How can honeysuckle be treated against aphids during flowering and fruiting?

Honeysuckle is a plant that serves as a garden decoration and a source of delicious berries. Not all types of honeysuckle are edible. Garden owners plant some bushes only for decorative purposes. But there are also varieties that can provide their owner with large, tasty berries. Honeysuckles bloom relatively late: in May-June, although they are considered one of the earliest. Due to late flowering, gardeners often suffer from such a misfortune as aphids on honeysuckle. Pests do not allow the plant to bloom normally and set fruit. It's a shame to be left without a harvest because of small insects.

Causes of aphids

Why should we take the massive invasion of “green midges” seriously? Any gardener knows that aphids feed on plant juices. When there are a lot of insects, they can quickly “dry” the bush.

The sticky substance (mucus) secreted by aphids creates a breeding ground for the proliferation of viruses and the formation of fungal diseases of crops.

To effectively combat aphids on honeysuckle, the farmer needs to know the causes of pests. There are several factors creating favorable conditions:

• insufficient number of beneficial insect predators on the site;
• high average daily air temperatures (especially in spring);
• the presence of anthills in the garden;
• mistakes made by the farmer while growing trees and shrubs.

For your information! If there are a lot of ants in the garden, it will be difficult to fight aphids on honeysuckle. The inhabitants of the “stick” houses protect flying parasites and feed on their secretions.

Common honeysuckle pests: photos and descriptions

The roseate leaf roller is a small, heavily pubescent brown butterfly whose caterpillars eat young foliage located on actively growing shoots. Sometimes the growing points of the honeysuckle, in the photo, suffer from pests, and the damaged parts of the bush combine into a dense lump covered with cobwebs.

The honeysuckle fingerwing, or rather the caterpillar of this brownish or gray butterfly, penetrates deep into the ovary and eats not only the pulp, but also the seeds. This leads to premature coloring of fruits blue and their dropping, which, if there is an abundance of pests, can seriously reduce plant yields.

Honeysuckle aphid is the most frequent, but always unwanted guest on the honeysuckle bush. During the season, at least two generations of this honeysuckle pest may appear, the photo of which well reflects the widespread nature of the damage.

The damage caused by adult aphids and their larvae is expressed in the weakening of shrubs by sucking juices from leaves and young shoots.

One of the effective ways to combat aphids is to treat honeysuckle with an infusion of tobacco dust with the addition of fish solution at the rate of 100 grams per 10 liters of water. A layer of liquid should cover all foliage and shoots affected by pests. To do this, spraying is carried out in dry weather and the bush is treated from all sides.

The gooseberry moth is a large motley butterfly that lays eggs in mid-summer, from which caterpillars soon emerge feeding on leaves and young growth.

Willow and acacia scale insects are pests of honeysuckle, as in the photo, attaching to shoots and sucking juices from them. As a result, the plant weakens greatly. Fruiting fades, and after some time the bush dies.

Sometimes on the leaves of honeysuckle you can see winding stripes with a dried out and pale surface. This is the result of the activity of larvae that develop from eggs laid into the thickness of the leaf blade by various types of leaf miner flies.

By making winding passages in the foliage and feeding on plant sap, as in the photo, the honeysuckle pest interferes with the process of photosynthesis and slows down the growth of the bush.

Treatment of honeysuckle bushes with chemical insecticides should be carried out in the form of fine-drip irrigation and only in dry weather. A day or two after spraying, check the effectiveness of the procedure and, if necessary, re-treat.

At the same time, we must not forget that the spring use of chemicals for edible honeysuckle is unacceptable, otherwise toxic drugs cannot be avoided on the ovaries. In the fall, be sure to prune and destroy all branches and foliage damaged by pests and diseases, including those that have already fallen.

How to recognize an affected plant

Most gardeners know that the body length of aphids can reach 8 mm. Most often, insects are found on the back side of leaf blades. It is easy to notice affected plants:

1. Crops lose their healthy appearance, the green mass fades.
2. The leaves dry out, curl, and fall off.
3. The growth of shrubs stops.

Signs of plant damage have some differences, depending on the type of parasitic insects. Honeysuckle is most often attacked by cereal aphids. It is also called ordinary.

Honeysuckle pests and their control

An urgent topic for any gardener is honeysuckle pests and their control using effective, but safe for the garden, means. We'll talk about this later in the article.

Common spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch. - very small pests of honeysuckle that feed on the sap of young plant tissues. They have 4 pairs of legs. The body is 0.25-0.43 mm long, oval, greenish-yellow or orange-red. Females overwinter under plant debris and under the bark of trees and shrubs. In the spring, young leaves colonize, feed, weave thin webs and lay eggs. The larvae of each generation, depending on weather conditions, develop from 8 to 20 days. During the growing season, more than 10 generations of the pest develop in open ground. Damaged leaves turn yellow, become deformed, turn brown and dry out. In most cases, the mite spreads from nurseries with planting material, as well as with various cut flowers and potted indoor plants. This pest damages over 200 species of various plants, including honeysuckle.

