A blast of water is the most fantastic and easy way I've found.

Of course there is always squishing. It might seem offensive at first but you quickly get used to it. My husband laughs at how quickly I went from not wanting to do it to doing it every time I see some now without a second thought.

Kate

Kate has guacamole fingers.

Is there any 'greener' way to kill bugs?

I'm sorry Michael that was irresistible:)

Kate

I post this simple, biodegradable, and cheap cure at least five times every year. Guess you have missed it. Email me direct, and I will respond with it.

The easiest way is to ignore them. If you aren't spraying, the predators will move in and take care of your problem. A few days ago I noticed that Cardinal de Richelieu was covered with aphids. Yesterday it also had several hungry syrphid fly larvae chowing down, and there was a tremendous reduction in aphids. In a day or 2 the aphids will probably be gone--or at least back down to a manageable level. (Thanks to michaelg for identifying this wonderful predator!)

OK,
So far so good.
The squashing thing though, I don't know if I can do it. What if there is such a thing as reincarnation and those are people from another life?
What a drastic way to die....

As for blasting with water, won't they just come back to haunt them again along with all my other plants?

As for the biodegradable stuff, I might be interested.

How about kneem oil, has anyone ever used this and does it work?

What happens if the good critters never show up for the party, and the aphids have won out from leaving them alone?

But I really appreciate the ideas and guacamole thing!!

Man, I dunno...

Roseman's trick is to dust them with flour, and then hose them off the next day. If you use plain water, many of them will live and climb another plant. However, if you break up the encrustations occasionally, that's enough to prevent noticeable damage. But damage rarely gets beyond the level of cosmetic. Every rose garden has aphids, and frankly, experienced growers don't worry about them-- except for exhibitors in show season. Predators usually clean them up around the end of the first flush. This year I did nothing beyond wiping off a few shoot tips, and there was no damage.

I use soap and water in a spray bottle.
Good old Dawn and I just spray the buds as I don't care if they chew on a few leaves.

I'm a squisher.

lolololol..;-0)..

I actually sprayed my roses with fish emulsion since this post, and they seem to of all just croaked...NICE!!

Don't use Neem Oil.

I believe it kills bees =:(

Can you search your yard for a ladybug or two? I had aphids on a potted morning glory, found a few ladybugs elsewhere, plunked them on the morning glory, and two days later, no aphids =:)

nutsaboutflowers: neem oil, when used properly, causes very little problems for bees whatsoever. All horticultural oils should never be sprayed directly onto bees. Actually, we should avoid spraying anything directly onto bees or into flowers where bees are actively foraging.

Insecticidal soaps can do significant harm to bees if they come into contact with the product while it is still wet.

Neem has been used very successfully in the control of different types of mites in bee hives....with little collateral damage to bee populations.

If an aphid population is very much out of control, neem is a good tool to use in conjunction with squishing and sharp sprays of water. Spray the foliage and buds, avoid the flowers. Since part of the action of Neem is as an anti-feedant, it can reduce the damage from Japanese Beetles, though it won't kill them outright.

I have made a garlic oil spray in the past - crush a couple cloves of garlic soak overnight in a couple tablespoons of vegatable oil, then strain to make garlic oil, add a teaspoon or two of the oil with a teaspoon or two of baby shampoo (to emulsify), fill a spray bottle with water. The aphids drop fast and mosquitos scatter. I have also heard that the garlic (as well as others in the allium familly) are good anti-fungals as well, due to high sulfur content. It is a good short term fix, but doesn't last long.

I have also read about using zest from citrus peels to make a similar spray, but have yet to try it.

I am uncertain about the impact on beneficial insects. I don't want to harm bees, butterflies or ladybugs. Has anyone tried these homemade sprays? Thoughts, comments.

But, so far Bayer 3-in-1 has worked best for me.

You don't want to harm bees, but you're using Imidicloprid?

You don't realize that your rose's pollen is full of that, and that the bees carry it back to feed to the developing larvae???

A contact poison that killed worker bees (the oldest individuals in the colony) would be less-harmful to the hive. At least they wouldn't take that back to contaminate the whole colony. :-(

Truthfully, if your concern is fungal disease, for Heaven's sake use a product made to control fungus.
DON'T use an insecticide unless you have insects!

Jeri