.
How much it all helps: fumigation, which lasted three hours, gave real results. We fumigated with tobacco from 19 pm to 22 pm (in calm weather), the aphids died almost completely. One time was enough. After that, it was enough to follow the anthills.
Cons of the method: the easiest way is to fumigate with rubber - put it under the bushes and left, it smolders, there is a lot of smoke. Fumigation with mushrooms and tobacco in the beekeeper's smoker is very slow, you cannot move away, you need to walk around the currant bushes and inflate the furs. The smoke is thick and pungent. You can spread dampish tobacco leaves to smolder in a small barbecue, but this is impractical - you need to control the wind and for a very long time (if there are a dozen currant bushes).
Conclusions: I think that fumigation is not worth the waste of time and your health, combustion products are too toxic for humans.
We examine the bushes
Spring began, the buds turned green, and then the young leaves blossomed. We examine the currants, especially the tips of the shoots, if suddenly the leaves began to curl into lumps, corrugation appeared, we immediately cut them off and into the stove.
In the future, you need to monitor the shape of the leaves, it is rarely possible to get rid of aphids by 100%, but you can restrain its rapid reproduction.
Do not forget to prune currants in a timely manner, cut out old branches and partially young ones if the bush is thickened.
How to treat currants from aphids
Young currant branches bend well and it is not as prickly and branchy as gooseberries, so you can not only spray it, but also dip the branches in a solution of insecticide chemicals or any folk remedy for aphids prepared according to the recipe.
I do this: I dilute the insecticide solution, usually in proportions to a bucket of water, always warm (not lower than 20 degrees). Preparing a shoulder pump sprayer (not a hand sprayer).
I go up to the bushes and dip all the branches in turn, trying not to miss a single one. By that time, the leaves had barely blossomed, the size of a ruble coin. Dipped, pobbled, let go.
And so every bush. Then I pour it from the bucket into the sprayer, and I spray all the bushes, now from the base of the branches to the tips and always the soil under the bush.
- When treating a garden from aphids, patience and careful spraying are important.
- It is important to guess the weather - in the morning or in the evening, always calm.
- It is important to choose an insecticide that can work at a certain temperature (some are ineffective in the heat, others in the cold).
- It is important not to poison the bees chemicals, we really need pollinators in the garden and garden.
- It is important to predict the rains so that all the work of spraying is not in vain the next day.
- When spraying, push the sprayer tube deep into the bush and direct it in different directions, so the underside of the leaves is better wetted.
Onions from aphids on currants
I also have my own secret - a decoction of onion peel, it helps very well, but you need a lot of raw materials. On a bucket of water, half a bucket of well-packed onion peel.
I found a way out in the procurement of raw materials - all winter I go to the vegetable department of the store, there very often buyers sort out onions, and a lot of husks remain in trays and baskets, they are usually thrown away. I ask permission and collect entire packages for free.
Pour boiling water over the onion peel and cook for 10-15 minutes to destroy the spores of harmful microorganisms in the peel. Then I leave the broth until the morning.
I filter, add a tablespoon of green soap. I pour it into the sprayer and go ahead with the song of war on aphids. I start spraying onion peel as soon as possible. I repeat at least 3-4 times.
I want to note that in the processing of bushes and trees there is no special recipe, except for onions, it can be processed by other means, in this case it is important to have good tool. The entire success of the enterprise depends on the sprayer. If the device is good, just fill in the solution, fix the button and stand by the bush, or rather slowly go around it in a circle.
Plants that repel aphids
There are plants that can scare away aphids from currants and other berries. These are catnip, marigolds, mustard, coriander, chives, fennel, garlic, mint.
I must say that such landings do not guarantee getting rid of aphids. I planted garlic, catnip and marigolds near the currant, it helped little, perhaps it was necessary to enclose the currant bush in a close circle of defenders so that neither ants nor aphids got close, but I did not want to fly in the manner of Carlson with a bowl in his hands, picking berries.
Therefore, do not particularly rely on the protection of these plants, although most of them attract beneficial insects to the garden, not only bees, but also hoverflies and ground beetles that eat aphids.
