How to get rid of black aphids on viburnum

You can fight aphids on viburnum with affordable folk remedies – herbal infusions, solutions of pharmaceutical preparations. Insecticides also work well. But it is better not to start the situation and carry out preventive treatment in early spring. If you urgently need to get rid of the invasion of pests, it is better to immediately treat it with chemicals.

What does aphid look like

Black aphid is one of the most common varieties along with green. This is an insect with a body of a dark shade from 1,5 to 2,5 mm long. It has an angular head with antennae located on the forehead. Wings may be present (one pair) or absent (depending on the stage of development). The legs are walking, the front pair is jumping, due to which they easily move along the branches of viburnum and other plants.

Black aphids go through several stages of development:

1. The pest egg overwinters on viburnum and other perennials.
2. The founder is a wingless larva. Appears in the spring from an egg and begins to feed on juices. After breeding, it gives another 50 larvae.
3. Wingless virgin. These are the larvae that were born from the founder. They give several new generations.
4. The settler is the stage of the winged generation of aphids.

   

5. Normal male and oviparous female – emerge from the larvae of the previous generation and again lay eggs for wintering, after which the cycle repeats.

The black aphid feeds on the sap of the plant, which causes the leaves to wilt.

Pest colonies are very dangerous, because insects stick around all plants, methodically destroying them. They harm delicate leaves, flowers, ovaries, buds, buds. This leads to a decrease in viburnum yield, so you should get rid of aphids as soon as possible.

Signs of the appearance of a pest on viburnum

The body of an insect can be seen with the naked eye. Black aphids, unlike green ones, contrast against the background of viburnum leaves and flowers. The invasion is always numerous, so it is easy to detect visually.

There are other signs of the appearance of a pest on viburnum:

• deformation of apical leaves and thin shoots;
• white bloom;
• wilting of the crown;
• a sticky, slightly viscous liquid appears;
• general unhealthy appearance, developmental delay.

Insects help each other survive. If anthills are found on the site, they must be completely destroyed, for example, with boiling water, a shovel, any liquid oil, or using chemicals.

How to deal with aphids on viburnum

There are many ways to get rid of aphids on viburnum: folk remedies, chemical and biological preparations. You need to act in the following sequence:

1. Inspect the viburnum and assess the scale of the pest invasion.

   

2. At the first stages, carry out 2-3 treatments with folk remedies (both affected trees and healthy ones).
3. If these measures do not help, special preparations are used to protect viburnum from aphids.

Preparations against aphids

From aphids, insecticides of various origins are effective:

1. Biological – at the fruiting stage (including when the berries are green).
2. Chemical – at all other stages (including early spring for prevention).

Biological insecticides include:

• “Letto”;
• “Fitoverm”;
• “Biodegradation”;
• “Vertimek”;
• Bitoxibacillin and others.

You can get rid of aphids with the help of “Fitoverma” and other effective means

Examples of popular chemicals against aphids:

• “Biotlin”;
• “Aktara”;
• “Match”;
• “Confidor”;
• “Inta-Vir”;
• “Decis”;
• Carbophos;
• “Karate” and others.

Means are prepared according to the instructions – they are diluted in water in the specified amount, mixed and poured into a spray bottle. Some drugs pose a certain danger to humans, pets, bees. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the toxicity class and, if necessary, work with gloves, a mask, goggles and special clothing.

Folk remedies

You can get rid of black aphids on viburnum with the help of folk remedies. These are water infusions or decoctions of herbs, root crops and other raw materials. You need to prepare them based on a standard bucket of water (10 l), then strain the solution, pour it into a spray bottle and start processing. Spraying is best done in the late evening in dry and calm weather. If the forecast is rainy, it is better to wait for sunny days.

Soap solution

Soap shavings based product helps get rid of black aphids on viburnum, especially in the early stages

For cooking, take a large piece of tar or laundry soap (250–300 g), rub it on a grater and transfer it to a bucket of water. Stir, insist an hour and proceed to processing.

Chili pepper infusion

Take two small or one large pod of hot chili pepper and finely chop it. Put in boiling water (1 l) and insist under the lid for several hours. Filter and dilute to 10 liters, then process viburnum. This tool helps to get rid of black aphids in a few days.

