When growing tomatoes, problems often arise caused by weather conditions, diseases, and pests. A common misfortune is the defeat of aphid tomatoes. From the article below you will learn what types of aphids exist, and how to deal with them.

What types of aphids eat tomatoes?

Aphids differ in external characteristics, in the structure of the body, so it is recommended to know which species appeared on plants and what features they have.

Black

Black garden aphid is divided into the following types:

• brown;
• dark green;
• blue

Externally, insects are about 0.5 cm long, with a flat body in the form of an oval and many legs.

Did you know? Some of the aphids at birth are already pregnant, so they breed so quickly.

They settle on the trunks of tomatoes, because they eat plant juice. Typically, the settlement is massive, so the whole plant is covered with many insects, and not singly. The black subspecies lives up to 14 days, but manages to lay more than 100 eggs of the offspring.

White

White aphid externally has the shape of a drop, as well as a white color, which is why it is sometimes compared with drops of morning dew. If you look closely, you can see a typical structure for this species: proboscis, antennae, many legs. The body is translucent, can be with or without wings. Also, this species is called root.

Peach

A feature of this species is a small size compared to others, up to 2.5 mm in length. The body is oval, there is a trunk and antennae. The color is saturated, peachy, but a little transparent, sometimes it can be pinkish, eye color is brown. Females can be either winged or wingless.

Melon

It has several shades: from yellow to transparent green. It is also called cotton. These are the smallest insects of their species, since they reach a size of up to 1.8 mm. About 50 viruses act as carriers.

Why does aphid appear?

These insects feed on succulent plants, so tomatoes with their own amount of liquid and pulp are attractive to them. Other reasons for their appearance:

• mistakes in the cultivation of land;
• insufficient number of insects, or birds that eat aphids;
• a large number of garden ants, which contribute to the reproduction of aphids;
• infected plants;
• weather;
• low-quality land.

Important! When the first signs appear, it is necessary to begin the fight against pests, since they lay a large number of eggs and spread very quickly!

Aphids

Aphids are a very small insect. It is not always possible to notice a single individual.

Therefore, there are a number of signs of damage to these insects:

• a large number of insects in the lower part of the plant;
• twisting of the leaf and flower (due to the lack of a sufficient amount of juice that aphids drank);
• sticky mucus, which is also called a pad containing sugar (therefore, ants, because of their love for sweets, “protect” aphids);
• cessation of tomato growth and its rot.

It is necessary to pay attention to the development of a tomato: if it has yellowed leaves and grows slowly, this may be a sign of aphid damage.

What is aphid dangerous?

Since the basis of insect nutrition is plant juice, the plants gradually rot and lose the necessary substances for development. The peculiarity is that on insect secretions there may be spores of fungi, which are then difficult to get rid of. Pests, eating a plant, not only do not allow it to grow, but also become distributors of another ailment.

How to process tomatoes?

To quickly and permanently get rid of pests, you need to know how to deal with them. There are such methods:

• chemical;
• physical;
• using folk remedies.

Did you know? Aphid houses are called galls. When damaged, insects secrete fluid to repair the home, while losing weight and risking death from exhaustion!

Physical methods are the least effective, and manual collection or flushing with a hose is time consuming. But people often resort to them, because they believe that if there are tomatoes themselves, then they should not be processed with anything.

When the first signs of damage appear, measures are immediately taken, because insects spread quickly, especially during fruiting of the vegetable, since during this period the tomato bush is saturated with a lot of juice.

Chemicals

This is a quick and easy way to save the plant, because the aphid habitat is treated only once with the help of the product, and it disappears.

Important! When buying chemicals against aphids, study their effects on human health to avoid poisoning or allergies!

Anti-aphid preparations:

1. Karbofos. It is necessary to spray before flowering, as harmful substances are released within two weeks, after decay. It works only on adults, but not on eggs. To part 30 grams on 15 liters of water, to spray on places of accumulation of insects.
2. Bleaching powder. It is necessary to dilute 2 tablespoons with 15 liters of water, then process the leaves. A universal remedy for both the plant itself and the soil.
3. "Trichopol". Apply according to the scheme 20 tablets per 10 liters of water. Such a solution is safe for both tomatoes and human health. The drug is used to treat diseases, but as a chemical agent against insects can also be used.

Pay attention to the instructions of the drug used. This will not only help the plant get rid of pests, but also its fruits will be safe for humans when eaten.

Folk methods

If chemicals are not suitable, apply alternative methods that are also effective. But you need to know how to treat tomatoes so that the plant does not rot and develop well.

Use the following methods:

1. Using soda. To prepare the solution, three tablespoons of baking soda are mixed in a bucket of water, after which the affected areas are treated. It must be borne in mind that soda in large quantities affects the composition of the soil, and as a result, the plant develops more slowly.
2. Using ammonia. To do this, 2 tablespoons of ammonia are mixed with 10 liters of water, after which, for 10 days with a break of 2-3 days, you need to spray the plant around the entire perimeter and the adjacent plants for prevention.

Wood ash is also used, but it is effective if the aphid is close to the ground.

Useful recommendations and prevention

To prevent the appearance of insects, adhere to the recommendations:

• when aphids appear, immediately take measures to get rid of it;
• treat the site and seeds before planting;
• Do not fertilize tomatoes with nitrogen in large quantities, since it attracts pests;
• in the autumn to burn all the remains of plants, so that in case of illness destroy it.

Adhering to these rules, it is easy to avoid the appearance of insects.

Video: Folk remedy in the fight against aphids on tomatoes

Thus, there are many species of aphids that spread quickly on tomatoes, so it is recommended to take measures when detecting the first signs of infection. To do this, use chemical, physical and folk methods, which we described above. Choosing the right one will protect the plants on the site from such troubles.