How to deal with aphids on cucumbers outdoors

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Aphids are a plant pest that poses a threat to future crops. There are many options for how to deal with the devastating invasion of rapidly multiplying insects in the greenhouse and in the open field, and not only on cucumbers. Folk remedies are effective, environmentally friendly and easy to use.

Appearance problem

An experienced gardener will immediately guess about the appearance of aphids on cucumbers and other plants. Usually, garden ants move quickly along the stems of the plant first. But this is not the main sign, since pest infestation can occur without their participation, for example, through imported compost, substrate or purchased seedlings.

Therefore, you need to pay attention to other signs that are expressed by a change in the usual type of plants:

• unpleasant sticky whitish bloom that appears on the surface of flowers and cucumber leaves;
• negative transformations in the form of yellowed, curled leaves, irregularly shaped developing shoots when grown in open ground;
• small cucumbers dry up, do not reach the desired size, fall off.

How to deal with aphids on cucumbers if the pest's breeding method does not leave the slightest chance of solving the problem? Emerging from overwintered eggs, the larvae first produce wingless females.

Each is capable of giving from three to six generations of pests in a month, and then individuals with wings appear - a direct source of infection of plants and trees.

They can give 20 more generations of aphids. In the fall, males will appear and mate with females. The result is egg clutches for the new spring cycle.

General methods of struggle

Some pests parasitize apple trees and cereals. Potato and large potato aphids prefer nightshade plants, melons prefer cucumbers, melons and zucchini. There is a species that does not disdain any crops - the so-called greenhouse.

The danger of infection with tiny parasites - infection with viruses, stopping photosynthesis, reproduction of sooty fungi, loss of yield and in case of mass infection - the final death of the plant.

You can deal with a potential hazard in different ways:

1. Preventive - by regularly monitoring the appearance of garden ants and aphids, which produce their favorite delicacy - honeydew. So it is possible to start fighting at an early stage, to prevent the spread of parasites, causing them significant damage.
2. Chemical - using products with limited toxicity, safe for bees and other beneficial insects, with a limited duration of action. It should be sufficient to kill aphids, but not pose a threat to plants in greenhouses or planted in open ground. It is possible to pick up such chemicals, but modern options are not cheap.
3. Using folk methods. Spraying with infusions, freshly prepared products. There are quite effective recipes on how to cope with an unwanted invasion, to prevent its likely negative consequences.

Let's dwell on the latter in more detail.

Time-tested recipes

Many traditional methods are extremely simple - in the open field, you can use the water used for irrigation to wash insects from plants to the ground.

By sprinkling the soil with wood ash, you can stop their viability, prevent them from returning to the cucumber lashes. However, such a recipe for how to fight will be undesirable during the flowering period: you can damage the fragile flowers on the stems, prevent the formation of the ovary.

Traditional methods contain not only the transfer of means for processing and spraying. Preventive measures, how to avoid the spread of aphids on cucumbers, are always listed as indispensable conditions for the success of the measures taken:

• the destruction of anthills, since ants not only shelter the clutches for the winter, but also transfer insects to young plants in order to get their favorite delicacy;
• autumn-spring tillage at the summer cottage;
• the correct placement of the beds with cucumbers (they should be at a certain distance so that the plants do not lack lighting and space);
• regular weeding, weed control and plant nutrition so that they have sufficient immunity and growth potential.

In the open ground, the fight against an already discovered pest is recommended to be carried out repeatedly, varying folk remedies. This is necessary in order to avoid the possible adaptation of parasitic insects to the already used active ingredient.

The optimal time to fight aphids outdoors on any cultivated plant is after sunset. In greenhouse conditions, early morning time is preferable.

Improvised means used in everyday life

The use of folk remedies is popular not only due to their inherent effectiveness, but also the absence of serious costs, the possibility of using compounds that are certainly used in economic needs or in the treatment of simple diseases:

1. Mustard powder is diluted in the proportion: 100 g per 3 liters of boiling water. After 5-6 hours of infusion, it is filtered and mixed with another 7 liters of warm water, adding 3 tablespoons of any vegetable oil and 5 tbsp. l. diluted washing soap.
2. Baking soda with the same additives, diluted in an amount of no more than 50 g per 10 liter bucket, is an effective way to deal with aphids, rot and powdery mildew.
3. By adding ammonia (50 ml), 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil and five tablespoons of laundry soap, to a container of the same volume (an ammonia solution is usually taken 10%, if the percentage is less, you need to recalculate the amount), you can get another simple tool on how to cope with an urgent problem.
4. When using acetic acid, the proportion of 1 tbsp is observed. l. for 1 liter of water and 1 tbsp. l. grated soap. If it is absent, you can add any detergent in the amount of 10 drops.
5. Soap can also be used as a mono-product. It is enough to grate 100 g and dissolve it in 10 liters of liquid.
6. To combat harmful insects on cucumbers in the open field, an infusion of wood ash (200 g per 10 liters of water) is used, aged for 12 hours. Soap is also added: it retains the solution on the leaves of the cucumbers.

But vegetable oil is not always present in folk recipes, although it is considered one of the most effective means in the fight against garden aggressors.

Herbal recipes

A distinctive feature of folk remedies widely used by naturopaths is their natural origin. Traditionally, these are components of plant or animal origin.

Gaining practical experience, people became convinced that infusions and decoctions from plants, even waste from growing garden crops, can help cope with the occupation of aphids, prevent further damage and the development of irreparable consequences. From aphids on cucumbers are used:

1. Infusion of crushed garlic cloves (150 g of raw materials per 10 liters of boiling water). It is infused for a day, filtered and used for spraying.
2. Bulb hulls are not only suitable for coloring Easter eggs. The solution is prepared in the same ratio as the garlic one, only it is infused for 3 days. The result is excellent if it is filtered and evenly sprayed on the affected plants.
3. Tobacco dust is sold ready-made or made by grinding the dried leaves of the plant. A solution is prepared from 2 glasses of dust per 10 liters of water (not boiling water, but warm). You need to insist for a day, after straining, add laundry soap and oil in a proportion of 3 tablespoons. The broth is easier to prepare - just boil the composition and wait until it cools down before starting processing.
4. A solution of celandine can be prepared from waste obtained after weeding the site or clearing the surrounding areas. Take 3.5 kg of fresh plant in a 10-liter container (you can use dry, but then 1 kg is enough), and in a day the infusion is ready. For better fixation on the leaves of cucumbers, laundry soap is added to it.
5. Prepare a solution of chamomile, yarrow, horse sorrel. For chamomile, purchased ready-made in a pharmacy, you will need a kilogram of inflorescences and leaves for 10 liters of water, at least 12 hours of infusion, but when spraying, the solution is diluted in two other buckets.
6. Sorrel root is taken 300 g and insisted for only 2 hours. If you use yarrow, it will take 4-5 days for it to brew well.

In folk recipes, you can find infusions of wormwood, tansy, thyme or nettle, ordinary Coca-Cola (for 2 liters of drink 7 liters of water), a mixture of milk, iodine and water, which is simply prepared and immediately used for spraying plants.

Summing up

1. The experience of the people allows you to get rid of aphids without harming the environment.
2. Plant extracts, decoctions, infusions are used.
3. Simple compounds found in nature (soda, ammonia, vegetable fats) are used.
4. Compliance with the recipe is an important condition for a successful result.
5. When working with a sprayer, you need to follow simple safety measures - protect the skin and mucous membranes.