How to get rid of aphids and red spider mites? Practical control methods shared

Anyone who grows flowers knows the feeling: all kinds of pests and diseases damage your beloved plants and drive you crazy, and you do not even know exactly how to control them, where to start, or what to use. Red spider mites and aphids are among the most common pests, and chemical pesticides are usually used to deal with them, but can you find some ready-to-use and more eco-friendly ways to kill them at home?

1. Aphids. Aphids gather on the buds, tender leaves or tender shoots of plants, endlessly sucking sap. The affected plants develop yellowing and deformed branches and leaves, spoiled flower buds, a shortened flowering period and faded blooms, and in severe cases the plants wilt and die. When aphids cause damage, they excrete large amounts of water and honeydew, which drips onto the lower leaves and causes mold diseases.

2. Red spider mites. Red spider mites specifically harm the leaves and flowers of ornamental plants. Their larvae often cluster on the undersides of leaves and on flower buds, piercing and sucking sap with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. In the early stage the leaves lose their green color and the leaf margins curl upward, causing the leaves to scorch and drop, resulting in early shrinking of flower buds and, in severe cases, plant death. Damage begins every year from March to April and is most severe from June to July, so by the end of April you should regularly observe and check the plants to see whether red spider mites have appeared.

Control methods:

Soak citrus peel in water at about 10 times its volume for a day and a night, then filter and spray the plants. This can also control aphids, and if used to water flowers it can control nematodes in the soil.

Light a mosquito coil and place it in the pot of the affected plant, then tie a plastic bag tightly around the whole pot. After fumigating for about 1 hour, both eggs and adults can be killed. Aphids occur in all four seasons, and they reproduce fastest at high temperatures.

You can also use 50 grams of fresh chili peppers or dried red chili peppers, add 30-50 grams of water, boil for about half an hour, filter, and use it to spray the affected plants with especially good results.

Use "Fengyoujing" (essential balm) diluted with water at 600-800 times to make a solution, and spray it with a sprayer so that the pests are coated with the liquid. The effect of killing aphids, scale insects and other pests is over 95%, while it has little effect on the plants.

Mix laundry detergent, Huadongde general-purpose plant or flowering plant organic compound liquid nutrient fertilizer, and water in a ratio of 1:4:100, stir into a mixed liquid, and use it to spray the plants. This can achieve the dual effect of killing pests and fertilizing at the same time.