Aphids on cucumbers – not a verdict: 3 simple ways to fight them without chemicals

Hello, dear friends – gardeners and dachshunds!
I want to share with you effective and simple ways to control aphids on cucumbers, since you often ask me how you can fight this pest.

Harm from Aphids

I use several ways to kill aphids that are very harmful to vegetables, particularly cucumbers. There are about 2,500 varieties of this pest that parasitizes pumpkin crops. Cucumbers are most often affected by cucumber aphids, which form colonies on the underside of leaves, so they are not easy to spot. Aphids bite into leaves and young stems and feed on their sap.

The first signs of aphid infestations are downward curling leaf edges and crooked shoot tips. Plants stop developing, their internodes shorten, and productivity decreases.

If the situation is left unchecked, cucumbers can die altogether. Aphids are unusually prolific: they produce more than half a dozen generations per summer. This pest is also dangerous in that it is a carrier of viral diseases, which it is useless to treat.

How to deal with aphids

Mustard infusion

There are many different means of destroying aphids, but first I want to offer you a few effective, but safe preparations.

It is possible to destroy colonies of the pest with the following solution: 100 g of dry mustard should be poured over 3 liters of boiling water, stirred thoroughly and allowed to stand for 5-6 hours, stirring from time to time. Then you should carefully drain the settled solution, trying not to shake the settled mustard.

I pour the infusion into a ten-liter tank of sprayer, add 5 tablespoons of liquid detergent and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, then bring the volume to 10 liters of water, stir well and water the cucumbers on the leaves.

Before treatment, it is advisable to cut off the lowest leaves from each bush, especially if there are aphids on them. The procedure should be carried out after sunset. To moisten the solution on the underside of the leaves, I turn the nozzle of the sprayer upwards.

Soda solution

This effective remedy for aphids is prepared from baking soda. In a ten-liter container of water, I dissolve 50 g of soda (3 tablespoons), then add 5 tablespoons of liquid soap and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Cucumbers should be sprayed against aphids in the evening.

Soda works not only as an insecticide, but also as a preventive agent against various rots and fungal infections. Treatment with a soda solution helps prolong the fruiting period of cucumbers and improves the taste of fruits.

Ammonia

Success in combating aphids can be achieved with ammonia: I pour 50 ml of ten percent ammonia, bought in the pharmacy, 5 tablespoons of detergent and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into 10 liters of water.

What are soap and oil for? Soap holds the liquid on the leaves, not allowing it to run off quickly. It also has insecticidal properties of its own.

Vegetable oil, getting on the body of the parasite, forms a thin film on it, blocking the airways and restricting movement, and after a while the aphids are killed.

To get rid of aphids completely, you’ll need 2-3 sprays of these preparations every 3-4 days, and it’s better to alternate them, because the aphids’ resistance depends on the cycle and other circumstances: during one period of time it’s better to cope with soda solution, during another period ammonia or mustard infusion will more help.

Special preparations

If the aphids on your cucumbers have already strongly bred, it is necessary to apply a strong insecticide. Of biopreparations, Bitoxybacillin and Fitoverm cure best, the waiting period of which is only 5 days, which is very convenient for crops with fast-ripening fruits. In 5 days after treatment, you can eat your cucumbers without any harm to your health.

Of chemical means of protection, the strongest is Actara, but its waiting period is three weeks, and during this time, ripening fruits will have to be plucked and thrown away, because harmful substances are slowly removed from the plant.

These are the ways I use to control aphids on cucumbers. I wish you good weather, great mood and rich harvests.

Video of combating aphids with simple remedies