Folk remedies for aphids
In my gardening history, I have tried various means to get rid of aphids. And she made her rating, periodically tested one method, then another. I'm not arguing in any way, just sharing my impressions:
In my garden, spraying with yarrow and chamomile turned out to be completely useless: I prepared a solution of 100 g of dry grass per 1 liter of water, boil, cool, strain, add soap.
The aphids did not like it, but spraying with tops of tomatoes, leaves and roots of dandelion was not statistically significant (500 g of leaves + 200 g of roots, insist on boiling water for a day).
Citrus infusions helped from aphids: the peels were frozen, not dried. Grind the peel from one orange and steam with 1 liter of boiling water, when it cools down, add 2 drops of hand cleanser. But then I checked, not all citrus fruits help, there are such varieties of tangerines and oranges, in which the peels are very vigorous - if you chew, it pinches your tongue - these are what you need.
Another effective remedy: steamed celandine leaves, if it grows in your area. I have a lot of it, it grows even under bushes of currants and gooseberries, and in this form it doesn’t scare aphids at all. But a bunch of leaves chopped and steamed in a bucket of boiling water significantly reduced the number of aphids.
This method helps against aphids: in warm weather, when the water is not cold, water the currant bushes under strong hose pressure, some of the aphids simply knock down with water. Then sprinkle over wet leaves with powder from the mixture: 1 cup of ash (finely sifted), 1 teaspoon of mustard powder. The method is effective before the leaves are strongly twisted and deformed, when the leaves are still small and the skeletal branches are clearly visible.
But you should not flatter yourself about folk remedies, especially when, in addition to currants, aphids have chosen plums, cherries, rose bushes - with a massive pest infestation, you simply cannot stock up on folk remedies - they do not get to aphids in twisted leaves. Here the system engineers help: Aktara, Konfidor - they soak the leaf through and through, and the aphid dies in any case.
Ants fight
Who has not tried yet, he should know what to expect - a long war. Ants nurture aphids, nurture, someone even assures that they are milked - they tickle the aphids until it is described by sweet syrup. I haven't seen it myself so I won't lie.
Against the ants, I tried both chemistry and various herbal infusions, skirts and Velcro on the trunks, by the way, they helped on plums and cherries, but currants cannot provide such protection, it is necessary to eradicate anthills in the area.
What helps from ants: pee in an anthill from the heart, and pour boiling water with acetic acid (1 tablespoon of 9% vinegar per 1 liter of boiling water). Urine and acid are categorically opposed to them.
I fight with ants only in spring and early summer, the rest of the time any useful living creature in the garden fights with them. I don’t know who exactly eats ants, except for hedgehogs, but even without my efforts their number is sharply reduced, and with them the number of aphids.
If you want to use chemical poisons industrial production, then pay attention that the drug was intended specifically for the destruction of garden black ants. Domestic red ant remedies do not work.
Keep the garden clean, do not plant weeds to the waist, while mowing, inconspicuous anthills will also be visible.
Julia Reshetnikova, Vladimir
Currant is a rather unpretentious horticultural crop that bears fruit with tasty and healthy fruits.
Caring for her is not difficult and uncomplicated, although sometimes it is associated with troubles and sorrows in the form of aphids on currants. How to process a shrub to save it from pests? Is it possible to take preventive measures to prevent their occurrence?
Before you know effective ways than to process aphids on currants, let's find answers to such important meaningful questions: what does aphid look like and why does it appear on currants? What are the types of pests and how to recognize that a shrub is affected by them? Let's find out.
What is aphid
The body of insects is soft and uneven, without protective layers covered with small growths and fluff.
Pests are divided into two types:
- Leaf gall aphid.
- Gooseberry fruit aphid.
Pest danger
It is important to do this as early as possible, since insects are able to multiply at lightning speed and quickly harm the shrub. How does this happen?
Each individual aphid is equipped with a mouth proboscis, with which it pierces young greens or tender shoots in order to suck out the juice of shrubs. This occurs throughout the warm season, from spring to autumn.
When there is not enough food, the aphids form wings and fly from the currant bush to nearby weeds. However, in the fall, the malicious family will still return to “ Father's house” to start laying eggs. At this time, males appear, which fertilize females for further procreation.
Sucking the life juices from the stems, the colony of pests oppresses the shrub so that it is not able to develop normally. Currant leaves begin to deform, the plant withers and dries up, ceases to bear fruit and, in the end, dies.
