Each gardener in his practice must have encountered such a thing as aphids. This is a small insect that affects almost all garden crops, including cucumbers. In the article, we will consider how to deal with this pest both with folk remedies and with synthetic drugs.

Pest Summary

Aphids are small insects no larger than 2–3 mm in size, which, feeding on the sap of the plant, cause great damage to it. The color of this insect is very diverse: from yellow to black, but most often has a green color. This pest can be noticed when whole colonies are formed, which are mainly located on the lower part of the leaves of cucumbers, but with mass distribution they can affect the rest of the plant.Aphid inflicts great damage:

• sucks juice from leaves and stems, which can lead to the death of the whole plant;
• secretes a sticky substance that attracts ants;
• is a carrier of diseases;
• contributes to the infection of cucumbers with soot fungus.

Did you know? Aphids can also be beneficial. There are plants in the juices of which there is a lot of sugar, which disrupts the process of photosynthesis. And this insect, sucking the juice, reduces the amount of sugar.

Signs of occurrence

In order to prevent the infection of cucumbers by aphids during fruiting, you need to constantly inspect the plants and respond in time to the appearance of pests. You can determine it by the following signs:

• twisted, wilted and falling leaves;
• deformed young shoots and leaves;
• the accumulation of insects on the bottom of the leaves of the plant;
• sticky coating.

How to get rid of aphids on cucumbers during fruiting

If you do not pay attention to the infection of fruit-bearing cucumbers aphids in a timely manner, you can lose the whole crop in the future. You can get rid of this pest using various means, which include home-made infusions and synthetic drugs.

Folk remedies

The safest, cheapest and most affordable methods of killing aphids are folk remedies. These include: garlic, celandine, tobacco, dandelion, soap and ash, hot peppers. Consider the effectiveness of each of them.

Important! Spray with folk remedies you need to completely the whole plant, repeating the procedure after 2-3 days.

Celandine

To combat aphids use infusion of celandine. To prepare it, you need to take 150 g of raw or 250-300 g of dried raw materials, pour 10 liters of hot water, leave for 2 days, strain, and then spray the bushes.

Garlic

To prepare the garlic infusion, you need to pour 100 g of chopped garlic, pour 1 liter of water, let it brew for a day, cover, strain. Then dilute the solution in 9 l of water and process the cucumbers from the spray gun.

Dandelion

The infusion, made from the roots and leaves of dandelion, is an effective tool to combat aphids. 1 kg of the prepared mixture should be filled with 3 liters of water and insisted for a day. After this, strain and spray the plants with a spray gun.

Soap and ash

For this method, laundry soap is used. The solution is made from 1/4 of a bar of soap, 1 cup of wood ash and 5 liters of water, which should be infused for a day. The affected leaves should be wiped with a sponge dipped in the prepared product.

Hot pepper

In the manufacture of pepper infusion, 40-50 g of finely chopped capsicum red pepper is used, which is poured with 1 liter of boiling water and kept for 1 hour. When the solution has cooled, it is diluted in 10 l of water and the bushes are treated.

Tobacco

For 10 liters of hot water take 400 g of dried tobacco leaves and 80 g of grated laundry soap. All this is insisted 2 days, covered with a lid. Filter and spray the bed with cucumbers.

Important! When processing cucumbers from aphids, it is necessary to alternate different means, since this type of parasite quickly gets used to the solutions used.

Synthetic drugs

In addition to folk methods of fighting aphids, there are also synthetic drugs. These include:

1. Aktara - an insecticide that destroys the pest in 1 treatment (2 g of the product is diluted in 10 liters of water).
2. Fitoverm - a biological product that is not harmful to health can be used before harvest (2 ml of the drug is diluted in 1 liter of water).
3. Inta-Vir - universal insecticide, which is used after flowering (1 tablet is dissolved in 10 l of water).
4. Spark from Aphids Double Effect - a preparation of biological origin, safe for health (10 l of water is used per 10 g of substance).
5. "Arrow" - biological product, toxic (50 g of this powder is diluted in 10 l of water). 2-3 days after its use, cucumbers can be plucked from the beds and eat, washed thoroughly.

A feature of synthetic products is that they must be used immediately after preparation, because after a few hours they lose their quality. In some cases, you should not forget about the safety precautions, which include the use of protective gloves, masks and protective clothing.

Did you know? Ants protect aphids from their enemies: ladybugs, ticks, lacewings. And the aphid, in return, feeds the ants with honey dew, which stands out from her body in the form of sweet drops.

How to prevent the appearance of aphids on cucumbers

Aphids on cucumbers multiply very quickly and can also destroy all plants just as quickly. To avoid such an outcome and protect your crop, you need to carry out preventive measures, which are as follows:

• regularly check the leaves of cucumbers for aphids;
• destroy anthills located near the garden, as ants can spread aphids over long distances;
• remove weeds and garbage from the beds, in which various pests breed;
• after harvesting in the autumn, dig the soil;
• plant onions, garlic, dill, parsley near a bed with cucumbers, which scare away harmful insects with their smell and attract ladybugs, lacewings;
• keep a sufficient distance between the bushes when planting, do not plant cucumbers densely;
• change the landing site every year.

With proper care of the beds with cucumbers, timely preventive measures, as well as the detection of infection by aphid bushes, it is possible to prevent the death of plants in time and, accordingly, increase the quantity and quality of the crop.