But first, what are aphids? According to Wikipedia they are "among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants..." Here is a close up image from Wikipedia... in real life, "they vary in length from 1 to 10 millimetres (0.04 to 0.39 in)".
And when I spied aphids on my beautiful rose bush I just about screamed as I ran inside and Googled "natural aphid repellant". Thank you ehow.com!!! I made the home remedy and want to share it with you here. This is how easy it is...
Here's what you need - a spray bottle, water, dish soap and cooking oil.
Mix together 1/2 tablespoon of liquid dish soap and 1/2 cup cooking oil.
Blend 2 1/2 teaspoons of the soap/oil mixture with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle, shake well to combine.
Then waltz back out to your backyard, whistling all the way, warn the enemy with a direct order and spray the heck out of those aphids... Feel free to use a good portion of the mixture in that spray bottle to spray the buds (taking as many direct shots to those aphids as you want), spray the leaves, spray the stems, spray the plants next to your rose bush... fill that bottle back up if you need to... you get the point!
Below is an out-of-focus shot of the poor, unsuspecting rose bud... this rose bud did nothing to deserve this attack. And couldn't do anything to protect itself... Lori Jean to the rescue!
In 12-24 hours the aphids will have literally disintegrated... they are soft body insects, and since they don't have much of a defense system the liquid seeps right into their body and robs them of what they need to live.
Gladly I will report ... because of my quick response time (and in a few more days) I'll have another one of these...
Hope it works for you as well...
life is good...
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