How can you determine the defeat of the bush in the early stages and help the diseased plant?
Signs of pests
First of all, it is necessary to regularly and carefully inspect currant bushes: aphids always hide on the inside (lower) side of the leaves.
What other signs should I look out for before starting a rescue operation? Here are some of them:
- the growth of seedlings stopped for no reason;
- branches are bent and deformed;
- the shape of the leaves is twisted and distorted;
- with outside leaves swell, red or yellow spots form;
- dried shoots predominate in large numbers.
What are the reasons for the appearance of aphids on currants (how to process and how to save the bush, we will learn a little lower)?
Reasons for the appearance
To find out what preventive measures need to be taken to prevent the appearance of aphids, it is important to find out the causes of its occurrence. They may include the following conditions:
Generic Methods
- loosening the soil near shrubs, destroying dry and dead shoots;
- elimination of weeds around currant seedlings;
- personal removal of pests from the affected foliage (manually or with a water jet);
- attraction on garden plot insects that feed on aphids and other pests (for this, you can plant marigolds, tansy and yarrow in the immediate vicinity of currants);
- treatment of shrubs with home-made solutions or pesticide preparations.
Now let's discuss these methods in more detail.
Boiling water to help
In most cases, a currant bush should be taken care of in early spring, before flowering buds appear.
How to treat currants from aphids in spring? First of all, you can think about scalding the bush with boiling water. However, this must be done even when the kidneys are not swollen.
Where should you start? It is necessary to heat a lot of boiling water (several buckets or barrels), pour water into an iron watering can and start watering.
This is no easy matter. Because currant scalding should start from the upper branches, and for this it will be necessary to stand on a chair or bench. In addition, it is important to remember that you will need a lot of boiling water, since one bush can take an average of eight to ten liters of water.
But the effect is worth it. Boiling water treatment will help kill not only aphids, but also bud mites and other unpleasant pests.
Fumigation
And how to treat currants from gall aphids? Fumigate the garden. essence this method is that the affected shrubs are exposed to acrid, thick smoke, which is formed as a result of the combustion of various substances. Thanks to this, all uninvited pests die.
Fumigation can be done with rubber, tobacco or fungus. In the first case, ignited rubber is placed in an unnecessary non-flammable container and placed under each bush. For tobacco or fungus, a bee smoker is used.
It would seem that fumigation is quite simple and easy method However, it is important to remember some nuances:
- The process must be carried out in the evening, when there is no wind.
- For fumigation, at least three hours should be allocated.
- If a mushroom is taken as the main burning substance, then it should be a large, well-ripened raincoat.
In addition, the slow smoldering method is applicable only in early spring. But what if you discovered pests much later? How to treat currants from aphids after flowering?
Spraying with pesticides
There are several dozen types of synthetic drugs that can destroy huge colonies of harmful insects. When using these substances, several rules should be observed:
- It is necessary to apply the funds in several stages: before the appearance of buds, during flowering, immediately after flowering and after harvesting.
- It is necessary to use pesticides in especially neglected cases: when too many aphid settlements are found on shrubs, when other methods do not work, and when pests reappear.
What specific insecticides can be used to treat aphids on currants? The more you know about the intended remedy, the better. Before you buy a particular pesticide, it is important to collect objective reviews about it, as well as carefully study the instructions for use.
Most often, such means are used: “Karbofos”, “Akarin”, “Aktellik”, “Biotlin”, “Tanrek”, “Aktara”, “Decis Profi”, etc. Some of them can process aphids on currants in June. The more carefully you read the instructions regarding this issue, the better. Since not all preparations can be used during the fruiting period or immediately before picking berries.
Although each insecticide should be diluted according to its instructions, there are general rules spraying currants with poisonous solutions.
How to handle shrubs
Here are some specific tips for different type spraying:
- Dip each sprig of currant into a bucket of diluted solution.
- Spray every shoot from the sprayer (and even the soil under the bush).
- It is important to predict the weather conditions (so that there is no wind and rain in the near future).
- Use protective equipment during processing: mask and gloves.
In addition to pesticides, there are other effective means how to treat blackcurrant from aphids. How are they different from chemicals? First of all, because they are safer for human health.