Hot chili peppers are effective in pest control

Infusion of onions with husks

To get rid of black aphids on viburnum, take two large onions along with the husk (arbitrary amount), chop well and pour a bucket of warm water. Insist up to four days, dilute and add 2 tbsp. l. liquid soap or shavings, mix and spray viburnum.

Onion peel – a good remedy for pests on plants

Garlic infusion

Another way to get rid of black aphids on seedlings is to take two heads of garlic, chop together with the husk (you can add green arrows), pour a bucket of water and let stand for a day. Then strain and spray the leaves and shoots.

To enhance the effect, a solution of laundry soap is added to the garlic infusion.

Infusion of horse sorrel

If a lot of horse sorrel grows on the site or nearby, you can also get rid of black aphids on viburnum with the help of this plant. They dig up several weed bushes and cut off the root, grind it, take 300 g and pour 10 liters of hot, but not boiling water. Insist for a day, filter and proceed to processing.

Horse sorrel infusion is a good spray for pests.

Pharmacy drugs

You can get rid of black aphids on viburnum with the help of conventional pharmacy products. They need to be dissolved in 10 liters of water. This will require:

• hydrogen peroxide – 20 tbsp. l.;
• ammonia – 2 tbsp. l.;
• alcohol iodine – 10 drops;
• milk of any fat content – 0,5 l;
• mustard powder – 2 tbsp. l.;
• baking soda – 10 tbsp. l.

To effectively get rid of black aphids, it is recommended to add liquid soap or household shavings to the solution.

Dried citrus peel

You can treat viburnum from black aphids with infusion of lemon, orange and other citrus peels. Take 300 g of dry crusts, carefully grind and soak in 1 liter of water for a day. Boil after boiling for 15 minutes, filter and bring the volume to 10 liters.

Citrus remedy allows you to get rid of black aphids on viburnum in 1-2 treatments

Wood ash infusion

Wood ash also helps to get rid of black aphids on viburnum. They take a glass of raw materials and insist in a bucket for several hours. Then they start processing.

Infusion of tobacco dust

Two glasses of tobacco dust (shag) must be added to a bucket of boiling water. They insist for three days. Add 5 tbsp. l. laundry soap shavings. The tool has shown its effectiveness, it helps to get rid of aphids both on viburnum and on other plants.

You can get rid of aphids on viburnum by treating with infusion of tobacco dust

Infusion of marigold flowers

Another way is to collect marigold flowers, dry them and grind them. Select an arbitrary number of inflorescences (150-200 g) and pour boiling water (10 l). Let stand for two days, after which they begin to spray.

An infusion of marigolds will help get rid of black aphids on viburnum

Plants that repel aphids

The following are used as repellents: onion, garlic, basil, rosemary, nasturtium, mustard, mint, tansy, thyme and others.

They are planted in beds, next to the trunk circle, between the rows, not far from the flower beds, as well as along the borders of the garden. Almost all of these plants are unpretentious, so growing them is easy. Moreover, they not only help get rid of black aphids on viburnum, but also decorate the site. Some of them are used for food.

Prevention

Getting rid of black aphids is always more difficult than preventing its massive spread on viburnum and other trees and shrubs. Therefore, it is recommended to take the following preventive measures:

1. Every autumn, after leaf fall, the entire area is carefully cleaned. Leaves, branches and weeds are removed, especially in the near-stem circle of viburnum.
2. In early spring, trees are treated with any insecticide or folk remedies.
3. In the spring, it is necessary to whitewash the viburnum trunks with slaked lime (2 kg per 10 liters of water, for quicklime the ratio is 1 kg per 10 liters).
4. To start the destruction of the pest as early as possible, periodically inspect the viburnum and other plants for the presence of black aphids.
5. Attract natural enemies such as ladybugs. They are able to destroy aphids. To do this, dill, parsley, coriander, cumin, mint and other fragrant plants are planted in the garden.

Conclusion

You can fight aphids on viburnum quite successfully if you identify the invasion of pests as early as possible. With a slight lesion, folk remedies are used – decoctions, infusions, solutions. If they do not give the desired result, chemical or biological insecticides should be used.