Hi Holly.

In general any soap mixed with water will kill the bugs, BUT when using the solution on plants it is best to buy forumulated insecticidal soap.

This is formulated to not irritate the plants. Some plants will be adversely affected by many soaps which really aren't soaps, but detergents filled with perfumes and other impurities that plants don't like.

Any nursery should carry insecticidal soap. You only mix a tiny amount with a lot of water so a single bottle will last you a long time.

Username 5, thanks again!

Seems these little buggers are only after the plants in my SFG. The veggies in containers are not affected, but that's a no-brainer.
It's just that this one particular tomato plant in the SFG (my first, and the first one to produce) is my baby. I named her Stella.
The Furry One thinks I'm nuts for talking to her.
I'll probably cry the first time I have to pick one of her tomatoes.
h.

I would AVOID Dawn at all cost.

One year I had a massive infestation of aphids on my tomatoes. After nearly beating the plants to death using a hard spray of water, I decided to mix up some Dawn (forgot what else I put in it, but I am convinced it was a reaction to the Dawn). In any case, after spraying 4 of my ten tomato plants, I decide to wait a day or two to see how it worked.

Well, the very next day the leaves turned this very impressive color of green, looking nice & healthy. I remember thinking, I should spray the rest of the plants but for some reason did NOT.

In the next couple of days the leaves changed from a luscious green to brown. ALL of the leaves that were sprayed (except any new growth) turned brown. The fruit & new growth were fine but those leaves NEVER recovered.

I talked to the local aggie about it, telling them exactly what I used & how much. Their conclusion was that it should NOT have had the effect it did.

So the lesson learned was when using something for the 1st time, try it on ONLY one plant then wait to see. If you make changes to your formula, test it again just to be sure.

I would certainly recommend being careful with anything you decide to use.

Good Luck,
Gumby_CT
ps. Who say leaves do NOT take in thru their leaves? bs

This is what I am trying in my garden... so far so good. But your mileage may vary in your garden.

It came from from this place originally.

I made it up as...

* 5 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 TBS. of baking soda
* 4 TBS. of Dr Bronner's Peppermint soap
* 1 gallon of water

and sprayed on the plant.

GL!
V.