nope...
only ladybugs will make a meal out of aphids.
spiders are more into flying insects as they dont pick up stuff and eat it they have to wrap it and suck out the juice...
to overwinter i have came up with this little process that is a colaberation of all that i have tried and read.

remove plant from dirt and lightly shake off soil but not to where the roots are showing just enough to loose the aphid eggs in the top layer .
wash plant in insecticidal soap and replant into fresh container and move inside.
then watch it like a hawk and have the number for ladybug delivery ready in case they start .
any way you look at it aphids are real !@#holes and will destroy a plant unless you can controll or kill them .
now if you have 10 plants indoors in the same area and one gets them they all will withing a day or so and then what .....
I never use old soil as it will have eggs in it if there were aphids on the plants it came from.
good luck

shayne

could putting a bag of soil in the freezer kill aphid eggs?

so you do not trim it?

Why not wash off all the soil real good before dipping it?

I take it the plants are already in pots and go back into pots.

are you washing the roots in the insecticidal soap also?

Looking for ideas on keeping them alive. Mostly want some way to avoid the aphids.

This has some interesting info on non poison controls.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aphid Control Must Read for Dan

Wow, did I read that correctly--spray with Canola oil??!! Has anyone tried this??

Ravi

most oils will kill aphids as they cant breath and die with oil on them.
freezing will not kill eggs.
you want to end up with a plant and no eggs or aphids.
most greenhouses dont want old pots for this reason.

Just FYI when reusing pots it's best to make up a 10% water bleach mixture and dip your pots this will get rid of most unwanted critters as well as soil fungi which attack the plants.

As for the spiders it's my observation theat they die off for the winter survived by the eggs they've laid. I have a neat little redback jumping spider in both greenhouses
[img]http://neveryetmelted.com/wp-images/Redback.jpg[/img]
that is fun to watch.

Here is a link that might be useful:

For what it's worth I don't think you can avoid aphids. I have started plants from seed, inside with new soil and still ended up with aphids. I have tried insecticidal soap-both commercial and homemade, various oils, including neem, houseplant sprays, etc. and none worked for very long. Only ladybugs have controlled them for me. A local nursery owner told me about an aphid predator he uses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aphhidius matricariae

Wow....I have NEVER brought aphids in from outdoors. Not saying my peppers have never gotten aphids, but it's never out of control before the ladybugs, parasitic wasps and green lace wing larvae (AKA Aphid Lions) do their jobs. Yesterday I found green lace wing eggs on the underside of a leaf :D
Did you know these larvae feed on spider mites too? That's usually my issue here indoors, but never aphids.

Vera

Actually there are several species of small spiders that chow on aphids. Outside gardens should not have big aphid trouble because they have many predators. Types of flies, larvae, wasps all eat aphids.

Actually there are several species of small spiders that chow on aphids.

And they are?

I have some small indoor rose bushes on my windowsill I noticed a lot of white husks in a web - this is how I discovered my rose had aphids. But luckily there are a few nesting spiders that pick off the adults and ones that fall onto their webs. They are reluctant to tie them up sometimes but they get food where they can I think.

Also Lacewing and Hoverfly larvae feed on aphids.

As a side note microwaving old soil for a few mins is a good way to get rid of resident pest and practically eliminates damping off, obviously without the plant installed :)

LOL, interesting note on aphids: they are actually live-birthers -- ie they give birth to live aphid babies. So, whatever you are doing with the soil is likely not related to aphids at all.

Interesting.. I've read a number of aphid life cycle, control, studies and especially state agricultural sites like UMass Amherst/UMass Extension and CT Agricultural Experiment Station that report that there are different life cycles that include live birth and eggs:

They will then find a mate, the female will produce eggs, and the adults will then die.The eggs will over-winter and hatch in the spring.In the spring, these eggs all hatch to be wingless females.

Some aphid species have unusual and complex reproductive adaptations, while others have fairly simple reproduction. Adaptations include having both sexual and asexual reproduction, creation of eggs or live nymphs

In spring wingless female aphids hatch from overwintering eggs and soon give birth to many nymphs (males are not present).

And in fairness there are other URL's that report live birth:

Note: Most aphids, except for the sexual forms, do not have to mate in order to reproduce, and they produce live young, rather than eggs.

Most types of aphids found in greenhouses do not mate. All of the aphids present are females which can give birth to live nymphs. There is no egg stage. An adult female may live for up to one month. During this time, she may give birth to 60 to 100 live nymphs.

So I haven't a clue other that this disclaimer many URL's use:

Biology and Life Cycle

Most types of aphids found in greenhouses do not mate. All of the aphids present are females which can give birth to live nymphs. There is no egg stage. An adult female may live for up to one month. During this time, she may give birth to 40 to 100 live nymphs. About one week is sufficient for young aphids to reach maturity. Migratory winged aphids may appear when the colony becomes overcrowded or when the food supply is depleted. Outdoors, in the fall, winged aphids which mate and lay eggs appear so that aphids overwinter in the egg stage.


BOTH!