Folk methods of struggle
Before treating currants from aphids folk remedies, it is important to decide with what substance you want to fight pests. As practice shows, it is not necessary to choose only one method. To find out which remedy is most effective, you can alternate infusions prepared from different components.
Garlic infusion. Grind two large heads of garlic in a meat grinder, stir in a bucket of warm water and let it brew for a day. Strained infusion treat the affected shrubs daily for two to three weeks.
Citrus infusion. Frozen peel from 1 orange finely chopped and pour 1 liter of boiling water. After cooling, add two drops of liquid soap.
Infusion of celandine. Grind four kilograms of fresh grass, pour a bucket of water and insist for a day.
Infusion of ash and wormwood. Pour half a kilogram of finely chopped grass with five liters of water, add a glass wood ash and fifty grams laundry soap. Let it brew for five hours. After that, the resulting infusion is mixed with water (in a ratio of 1: 2) and treated with currants.
H hot pepper extract. Finely chop one kilogram of fresh red vegetable, pour ten liters of water and simmer for an hour. Then put in a warm room for several days. After that, strain the infusion and mix with water (one glass of infusion for ten liters of liquid). If desired, grated laundry soap can be added to the finished solution.
Forecast
In addition, an important way to eliminate aphids will be regular preventive measures, which were mentioned in this article. Then no pests can affect the health and fruiting of your currants.
A young blackcurrant last year turned out to be infected with aphids - abandoned bushes of neighbors stand through the picket fence, I think that the attack came from there. It was noticed late, I had to resort to folk remedies so as not to poison the berries.
Many summer residents have encountered aphids on currants, and everyone will say that fighting it is not an easy thing. Currant is our favorite shrub, without which not a single vegetable garden and garden can do, so there is nowhere to retreat, you need to destroy the pest.
It feeds on the cell sap of young leaves and shoots, inhibiting the currant, preventing it from growing fully. The most juicy and promising parts of the plant are affected, the bush withers, the berries dry out and fall off.
A huge colony of pests, and aphids are also a carrier of more than 100 viral diseases, destroy crops and lead bushes to death.
What does a pest look like?
Aphids are 2-3 mm insects with piercing-sucking oral cavity. Their color is light green, yellowish green and whitish, translucent.
Aphid eggs (oval, black, 0.5 mm long) overwinter in basal shoots, fallen leaves and on shoots in the zone of leaf buds. In the spring, when the sun warms a little, active hatching begins. One overwintered female aphid will give birth to up to 100 individuals, and in two weeks each of these babies will give another 100.
It is easy to guess that reproduction is proceeding at a dizzying pace, and during the growing season huge herds are formed that absorb garden plants.
Garden ants also help winter the aphids, as you know, they are her companions and guards. Ants eat carbohydrate secretions of an insect, help to move from branch to branch, and when cold weather sets in, they lay eggs in their nests. In the spring, on the contrary, they take them out to the branches and begin to milk their wet nurses.
The aphid colony on one bush is very large, when food becomes scarce, winged forms begin to hatch and move to neighboring bushes, this happens closer to autumn.
Aphid species
Currants are attacked by two types of aphids: gall (leaf) and gooseberry (shoot). The first settles on white and red species, the second spoils the black one. The means of combating both aphids are the same.
What do affected bushes look like?
If you observe a large number of ants near currant bushes or on it, know that aphids are right there. Examine the bush and you will find the following signs:
- Reddish, brown swellings on the leaves are characteristic of red and white currants.
- Twisted young leaves are typical of blackcurrants.
- Leaves and shoots are sticky - another sign that aphids have settled.
- Lots of dry leaves, twigs, tassels with berries.
The currant, on which the aphid settles, stops growing, it can be observed that the shoots grow poorly, they are bent, because the very tops are occupied and spoiled.
What folk remedies help
Chemicals are used in the fight against aphids, but when we start to worry about the loss of the crop - that's right, in June. And then you no longer want to poison the plant, it is advisable to save the berries in order to cook jam and compotes.
Therefore, we will leave insecticides for the fall, and in the spring and summer we will try safe control measures - folk remedies. These are all kinds of infusions, decoctions of herbs and pharmaceutical preparations, cleaning products and food products.
