Aphids vs. Insecticidal Spray/Soap

My garden is in full bloom and so are the bugs! While pulling weeds in our garden yesterday evening I noticed that a few of my Brussel Sprout plants weren't looking very perky. Upon closer inspection I saw what at first looked like a powdery mold covering the leaves. Looking even closer I noticed hundreds of tiny green monster bugs crawling all over the place. They truly do look like what they are commonly called.... "plant lice".



Photo Courtesy of  http://midatlanticgardening.com/pests-and-diseases-aphids/
I didn't take any pictures of mine since I was in too big of a hurry to get the infested plants as far away from my garden as possible!

 3 of my 6 plants were infested and had to be pulled up. Hopefully I caught them in time to save the other 3 plants. Just to be on the safe side, today I will mix up some insecticidal spray to spray over the entire garden. What a disappointment. Unfortunately, I can't control mother nature or the tiny horrors she unleashes on my lush garden. But, I can try to prevent further attacks!

I try to stay as organic and clean as possible, so I think first I will try this Tomato Spray recipe. I found it online HERE This spray is not supposed to harm beneficial bugs like ladybugs.

Tomato Leaf Spray 

• One to two cups of tomato leaves
• Two cups of water
• A strainer or cheesecloth
• Spray bottle

To make tomato leaf spray, simply soak one to two cups of chopped tomato leaves in two cups of water. Let it steep overnight. To make the spray, strain the leaves out of the liquid using cheesecloth or a fine strainer. Add another one to two cups of water to the liquid and add it to a spray bottle.
To use the tomato leaf spray in your battle against aphids, spray the stems and foliage of the infested plant with the spray, paying special attention to the undersides of leaves, since that is where aphids most commonly congregate.
Caution: While this spray is very safe for humans, some people are allergic to members of the nightshade family. If you are one of them, use care in making and applying this spray.


If the tomato leaf spray doesn't work I will try the homemade insecticidal soap recipe I found HERE This spray may harm plant leaves if mixed too strongly and may kill beneficial bugs as well.


Insecticidal Soap Spray

1 to 2 tablespoons liquid soap
1 quart water
Combine ingredients in a bucket, mix, then transfer to a spray
bottle as needed.

Hopefully one of these will do the trick before I lose anymore of plants. Wish me luck!



This post is linked-up to:
The Backyard Farming Connection Hop 40
Encourage One Another Link-Up 94
The Homeacre Hop 27