I'd hose it down. The ladybugs will be fine, the aphids, not so much.

tj

Sure look like aphids - blacks, peach, and greenies. Hose them down and off. The lady bugs can't keep up with that bad an infestation unless there are many of them.

Dave

I checked again after posting. I saw a few clusters of ladybug eggs. Would hosing it down kill the eggs?

Aphid eggs won't wash off as easily as the aphids do. That's because they're stuck in the honeydew that the aphids manufacture. That honeydew is sugar-based, however, and water soluble, so eventually they will come off when water hits them. Oh yes, if you knock them off, they're done.

Wow.....that's an impressive infestation. I think that you should begin squishing the aphids with your fingers to rapidly eliminate the whole mess, avoiding the eggs (if you're sure that they belong to the ladybugs).

As for the infestation deep into the folds and creases of the emerging leaves, a few applications of a properly mixed insecticidal soap might get them under control, but no promises. I'd be sorely tempted to snip those leaves off, personally.

Read up on aphids. They are a real nuisance in the vegetable garden as they multiply rapidly and if uncontrolled, can cause serious issues with our plants. But aphids are not that difficult to manage if one begins looking for them right away and keeps after them with the hose, as Dave suggests.

If you are 100% sure they are ladybug eggs then yes, try to avoid those. Easy to do with low pressure hose and your fingers, leaf by leaf.

It isn't an either/or situation. You need a combo of eliminating the pests while trying to maintain some of the good guys.

The infestation of aphids and their growth rate far outweigh the benefits of the ladybug eggs.

Dave

One of the pics I attached was from a leaf I snipped off, to take the pic and to severely reduce the infestation. One more leaf is just as bad. I was thinking of snipping that off and then leaving the rest of them for the ladybugs. Its so far in the season I don't think any of the okra will actually grow even without the aphids. Im thinking letting some stay for the ladybugs to eat and reproduce is a better investment for next year than to try to wipe out all the aphids. I could be wrong.

From your advices, I sprayed the parts that are heavily infested and cut off some of the leaves.

I googled ladybug eggs and the eggs under the leaf look exactly like them

If you already have ladybugs on the aphids, they (and possibly other insect predators) represent the best long-term solution. Anything that you might do to attack the aphids now should be done carefully, so as to not harm the ladybugs, their eggs, or their larvae.

I had a similar severe infestation on one of my soybeans this year. After inspecting for any beneficial insects (there were none visible) I used an insecticidal soap spray on the worst areas. I applied it again two days later, where the aphid numbers were highest. Shortly after that, though, ladybugs appeared... and within a week, their larvae were everywhere. They were not alone either, there were syrphid fly larvae & lacewing larvae too, both of which also devour aphids. Two weeks later, there was hardly an aphid to be found.

If an aphid infestation is severe & ants are present, the ants may be the real problem. They farm aphids for the sweet substance ("honeydew"), which the aphids produce in exchange for the ants protection. Ants will carry the aphids from plant to plant, which can cause very rapid spread of disease. Because ants will just re-introduce aphids, it is sometimes necessary to get rid of the ants first.

I rubbed petroleum jelly all a long the stem to trap the ants from going up and down. Wasn't sure what else to do about them. Even after carefully spraying ants and aphids remained. I did reduce them but nit nearly enough