Cutting off the affected leaves manually
When the infestation is small, swollen and twisted leaves can be collected and destroyed and destroyed. This method does not exclude combination with other methods.
Flushing with water
Boiling water
The procedure is carried out in the spring, before the formation of kidneys! A bucket of water is boiled and poured from a watering can over bare branches. There should be a nozzle on the watering can, and it is better to take it from metal.
Infusion of leaves and tops of potatoes
Pour half a bucket of crushed material with warm water, leave for 3-4 hours.
Aphids cannot stand the smell of potato grass.
tomato tops
Grind as finely as possible 4 kilograms of tops, pour it with a bucket of water. Insist for 4 hours. Then boil on fire for 30 minutes. Strain and dilute with water for spraying and watering around the bushes 1:4.
Onion infusion
Chop 300 grams of onion with peel, leave for up to a day in 10 liters of water. We filter the infused onion through gauze or a sieve, process the bushes.
onion peel
one liter jar dried husk pour 2-3 liters of water and boil. Leave to infuse for a day or two. Then strain, add 1 tablespoon of liquid or laundry soap and double the volume of liquid.
Garlic infusion
We pass two large heads of garlic through a meat grinder and dissolve in a bucket of warm water. Spray with strained infusion every other day.
Celandine
Half a bucket of fresh celandine grass or 200 grams of pharmaceutical, dry fill with a bucket of water. We insist for two days and filter, then spray the currants from aphids.
Wood ash and laundry soap
Pour boiling water over 3 cups of wood ash, leave for 2-3 hours. Then grate half a seal of laundry soap, add to the ashes, and bring the volume up to 10 liters with water.
Wood ash and shag
For 10 liters of water we put 400 grams of ash from burning wood and 400 grams. tobacco. We filter and spray on the branches and leaves very carefully.
Ammonia
2 tbsp. l. ammonia dissolve in 10 liters of water, 40-50 grams of liquid soap or shavings of any solid go here.
Baking soda
Dilute ten tablespoons of soda in a bucket of water, and for better adhesion to the branches, add a couple of tablespoons of liquid soap.
soda ash
The method with non-food soda is more effective, only it must be diluted in warm water because it calcifies in the cold. We prepare the composition as follows:
- 2 tablespoons soda ash
- 1 teaspoon iodine
- 2 tbsp. l. shavings of laundry or liquid soap
- 10 liters of water
Laundry soap
Grate a bar of 70% fat soap and place in a bucket of warm water. Insist for several hours, spray the currants, unfolding each twisted leaf and directing the jet from below.
When and how to process
Spraying with decoctions and infusions can be carried out throughout the growing season, once is definitely not enough. A more convenient time of day for work is the evening. Choose dry and calm weather so that precipitation does not wash away the remnants of the product, and the wind does not prevent the jets of liquid from reaching their destination.
Advice! Processing is best done from a small spray bottle, so you can spray the bushes from top to bottom, capture the most affected areas, and also unfold and water the twisted leaves on blackcurrant.
- Collect and burn fallen leaves every year, cut root growth and tops (these are fatty shoots that grow on old branches). It is here that aphids winter in large quantities.
- Dig and loosen the near-trunk space in the fall.
- Look for ant nests in autumn and spring, immediately after the snow melts, destroy them with boiling water, store-bought products and insecticides are also suitable.
- Cut out the twisted branches that have suffered from aphids and burn them, on others we also look for eggs in the fall - dots, clean them and process them.
- Whitewash at the base of the branch with lime or mortar iron sulphate(see instructions).
- Expanse for aphids are plants that serve as shelter for them, but not food (they usually eat the specimens we need) - these are viburnum, mallow, kosmeya, nasturtium, linden, corn. Try to reduce their number on the site, or plant them in remote corners, because they can begin to infect the entire garden: apple trees, pears, plums, shrubs, cucumbers.
- In order for ladybugs, hoverflies and earwigs to start up in the garden, put feeders with large chips, bark, straw near the currant in the winter quarters, where they will overwinter, and in the spring they will take on aphids.
- Plant next to or lay out (prepare infusions) with mint, lavender, thyme, lupine, sage, clover, sweet clover, dill, carrots.