Control measures. Spraying plants when a pest appears with one of the preparations: fitoverm, fufanon, kemifos, actellik, lightning.

Apical honeysuckle aphid.

Honeysuckle aphid Hayhurstia tataricum Aizenb. - a small sucking insect of olive green color. It feeds on the juice of young leaves at the ends of the shoots. Damaged leaves become deformed, fold upward, turn yellow and dry out.

Control measures. Trimming and burning single tips of shoots with aphid colonies. Spraying the bushes immediately after flowering and in large numbers in the summer, after picking berries, with one of the preparations: Fitoverm, Fufanon, Kemifos, Kinmiks, Actellik, Iskra, Inta-Vir.

Cereal-honeysuckle aphid.

Honeysuckle aphid Rhopalosiphoninus lonicerae Sieb. - a small insect of light yellow color, feeds on the juice of tissues. Aphids suck sap from the underside of leaves, the edges of which curl down. Yellow necrotic spots appear on the upper side of the leaf, which turn brown and dry out, but a yellow halo always remains. When the pest population is large, the leaves dry out prematurely.

Measures, struggle. The same as against the honeysuckle aphid.

Red-legged shieldweed.

The red-legged stink bug Pentatoma rufipes L. is a large bug with a body length of 13-17 mm. The color above is brown with a bronze tint with frequent black dots, and below is rusty-red with black dots. The antennae, the middle part of the notch of the anterior margin of the pronotum, the tip of the scutellum and the legs are orange, the last 2 antennal segments are blackish, the ventral rim above is black with red-yellow stripes. Adult bedbugs and their larvae feed on the sap of the tissues of deciduous trees and shrubs.

Control measures. Preventive spraying of shrubs in the spring, before flowering or immediately after it, with one of the preparations: Fufanon, Kemifos, Kinmiks, Actellik, caviar, Inta-Vir. If the pest population is large, repeated spraying is carried out in the summer with the same preparations.

Narrow-bodied honeysuckle.

Narrow-bodied honeysuckle borer Agrilus coeruleus Rossi. - a shiny green beetle with a body 7-8 mm long. The larvae are white, legless, almost cylindrical in shape, and have 2 horn-like processes at the posterior end of the body. The beetles fly at the end of May - June, feeding on honeysuckle bushes, gnawing leaves from the edges. After fertilization, females lay eggs on shoots and leaf petioles. The hatched larvae bite into the shoots and eat away the ringing and longitudinally sinuous passages under the bark, filling them with dark brown excrement. Before autumn, the larvae finish feeding, overwinter in damaged shoots and pupate there in the spring. Shoots damaged by the borer gradually dry out.

Control measures. Annual preventive spraying of bushes in the spring, before flowering and immediately after it, with fufanon or its analogues.

Honeysuckle barbel.

Honeysuckle beetle Oberea pupillata Gyllh. - a large beetle with a body 20 mm long and long antennae. The beetle is brown-yellow, the elytra are gray-black. The larva is white-yellow, lives and feeds inside honeysuckle shoots, eating out the middle. Damaged shoots gradually dry out, and woody shoots show holes left after the beetles emerge. During additional feeding, adult beetles damage the leaves by roughly gnawing off the leaf blades.

Control measures. Timely pruning and burning of drying branches with larvae. Annual preventive spraying of bushes in the spring, before or after flowering, with fufanon or its analogues. On lignified shoots, additional injections are made into the holes with a solution of the drug Fufanon. Single beetles are collected and destroyed.

What can be processed

If there are not too many pests, there is a real chance of getting rid of aphids on honeysuckle using folk remedies. In case of massive damage to plants, it is impossible to do without chemical treatment. The most experienced gardeners do not resort to harsh methods and carry out preventive measures in a timely manner. This helps to avoid the use of synthetic compounds and preserves the ecology of the site.

Folk remedies

The use of natural preparations is not dangerous for birds and animals. You can treat honeysuckle against aphids with folk remedies after the bush has flowered. Such procedures do not degrade the quality of the berries.

During fruiting, honeysuckle is also allowed to use natural remedies for protective purposes. Most of these compositions repel aphids with a pungent odor and gently remove pests from the garden.

Onion peel

Spraying with a decoction prepared from natural phytoncides is a reliable and accessible method for every gardener to get rid of aphids. It’s easy to prepare the product:

• mix the husks (600 g) with water (10 l), cook for 20–25 minutes;
• leave the broth to brew for a day;
• strain;
• mix the decoction with laundry soap shavings (100 g).

For your information! You can use tar soap.

Solutions

Working mixtures are prepared in clean containers, enameled or plastic. It is not advisable to use metal containers.

If aphids appear on plants, you need to inspect nearby crops. Pests often spread over large areas.

