How to deal with aphids on cucumbers - simple folk recipes and professional preparations

Closer to mid-summer, a special kind of aphid appears on cucumber beds - melon. These small insects settle on the underside of leaves, on shoots and inflorescences, suck out the juices and thereby cause irreparable harm to plants. These insects can be found in greenhouses, which they attack in the spring. And to save your harvest, we suggest you learn how to deal with aphids on cucumbers with the help of chemicals and folk remedies.

Gourd aphids on cucumbers

Melon aphid is a small insect whose body length is not more than 2 mm. Its color may be different: yellow, green, dark green, dark brown and black.

On a note! This pest can develop on 330 species of plants, including cucumbers, zucchini and other gourds.

Winter gourd aphids spends on basal leaves of weed grass, being in the larval phase or in the form of wingless females. In the spring, when the thermometer rises to + 5 ° C, insects begin to show activity. They multiply rapidly and soon form very large clusters. When weed is not enough for weed, the production of winged aphids begins. They fly to nearby cucumber plantings.

Black aphids settle in huge colonies on cucumbers, covering the stem, foliage and inflorescences with a dense carpet. And if you do not find a flock of insects in time, then most of the young shoots will die, without having time to grow stronger and give an ovary of fruits.

Ways to fight

The spread of aphids on cucumbers contributes to high humidity and warm weather. And under threat are those crops that grow in open ground, and greenhouse. It is necessary to start the fight against a pest immediately - at the first sign of plant damage.

Greenhouse Plant Protection

Measures to control aphids on cucumbers in a greenhouse will be as follows:

• Removing weed grass on which aphids survive the winter. It is important to remove not only the aerial part of plants, but also the rhizome. The work must be carried out with all care, otherwise, the remaining weeds in the soil will again grow in the coming spring and the aphids will again settle on them.
• September is the best time to clean the greenhouse. It is necessary to collect all plant debris and garbage and burn them off-site. This event will destroy most of the eggs laid by the pest.
• If the greenhouse is small, then once every four years it is recommended to replace all the soil. In large greenhouses, only its upper layer can be removed - about 4-5 cm.
• The next step is disinfection. Glass surfaces are washed with a solution of copper sulfate, wooden and concrete beams are bleached with lime, in the solution of which a small amount of copper sulfate should also be added. This procedure is carried out in the fall after changing the soil and is repeated with a vein until the cucumbers are planted in the greenhouse.
• And in conclusion - the use of smoke bombs. After the first autumn disinfection in the greenhouses, sulfur drafts are lit.

Advice! To prevent aphids from appearing in the greenhouse during the growth period of cucumbers, fertilizers must be applied on time, prevent temperature violations and monitor air humidity. Ideal conditions for the development of this insect: humidity above 80% and air temperature above + 25 ° C!

Folk recipes

If the aphid has settled on cucumbers, then you can fight it with the help of such folk remedies as:

• infusions and decoctions of plants - garlic, wormwood, tomato and potato tops, celandine, onions, dandelion, pine needles. About 300 g of the selected raw material is poured with a bucket of boiling water, insisted for 1-2 days, the infected cultures are filtered and sprayed with the obtained product;
• ash-soap solution - a couple of tablespoons of ash and half a bar of grated laundry soap are taken on a bucket of water. The ingredients are mixed until completely dissolved and used to treat the plants;
  

  Recommendation! It is necessary to spray crops several times a season and process precisely those areas on which aphids have settled. Only in this way can numerous colonies of parasites be completely destroyed!

• glue traps - you can make them yourself, or you can use purchased ones. The most popular in recent years are the adhesive plates "Argus". They attract insects, which, sitting on their sticky base, lose the ability to move and die;

On a note! Such traps are good because they are absolutely safe for humans and pets!

Chemical insecticides

If folk remedies are unable to cope with aphids on cucumbers, then it is recommended to process plantings in this case with chemical preparations.

1. "Commander" is a highly effective insecticide that can quickly rid your garden not only of aphids, but also of Colorado beetles. Release form - a water-soluble concentrate, which is characterized by a systemic effect. Active substances of the drug penetrate into plants and thereby provide reliable protection against insects.
2. Corado is a modern insecticide against aphids and the Colorado potato beetle. It has a prolonged action, protecting the planting for 3-4 weeks after treatment. When used correctly, it allows you to get rid of pests in just one application.
3. "Aktara" - mortality of aphids on the second day after application of this insecticide reaches 100%. The active substances of the agent accumulate in the cells of plants and remain in them for 3 weeks. Newly arrived pests feed on poisoned juice and die after some time.

Important! Remember that all of the above insecticides must be sprayed on the cucumbers before ovaries appear on the bushes!

Chemical insecticides are toxic to bees, therefore, they are not recommended to be treated with beds during pollination. In addition, during the preparation of the solution and during processing, it is necessary to use personal protective equipment.

Do not forget that in the fight against aphids on cucumbers, it is advisable to use foliar potassium-phosphorus fertilizing, which is applied to the soil once every seven days until the pests completely disappear. The mixture is prepared from 20 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium chloride, which are diluted in a bucket of water.

A meeting with a melon aphid brings only trouble, but if it is detected in a timely manner, it is quite possible to exterminate an uninvited guest. Use folk and professional products for gardens and greenhouses, and they will certainly bring you a big and tasty harvest in gratitude!