One day you won’t notice them, and in a few days, not only roses are covered. So if you spot a few aphids under one bush, it pays to take action right away. “You don’t need any special preparations,” says Jana Bucharová in the iReceptář do úho podcast. Just return to the garden with kitchen reinforcement.
You can listen to the audio version of the podcast here:
Getting rid of the aphids that have already occupied the plant without chemicals can sometimes be difficult. “It’s a sure thing that nettle soup is made, but it takes some time to make it,” says the expert about the nettle pickle, which must be left to ferment for at least two or three weeks. And if you don’t have that much time, or you didn’t think about it in advance, it’s of no use to you. And you don’t leave roses for three weeks!
Potion from the fridge
Home supplies will save you. Something you almost certainly have in your fridge. And if not you, then your neighbors, and you can find it in every grocery store, even the smallest. Like it was magic. What is it about? About completely ordinary semi-skimmed milk. And if it is fresh or pasteurized, the aphids don’t care at all. Both work.
A simple recipe
Dilute the milk in a spray bottle with water in a ratio of 1:10. Then spray the mixture either on the infested bushes or directly on the parasites you find on them. After about half an hour, check if all the mixture has been absorbed and if not, carefully suck it out with a cloth. Repeat once a week at most to avoid damaging the plants, and never in full sun.
Milk fat together with proteins forms a film on the body of aphids, which prevents them from breathing and gradually immobilizes them. You get rid of them really quickly. In addition, it has one more advantage – the milk has a preventive effect against fungal diseases, and your roses will almost certainly appreciate that.
