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Aphids are one of the fastest growing pests. Wingless female insects are able to lay eggs even without fertilization by males. If the summer is hot, but there is no drought, then more than 10 generations may appear in a season.
Aphids suck juice from young shoots of plants and spread dangerous viral diseases, so if measures are not taken in time to destroy pests, there will be no harvest. There are many drugs available in stores that are designed to kill aphids. However, most of them contain potent poisons, which take more than a month to remove from the fruit. In addition, toxic substances kill not only harmful insects, but also beneficial ones, and when they enter the soil, earthworms.
Therefore, many gardeners prefer to use a folk remedy that is safe for people and pets – vodka (ethyl alcohol, moonshine) to fight aphids.
The effect of alcohol on aphids
The effect of alcohol on insects is not well understood. However, it is known that ethanol causes malfunctions of the central nervous system in them, insects lose coordination in space. Aphids have breathing holes on their abdomen. When ethanol gets into them, the pest stops clinging to the stem and falls down. Aphids remaining on the plant cannot eat normally due to the strong smell of alcohol and the bitter taste that it gives to the leaves.
Instructions for using vodka from aphids
Any vodka, alcohol or moonshine is suitable for spraying plants. You can use the “heads” of moonshine (the upper fraction), which still cannot be distilled again.
The processing of garden plants should be carried out in the evening, at sunset, when the insects become inactive. In bright sunlight, there is a high probability that the leaves of plants will get burned.
When spraying, try to ensure that the liquid wets the leaves both from above and from below: pests often hide on the underside of the leaf plate. Water for preparing the solution should be warm (+ 25–27 ° C).
Household or special green soap (sold in gardening stores) must be added to the spraying solution at the rate of: 20 g of crushed soap per 1 liter of liquid. Soap shavings are first dissolved in a small amount of warm water, and then mixed with the rest of the liquid.
Soap performs a triple function:
- serves as an adhesive;
- compacts the leaves, making them “waxy”, which is why the pest cannot pierce them;
- clogs the respiratory openings of aphids.
Recipes for destroying aphids with vodka
No. 1. In 1 liter of water add 300 ml of vodka or 150 ml of alcohol, soap shavings. Such a solution is only suitable for processing trees and fruit bushes.
No. 2. To process roses and other ornamental shrubs, vegetable and berry crops, mix 1 liter of water, 100 g of vodka and soap.
No. 3. Pour 1 liter of Coca-Cola into a container and leave for a day to let the gas escape. Then add 100 ml of vodka and soap to the drink. Coca-Cola contains acids that are toxic to aphids, and alcohol enhances the effect of these substances.
No. 4. Mix 1 liter of water, 300 ml of vegetable oil, 100 ml of vodka and soap. Vegetable oil forms the thinnest film that prevents aphids from breathing. It is advisable to use unrefined oil, as the smell of refined oil attracts bears.
Treatment of aphids of currants and other fruit bushes
Most often, currants suffer from aphids. If the fruit shrub blooms, then for spraying, a solution should be prepared according to recipes No. 2 or No. 3. For a shrub with ovaries, the liquid according to recipe No. 1 is well suited.
The tops of branches, especially heavily affected by aphids, should be cut and burned. If it is a pity to cut the branches, they can be dipped one by one for 3-5 seconds in the solution. The rest of the bush is carefully sprayed.
It must be remembered that aphids do not fall on the branches themselves: they are brought by ants. So that the ants do not bring pests again, millet is poured around the bushes.
Spraying trees
The recipe for treating aphids with vodka trees is chosen according to the same principle as for shrubs: if the tree blooms, then recipe No. 1 is not suitable.
Having got rid of aphids, you need to block the ants from accessing the crown of the tree. To do this, special traps are glued to the trunk. Another option: the trunk is wrapped with a tape of old fabric 20–30 cm wide. Ordinary fly strips are glued onto it. Millet is sprinkled around the tree.
Spraying vegetable and berry crops
Some plants are born “alcoholics”. For example, a solution according to recipe No. 1 is suitable for spraying tomatoes. Alcohol destroys black leg pathogens. And the tomatoes sprayed with it ripen more quickly. German scientists have proven that if 0,5 ml of vodka is injected into a tomato of milky-wax ripeness with a medical syringe, the fruit will ripen a few weeks earlier.
Perfectly tolerate spraying with solution No. 1 and cucumbers. More tender strawberries or strawberries are treated with solution No. 2 or No. 3. It is dangerous to use solution No. 4 so as not to attract the bear.
Other plants should first be tested for ethyl alcohol tolerance. For this, one bush or one shoot is processed. If after a day the plant looks healthy and there are no burns, the entire plantation is sprayed.
Treatment with vodka from aphids of roses and chrysanthemums
Roses are tender and capricious. For spraying most varieties, solutions No. 2 or No. 4 are used. But first, it is better to test the effect of the liquid on one shoot. If burns appear on it in a day, the concentration of vodka should be halved (add 1 liter of water and 20 g of soap to the solution). Before spraying, the tops of the shoots are lowered into the solution.
Chrysanthemums affected by aphids are treated in the same way as roses.
Processing of house plants
You can get rid of aphids with vodka at home. Indoor flowers are sprayed or rubbed with a solution of 50 ml of vodka in 1 liter of water. Plants are treated in the evening and be sure to shade until the liquid dries.
Among indoor plants, “alcoholics” are ficuses. Ficus Benjamin leaves even like it when they are rubbed with a solution of vodka. Balcony lobelia tolerate alcohol well.
Saintpaulia and gloxinia are staunch “teetotalers”. They should be sprayed only as a last resort (for example, when there is a small child in the house, which is why insecticides cannot be used). Half an hour after treatment, the plants are thoroughly washed under running water.
Other flowers should be tested for alcohol tolerance before processing.