Hello, all!

I've been battling aphids and black ants on my balcony... But just on one eggplant. Every night I go out and wash them off with a stream of water from the watering can, and every morning they've returned. I've knocked them off/squashed them by hand, and I just can't seem to get them all. My poor plant is suffering some damage, probably from the aphids and all the man-handling.

I tried a homemade garlic spray last night (just boiled chopped garlic, and strained it into a sprayer; yuck!), along with washing them off with water... And they were back once again this morning. I saw a few of the little black ants carrying the aphids around the soil... Not sure if they were taking their meal "to-go", or helping the buggers back onto my plant. ;-)

My neighbor gave me a partial bottle of "take down garden spray"... Is this a safe option? There seems to be an awful lot of warnings and precautions. I tried the dish soap and oil mixture on a pepper plant last year, and it didn't do so well. I'm a little hesitant to try it again.

Any other remedies? Is the take down spray safe?

Thanks!

--Malaya