Don't waste your money on ladybugs. The will just fly away. They work well in greenhouse or shade house situations, but not otherwise. A little insecticidal soap will get rid of these guys. It will kill them on contact. You may need to make additional applications of it, but don't worry is approved by OMRI as organic and it doesn't persist in the environment. As pests go aphids are a mild annoyance at best.

Steve

Oh goodness, Ludi, those babies are gorgeous. It's like your kid coming home from school with head lice. These days, I understand it is par for the course.

I've had some deformed leaves that are stuck in the closed position and I was thinking it was those leaf rollers like I find on the canna lilies in early spring. One leaf on a hosta was so bound that I knew the leaf was a total loss, so I crushed the roll and then tore at parts of the leaf as it came apart on me. It was my big fragrant (new guy) Savannah Supreme, which is I think the streaked form of Savannah.

I noticed you among the missing for a few days this week. When you said "bad news" I thought it was HVX or something really awful. You can handle this, piece of cake. The nurseryman in Chelmsford MA told me after I'd planted a couple hundred feet of nasturtium seeds, that folks up there use nasturtiums as the aphid magnet to save their GOOD flowers. HA! well, if you are cool to try that ploy, because nasturtiums like cooler climates, then I won't mind if you use them as an aphid diversion.

We're currently attacking a fungus caused by spring moisture on our Italian cypress, up from the soil it seems, so there's trouble in river city all across the country.

Save those beauties!

Thats odd! have never seen aphids on a hosta,at all. Around here,ladybugs are prevalent,and take care of aphid problems. Phil

do NOT spray the tops of the leaves ... use a tank.. and spray the undersides ... unless you actually see them on the tops ....

the soap will ruin the glaucous coating on the hosta ...

neither have i ever heard of aphids on hosta ...

ken

Captain Jacks Bug Brew. Spinosad is approved for organic gardening. Repeated use of the soap can burn the leaves on some plants...It sure messed up my fushias.

-Babka

I was thinking the same, that it was really bad news ;) Aphids seem to be out in force this year. They don't often bother hostas, only on occasion, but they can get other things pretty bad. I'm sure you'll get rid of them quickly.

Thanks everyone. :)

No, it is not nearly as bad as having an outbreak of HVX, sorry to have alarmed some of you. :\

I’m pretty sure they are aphids, but you guys had me second guess myself, so I went outside and tried to snap a decent picture for a second opinion.

Ludisia, I can relate 110%. I won't mention the not so green approach I used as a last resort on all my companion plants last year. Still didn't save any of the blooms. They were on my hostas too but a good blast from the hose seemed to work. I will be doing what Steve and Ken suggest this year. Looks like you're handling those suckers the correct way from the get go. Stay strong friend I'm fighting the aphid battle too here in NE Ohio 6b. WW

Looks like aphids. Take them outside and wash them off with a strong stream of water from a hose. Knocks them off and they can't climb back up, the ones that survive. You may have to do it more than once but sure beats spraying things.

Sandy

Nice display Rudi! Who is second from the left in the back row?
I often have aphids in the garden, but not on hostas yet. I shouldn't say that out loud - jinx.
Jan

There is a simple (cheap) nozzle to put on the end of your hose, called a Bug Blaster. I use that on my Japanese Maples in Spring when the aphids coat the new unfurling leaves tightly lined up like little soldiers. It doesn't ruin the leaves, but gets those aphids. I suggested the Deadbug Brew as a last resort because you said you are hosing them off w/o winning the fight. This Bug Blaster gadget makes a really fine spray directed flat out from the nozzle so you can knock those critters and any eggs right off. A couple times with that and you'll be done with the aphids. You will probably soak yourself too, so be prepared for that. ;-)

-Babka

Here is a link that might be useful: Bug Blaster

Babka, thank you for the info on the bug blaster. Gonna have to get myself one. Does HD or Lowes sell them? WW

Calm down, get ahold of yourself Ludi!

Watch this link for calming effect...

Don B.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calming Video Clip...Just breathe, Ludi...:)

I got mine at a local nursery as a give-away with a purchase several years ago. Didn't believe it would really work better than a regular hose end fine sprayer. Well, howdy, it does work better. There is a link on their website for retailers who sell it. Hope you can find one near you. Worth the effort if you don't want to mess with chemicals.

-Babka

If you can't find it locally, Lee Valley is a mail order option.

Here's an up-close look at it...just the nozzle; the wand is optional at xtra cost:

I'm wondering if a person could adapt an irrigation nozzle to accomplish the same thing?

Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley-Bug Blaster

Oh boy.

I think I better buy you a glass of wine instead of a coke :)
I'm sorry for this temporary setback...I know how you baby your babies.

Yes, those are aphids.
Okay, no special attachment needed. Aphids are so soft-bodied that the spray of water alone kills most of them and the rest wont be back. Any strong spray shy of tearing the leaves or blasting the soil away will be perfect (it's been said even the force of a hand held pump sprayer is enough) but will need to be repeated every 3-4 days for 2 or 3 weeks.

tj

Yeah, BUT the attachment is adjustable and sprays out in a very fine, flat pattern that allows you to get down into the stems. Some years I have had to use it on my Chrimson Queen Maple and other fine leaved jap maples, and it knocks them out beautifully w/o messing with those very delicate leaves. I tried using my regular multi function hose end nozzel/sprayers and they don't do such a good job, as you don't have the control you have with this little jewel. This gets the aphids and the eggs. Try your regular sprayer and then see if any bugs/eggs are left. All that is needed its to knock them to the ground.

Do whatever works for you.

-Babka

UPDATE: So it took me a total of two days to properly douse each hosta accordingly. My god do they spread. I discovered them Saturday afternoon and by the time I was done yesterday night the ones I had left for a day had almost doubled.

Either way, all plants that needed to get hosed, got it. I will reapply in 7 days and then again 7 days after that. From there on I will use the water treatment for prevention and maintenance.

Steve . Thank you for the advice with the Lady Bugs. I won’t waste my money since I wouldn’t be releasing them indoors. Kind of makes sense now that you mention it, silly me. :)

I did order earthworms this year for Bed#1 to start them working in the soil and compost. A lot easier to contain something if you bury it, ‘eh ?

Miss Mocc . You flatter me with your kind words. Yes, they are my children for all intents and purposes. As any parent can sympathize, when your kids get sick you make ‘em better. Granted I would never spray a human child with insecticidal soap . . . wait . . . maybe I would . . . that is a different thread all together. :p

I know aphids seem small fry in comparison to what I could be dealing with, but a nuisance is a nuisance and given my overly dramatic nature, any ant hill gets renovated into a mountain after I am done with it. A wise friend advised to NUKE ‘EM . . . and so I did.

Phil . You are indeed blessed to be able to garden in a more “natural setting” than I, who is unfortunately in the heart of suburbia where the soil is back filled with field stone and the bored housewives (no offense) spray raid on anything that crawls.

Ken . Unfortunately I had to spray the entire plant for some. I guess I can suffer a year without my blue wax if it means the plants will be healthier overall. But, thank you as always for your sound advice. If I didn’t have them hiding in every crevice I might have been able to spray more strategically. But I was also going for overkill. I am a newbie after all. :)

Miss Babka . Thank you so much for the info about the nozzle. I looked over the website that Ci_lantro provided and agree, I will most definitely be soaked after using this, but the design is genius. I am committed to a three week soap treatment, but plan to administer future maintenance with this lovely new toy you’ve shown me.

WW . Thank you for your support and keep up the good fight. We are all in this together. :)

Sandy . I intend to do just that after the soap treatments are done. I will be ordering the special nozzle that Babka recommended to get the job thoroughly done.

Jan . That handsome guy is ‘Cascades’, one of my top ten personal favorites. There are a bunch of posts recently about it where I posted other pics. Hope I can enable you to give him a shot in your garden. :)

Don . leave it to you to make me laugh amidst panic. Thank you, Sir.

Ci_lantro . Thank you sooooo much for the link. This made my life a lot easier when I began to search for it via online retailer. I wasn’t about to hold my breath that my local garden center would carry something this specialized.

Hostafrenzy . I will take you up on that offer. Did you ever go back and look at those posts ? They are literally seconds apart. That was uncanny timing.

You are right, I do baby them. Maybe a little too much, but I am still young and my enthusiasm it peaked. I can’t help but obsess over them. For some it seems to help ::cough Andrew cough::, but others I’m finding like to be left alone (Mikado).

TJ . I agree with you 100% and plan to use the water treatments in the future, but since this was the first infestation and a pretty bad one at that, I am not taking any chances. Like Steve said, the soap is organic and does not persist, so I don’t have quite as much guilt.

Again, thank you everyone for your support and gracious information. We are made stronger by what doesn’t kill us. Granted it was only aphids, but the hysterics this caused me might as well have been palpitations.

Ludi