I have a habanero plant that got infested with bugs and was wilting. I sprayed it with sevin which killed all the bugs and my plant was MUCH happier... until it became infested with aphids. Not knowing much about sevin, I figured I'd just spray the plant again since it worked so well the first time. Then I researched it and I realized that I had not only killed the bugs that were killing my plants, but I killed all the bugs that were eating my aphids, hence the aphid infestation. I also learned that sevin has no effect on aphids, so spraying my plant with sevin had just given those aphids an awesome safe place to eat in peace!

So, what kills aphids? Well, a website tells me that a teaspoon of dishwater in a 32 oz spray bottle will do the trick. So the same day I sprayed the sevin, I do that. I also put it on a high pressure spray so that it also blasts the aphids off my plant at the same time. Then I research some more and I read that dish soap also eats away at the plant's protective wax and can kill the plant. Well crap! So (yes, still the same day) I go out with a spray bottle of plain water and spray off my plant.

I have decided that all this started when I used sevin in the first place and accidentally killed off all the beneficial bugs. So, maybe I should just reintroduce the beneficial bugs. But since I just sprayed with sevin, how long should I wait before introducing ladybugs? I don't want to just send a bunch of ladybugs into a gas chamber! Do you think it's safe to do now because I already sprayed off the sevin with soapy water, followed by clean water? Or should I still wait? How long before sevin spray stops killing bugs?