How about spray the plants with a strong spray of water from the hose to dislodge the aphids. Take off the nozzle and use your thumb to make a strong fan spray that will do the job without harming your plant. You can also use the other hand to squish the insects.

The water pressure (45 to 60 psi) might be too much for plants and can rip them apart if not used with care. The same results, knocking Aphids or Thrips off the plant, can be done woth a hand squeeze spray bottle filled with water with less potential plant damage.

I don't use any oils or pesticides for insect control as I grow organically. google Arbico. they specialize in beneficial insects. I ordered three praying manti egg cases. one for my yard and for my neighbors on both sides. one egg case hatches abou two hundred manti. They devour every insect you hate. and once they live out their life cycle they lay their own egg cases. so now I have an ongoing population of manti. I live an hour north of death Valley so its a desrt hot blazing summers freezing winters if my manti can stay alive year after year your area will support them as well. also consider Ladybugs these are literalyy the toughest bug in the pack they eat every single pest bug you can imagine problem is when they eat everything they move on to find more food. I even take my baby manti indoors to work over my bonsai and houseplants I leave a couple of windows open all the time for my cats to get in and out. so manti have an escape, or entrance if they choose. I grow vegetables, tobacco, fruit, housplants and bonsai. this was a permanent and inexpensive solution to my bug problem. Good Luck!!!!

I definitely have always loved the idea of fighting bugs with bugs. It just feels more organic than anything. But I'm afraid that I will go from having an aphid problem to having a ladybug problem to having a manti problem. How do you balance it out perfectly? Do you have alot of praying manti around? I do have alot of toads around.