How to process honeysuckle to save the bush from aphids?

Many gardeners value honeysuckle for its cold resistance, unpretentiousness, beautiful flowers and delicious berries. Not so long ago it was believed that the shrub was practically not affected by pests, but warm winters lead to the fact that aphids on honeysuckle began to appear more and more often. In order to preserve the plant and not lose the harvest of the first berries of the season, it is necessary to take timely measures to protect against the sucking insect.

What does aphid infestation lead to?

The shrub is affected by several types of aphids:

• apical,
• honeysuckle-spruce,
• honeysuckle-cereal.

Infection with each insect species can be distinguished by its characteristic features. They signal that the plant needs to be treated to protect it from pests.

• Honeysuckle-cereal aphid attacks young shoots. They are deformed, internodes become short, branch growth stops. The leaves at the tops turn yellow, curl downward or curl obliquely across.
• The apical aphid affects only the upper leaves. They fold in half, and begin to dry a little later. The ends of the damaged branches first dry out, and then begin to actively branch.
• The honeysuckle-spruce aphid changes the color of the bush - it turns yellow, then becomes brown.

Treatment against aphids with chemical agents

In early spring, before bud break, honeysuckle bushes are processed. Spraying is carried out with chemical insecticides:

• Aktellikom;
• "Confidor";
• Rogorom;
• "Karbofos";
• Trichlorometaphos 3;
• "Keltan".

During processing, eggs that have wintered in the ground and on the lower parts of the branches die. If the agent gets on a mature individual, then it dies immediately. The insecticidal effect lasts 25-30 days.

After the leaves bloom and flowering, it is recommended to treat the honeysuckle bushes with less toxic agents - biological products, herbal infusions.

It is necessary to irrigate the honeysuckle kuta with insecticides in the evening, when there is no risk of sunburn on the leaves. After chemical treatment, it is necessary to cover the bush with a film and leave it until morning. This will increase the effectiveness of the procedure.

Biological products for aphids

The use of herbal infusions and biological preparations is allowed during the periods of flowering and fruiting of honeysuckle. An important safety condition is to wait at least 5 days from the moment of processing before eating the berries.

Biological products enter the pest's body from the surface of the body, through the intestines. They have a neurotoxic effect on aphids. Biological insecticides become safe for plants and people 24 hours after spraying. You can eat berries in 5 days.

The most effective for processing honeysuckle are:

• "Lepidocide";
• "Bitoxibacillin";
• Iskra Bio;
• "Entobacterin";
• Fitoverm;
• Inta-Vir.

5-7 days after the treatment of the bushes with these agents, a decrease in the number of insects can be noticed. After repeated processing in order to destroy only hatched individuals, the complete disappearance of pests is observed on the 10-15th day. Spraying is especially effective when the weather is hot and dry (treatment is carried out after sunset).

Folk remedies

To get rid of aphids on honeysuckle with berries or on bushes that are just preparing to bear fruit, it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the plants. Noticing that the upper leaves began to curl, darken or turn yellow, they should be removed and burned.

After breaking off the infected shoots, the branches are treated with phytochemicals:

• In 2 liters of water, dissolve 300 g of household, tar or 100 g of liquid soap (you can use dishwashing detergent), add 0.5 liters of sifted ash there. The tops of honeysuckle branches are dipped into the solution. After that, they are powdered with ash.
• 150-300 g of ash pour 10 liters of water, let it boil. Add 50 g of liquid soap to the warm liquid. Strain, spray the honeysuckle bushes.
• Fresh (1 kg) or dry (700 g) potato tops are crushed, 10 liters of boiling water are poured in, insisted for 3 days. Honeysuckle is treated with a filtered solution.
• Mix 200 g of finely chopped onions (with the husk) and 10 liters of water. Insist from 18 to 24 hours, filter, use for spraying.
• Garlic (200 g) is passed through a press, pour 1 liter of warm water. Kept in a closed vessel for 5-7 days. Before processing honeysuckle, the strained solution is diluted in a ratio of 25 ml to 10 liters of water.

Prevention of aphid infestation

To prevent honeysuckle from being damaged by aphids, it is necessary to ensure that there are no anthills near the bushes. To scare off ants, the lower part of the honeysuckle branch is wrapped with a strip of cotton cloth, and on top it is abundantly greased with birch tar. Ants cannot overcome such an obstacle, therefore, the risk of aphid colonies appearing on the bush is reduced.

Insect pests are afraid of strong-smelling plants that are nearby. Therefore, it is worth planting mint, nasturtium, marigold, wormwood or parsley around areas with honeysuckle.

Other helpers in the fight against aphids are ladybugs, lacewings and birds: sparrows, tits, warblers. By attracting them to the garden with feeders, trays with water, you don't have to worry about aphids spoiling the plants.

Honeysuckle bushes heavily affected by aphids are cut off after harvesting, the removed branches are immediately burned. After the appearance of new shoots in early spring, preventive treatment is carried out. Disinfection of old branches begins immediately, as soon as the snow melted around the bush - they water the branches with boiling water. This is followed by treatment with insecticides.

The land around the bushes must be freed from weed growth, in the fall, dig up the soil without breaking clods. This is necessary to freeze the ground and destroy the larvae. In autumn, large branches should be whitewashed - this is an additional way to disinfect the bark of honeysuckle.