Aphids and the Precipitator 360

Zucchini Blossom Under Attack

Aphids are evil little creatures that invade gardens, stabbing innocent plants with their needle-sharp stylets and sucking out the life force. The brave plants struggle against the invaders, but alas, they have no real defense. Yellowish spots riddle the now curling leaves, and the plants no longer have enough energy to grow, to thrive, to produce flowers and fruits and vegetables.

It is left to us humans to battle the hordes of greenish yellow, or black, or brown, soft-bodied insects that, rumor has it, are born pregnant.

Walk into a room full of gardeners and ask them how to get rid of aphids and you'll get as many answers as there are people in the room.

But one answer prevails: spray the devils with a concoction of ingredients found in almost any pantry. Every gardener has his or her own recipe for "Death to Aphids" spray, and they all work on the same principle; the spray clogs their teeny tiny breathing holes and they die of suffocation.

Precipitator 360

 
Garlic spray is a popular weapon. My recipe is one spray bottle filled about two-thirds full with water, with two smashed garlic cloves added and left to stand overnight. Add about a teaspoon of liquid dish soap in the morning along with enough water to almost fill the spray bottle. Shake vigorously, and then spray the plants.

But any recipe you use, be it with garlic, lemon juice, ground chili peppers, vinegar or rubbing alcohol, must be applied not only to the top of the leaves, but to the undersides of the leaves as well. The enemy congregates there, on the darker undersides, and there you'll see the eggs, ready to hatch and continue the war.

I use the Precipitator 360, a spray bottle with a rotating nozzle that allows you to spray upward, so as to get under the leaves, as well as spray directly downward.

The nozzle on typical spray bottles only allows you to spray in one direction - forward. Try to twist the bottle around to spray the underside of leaves and the nozzle doesn't work. You have to pull each leaf up and point the nozzle directly at it.

With the Precipitator 360, you only need to twist the nozzle, hold the bottle just to the side of the plant, and spray. The evil creatures are drenched in your death spray, and, hopefully, die quickly.

A man for whom I have great respect suggested that I employ chemical warfare, and kill the hordes with Bayer Advanced Insect Control. He tells me the product is safe to use as long as I don't spray the veggies when they're ready to harvest. In other words, I can use this stuff to control the aphids and other damaging insects up to about four days before harvesting, and of course, wash the veggies thoroughly after picking them.

If my garlic spray doesn't do the trick, I just may have to resort to chemical weapons. If any readers have any suggestions as to how to fight these evil creatures, please leave a comment, and share your experience with other gardeners.