As a gardener, you want to keep your plants healthy, whether you're growing them for show or to consume. Aphids are a nasty pest that can damage existing leaves and stunt new growth in your plants. Aphids are tiny, often no bigger than the head of a pin, but they can wreak havoc in your garden. To learn how to get rid of aphids, check out the information presented on this page.

Garden pest control is essential to maintaining healthy plant life, but pests like aphids can be sneaky. They may be at work in your garden right now, and you won't even know until it's too late. No one wants that to happen, so let's take a look at some helpful tips that will keep those pesky aphids away from garden.

(Creative Commons photo by benimoto)

• The first step to stopping an aphid infestation is to make sure the conditions are set in your favor. Inspect your garden to make sure that you haven't over fertilized. Next, you want to make sure that what you have is an aphid infestation. Here are a couple of signs to help you determine:

1. Curled leaves
2. Stunted or distorted new growth
3. Sticky residue on leaves
4. Pear-shaped, pinhead sized bugs
5. Black, sooty fungus

• If you're lucky enough to catch an infestation of aphids before it gets out of control, you can often steer them away from your plants with a low-pressured dowsing from the water hose.

• If your aphid infestation is out of control, it's going to take more than a little water to get rid of those pesky creatures. You may need to use a pesticide to kill off the bugs. You can buy several brands of very effective pesticide at your local garden center or hardware store. Follow the mixing instructions on the bottle.

1. Spray topside of plants first.
2. Spray underside of leaves.
3. Spray new growth and stems.
4. Repeat if necessary.

• Not every gardener is keen on using chemical pesticides, especially if they are growing edible fruits and vegetables. Here are a few natural alternatives to pesticides that work equally well.

1. Mix 2 teaspoons of dish soap or laundry detergent into about 10-12 ounces of lukewarm water.
2. Boil down several cloves of garlic and cayenne pepper. Cool and strain, then spray onto plants.
3. Planting marigolds around other plants will help deter aphids.
4. Planting garlic or onions around other plants drives aphids away.
5. Shred and bury banana peel around your plants.

• If you are fortunate and catch the infestation early, you may also be able to prune it away. Clip away infested leaves and destroy them.

• Keeping your garden healthy isn't always easy, especially when sneaky pests like aphids get in and try to undermine your hard work. You can keep aphids at bay by making sure you don't over fertilize, but on the chance that you do wind up with an infestation, have no fear. There are a number of methods from spraying water or pesticides and pruning that will help you in the battle against aphids.

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• Introduction
• Step 1: Inspection
• Step 2: Water
• Step 3: Pesticides
• Step 4: Natural Solutions
• Step 5: Pruning
• Conclusion