Getting Rid of Aphids Using Biological Control

Aphids are nasty little creatures that can damage and kill plant life by injecting their feeding tube into the leaves and stalk and sucking out the sap. This has resulted in animosity towards them by many gardeners who have found their crops ruined by insects. In this post Pest Control in Melbourne professionals going to discuss how to get rid of aphids using biological control.

What is Biological Control?

Biological control is the process of controlling the population of a species by introducing their natural predators to their environment. A form of biological control is to get a cat if your house has a mouse or rat infestation.

Aphid infestations can be controlled by introducing one (or more) of the following species to your garden and plants:

Ladybugs/Ladybirds

Ladybugs (called ladybirds outside North America) are the most helpful biological control for aphids and can fast wipe out large numbers of them and lastingly reduce their population. Typically, a ladybug will eat around 5000 aphids throughout its lifetime of between 1 and 2 years. Both adult ladybugs and ladybug larvae can be used to get rid of aphids.

Parasitic Wasps

Parasitic wasps kill aphids by laying their eggs inside aphid’s bodies. After the egg hatches, the larvae feed on the aphid’s body until it is dead. When fully-grown, the adult parasitic wasp will then seek out more aphids to inject its eggs into.

Lacewing and Hoverfly Larvae

These maggots will joyfully chomp aphids before they undergo metamorphism into adults. Then they will lay their eggs near to aphid populations, which will, in turn, provide a food source for their own young.

How to Obtain Predators

In order to introduce aphid predators to your garden or greenhouse, you first need to obtain them.

You can do this by collecting them yourself from the wild (you can pick up dozens of ladybirds from a simple walk through the countryside), purchasing them from your local garden store or even attracting them to your garden by growing specific plants – nettles, wallflowers, amaranths, and herbs such as parsley, sage, and mint are good choices.

Learn More: - The Different Ways in Controlling Aphids