Aphids are crazy about the sweet sap of maple trees. The pests boldly colonize the leaves and shoots, excrete sticky honeydew and transmit diseases. You can find out here which home remedies you can use to combat the plague.
How to control aphids on maple?
To combat aphids on maple trees, you can make soapy water and spray it on the affected areas, or use a more natural remedy such as tea tree oil to repel the lice. Alternatively, organic fertilizer such as nettle manure can also be used.
Soap exterminates aphids - this is how it works
Soapy water has proven to be so effective in combating lice that you can now purchase the product as a finished product from specialist retailers. You can make the home remedy yourself cheaper. The recipe and application are incredibly simple:
- Dissolve 50 grams of soft soap or grated curd soap in 1 liter of hot water
- If there is a heavy lice infestation, add two teaspoons of spirit or alcohol
- Pour the cooled solution into a spray bottle
- Spray the maple repeatedly with the soapy water until it is dripping wet
It is important to note that you only use soft soap or curd soap. Other soap products contain thickeners, fragrances and dyes that do more harm than good to a plant.
Repelling aphids instead of killing them - this is how it works
In the natural home garden, no living creature is sentenced to death just because it is not welcome. However, you do not have to tolerate an infestation of lice on the magnificent leaves of the maple tree. With an effective home remedy you can get rid of the aphids forever. This is how it works:
- Heat 1 liter of water
- Add 20 drops of tea tree oil and an emulsifier from the pharmacy
- Pour into a hand sprayer and spray repeatedly on leaves and shoots
Lice of all kinds cannot withstand the strong smell of tea tree oil for long and run away. By the way, the repelling effect extends to ants. The clever insects enthusiastically harvest the sweet honeydew of aphids to feed themselves and their brood. After using tea tree oil, the ant caravans on the maple are a thing of the past.
Tip
If you fertilize your maple organically with plant manure, you also have a powerful remedy against aphids at hand. Nettle manure in particular has proven to be a natural remedy against pests. Ferment 1 kilo of fresh leaves in 10 liters of water for 14 days. Dilute the manure with water in a ratio of 1:10 and spray the top and bottom of the leaves weekly.
