How to Control Aphids Naturally

To prevent damage to plants from aphids, try one of the following home remedies:

• Mix equal parts mouthwash and water in a spray bottle, and spray all sides of the plants once a week.
• Plant garlic cloves in the ground around the plant.
• Crush garlic cloves and soak in water, then spray the liquid on plants every two weeks.

Watch this video to find out more.

Further Information

• How to Control Aphids in Your Garden (article)
• Using Predator Insects to Control Garden Pests (article)
• Protect Trees and Shrubs with Dormant Sprays (article)
• How to Use Neem Oil in Your Garden (article)

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Tricia Craven Worley: Every gardener knows that aphids are the bane of our existence, and now is the time when they really start munching on my roses!

Danny Lipford: Well, I understand you have a little concoction there.

Tricia Craven Worley: Well, I do. And it’s natural, which I of course always prefer to the heavy chemicals.

Danny Lipford: OK.

Tricia Craven Worley: This is equal parts of mouthwash and water.

Danny Lipford: Mouthwash? It seems like that would harm any plant.

Tricia Craven Worley: Well, no. It’s an antibacterial mouthwash, and I think by diluting it with the water, it kind of just mellows it out.

And what I do is I come out here, and once a week I spray the whole plant. Isn’t this beautiful? Look at these beautiful purple leaves.

Danny Lipford: That’s real pretty.

Tricia Craven Worley: It’s aphid gourmet food. Well, they just love it at this point, this is when the plant is so vulnerable.

So you want to make sure that you spray the plant—all sides, especially the undersides, that’s where the aphids like to start munching. Oh, and look at this beautiful new bud.

Danny Lipford: It won’t be long with that.

Tricia Craven Worley: Oh, that’ll be beautiful. So if you do this once a week, it’ll work very, very well. You know, there’s something else that works equally as well and that’s garlic.

Danny Lipford: Oh, really?

Tricia Craven Worley: Uh, huh.

Danny Lipford: Well, what do you do with the garlic?

Tricia Craven Worley: Well sometimes some of my friends have had very great success repelling aphids by planting garlic cloves, that you would just buy in the grocery store, around the plant.

Something else you can do is make kind of a garlic tea where you take the garlic and you crush it, and you put it in water and let it steep. And then you again spray it. You want to do that maybe twice a month.

Danny Lipford: Huh. Well if you use all that garlic, you’re going to need some of that mouthwash.

Tricia Craven Worley: Oh, Danny!