Tips for Killing Aphids with Soapy Water
These tips should be followed if you want to successfully kill aphids with soap and water.
- Do not use more than 1-2% solution.
- Choose your soap wisely. Better success can be had with liquid castile soap, not the typical laundry detergent. Castile soap is vegetable-based, and with organic options on the market. So, if you have an organic garden, give this a try. Check out this article for more organic ways to get rid of aphids.
- Be mindful of when you apply your soapy water. Never add soapy water to your plants when the temperature is hot. It’s best to use your soapy water solution early mornings and late evenings when it’s cool.
- Spray directly to affected leaves and plants. As mentioned before, soapy water kills aphids by smothering. You have to completely cover them with the solution to get success.
- Always check to determine how your plants will react to a soapy water solution. Spray a small area of your plant (sometimes a leaf or two will suffice). If the plant begins to wilt or leaves transform to brown or yellow, that’s a sign of phototoxicity. If this happens, spray fresh, clean water onto plant leaves.
- In some cases, you can dilute your soapy water solution with more water if you deem it’s too strong.
Soap spray kills aphids but the spray must make contact with the aphid to kill it.