Garlic

To repel aphids, a decoction is often prepared from fresh slices of this fragrant plant. Operating procedure:

• Chop garlic cloves (400 g), add water;
• bring to a boil, remove from heat, cool;
• strain;
• add soapy water (100 g of laundry soap per bucket of water);
• pour into a spray bottle.

As an additional measure, farmers place garlic shoots near the affected plant. You can treat honeysuckle with garlic during flowering. This will not affect the development of culture.

Tobacco

Many gardeners use dry shag to sprinkle the soil. Aphids cannot tolerate the smell of tobacco.

The bush is isolated from parasites in a natural way. To repel pests already on the honeysuckle, the plant is sprayed with tobacco infusion.

Wood ash

Even if honeysuckle begins to bloom, you can spray the bushes with ash infusion. The product is harmless to humans, birds and animals.

Wood ash (a glass) is mixed with water (10 l), left for a day. Then a soap solution is added and the honeysuckle is treated with the mixture.

Infusions

Shrubs need to be sprayed with natural compounds regularly, at intervals of up to three days. This is necessary to achieve sustainable results.

The concentration of products based on natural components can be changed within small limits, this does not affect the health of the plants. Duration of treatment is up to two weeks, depending on the degree of damage to the crops.

Milk serum

When honeysuckle berries begin to ripen, you can carry out routine or preventive treatment of the bush with a whey solution. Aphids do not tolerate sour odors.

Some gardeners spray the bushes with a spray bottle. But most of them water the honeysuckle with whey using plastic watering cans.

For your information! It is better to treat honeysuckle with natural compounds in the evening. After spraying the plants, experienced farmers cover the plants with polyethylene. This enhances the effect of the procedures.

Chemicals

Insecticides are used in early spring, before crops begin to bloom. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the dosages specified in the instructions for the drugs.

Working solutions are prepared in stages:

• dissolve the chemical in water (1 l);
• bring the amount of mixture to 9–10 l

Most chemicals remain active for up to two days. Secondary processing is carried out when the berries have already been collected.

"Green Soap"

The use of this natural contact insecticide always gives excellent results. The product not only kills pests, but also treats plants from many diseases. Upon contact with parasites, “Green Soap” forms a film that blocks air access. The substance also gets on the leaves and is difficult to clean with water.

The concentration of the product depends on the type of pest. The working solution must be prepared in accordance with the instructions. Green soap is low cost and combines well with other chemicals.

The product is not used for root treatments.

Chemicals

Chemicals are very effective against aphids and other pests, but unlike plant components, they are quite toxic to people and pets.

Fufanon

This is a modern insecticide whose active ingredient is malathion. The drug is available in ampoules, in the form of a concentrated emulsion of 2 and 10 ml. The contents are diluted in a small amount of water and after complete dissolution, mixed with 10 liters of water. Currants should be sprayed early in the morning or after sunset. The harvest can be harvested no earlier than three weeks after the last spraying.

Aktara

The drug has a strong impregnating effect, so it becomes fatal to all insect pests that feed on plant sap. "Aktara" can persist in plant tissues for up to 60 days. The insecticide belongs to class III and is moderately dangerous at a concentration of 0.02%. The drug is available in granules, suspension or liquid form.

In order to avoid poisoning, harvesting should be done 30 days after treatment.

Intavir

"Intavir" is an effective drug that destroys a wide range of pests. The drug is not used for prophylaxis due to its high toxicity. It is available in tablets and powder form. The components are dissolved in water according to the instructions.

If the composition is stored for a long time and sediment forms in it, it is useless to use.

Boric acid

Boric acid is useless against aphids, but it effectively kills ants that contribute to the spread of aphids. To do this, boric acid powder is mixed with powdered sugar and scattered on ant paths. Find out how to treat cherries against aphids from this article.

Copper sulfate

Copper sulfate in its pure form and as part of Bordeaux mixture is an inexpensive and most common chemical used to kill pests. To spray currants, use a 1% or 3% solution of copper sulfate in water.

Spraying with copper sulfate is carried out regularly and ends a month before harvest.

Dichlorvos

"Dichlorvos" has proven itself in the destruction of various insects. It is available in aerosol packaging, which makes it convenient to use in any conditions. When processing currants, do not place the sprayer too close to the young leaves so as not to damage them.

Potassium permangantsovka

Potassium permanganate is not considered an active drug against aphids, but it can provide some assistance in the fight against insects. A small amount of potassium permanganate is dissolved until it turns pink, and then the solution is diluted in 10 liters of water.

Karbofos

This is an organophosphorus drug in chemical composition and spectrum of action similar to dichlorvos. When working with this insecticide, precautions should be taken.

Aphid repellent plants

Most often, pelargonium and spicy basil are planted next to shrubs. Plants repel pests with strong aromas that do not cause discomfort to people.

Geranium and basil are often used against plant pests in the home. Repellents feel great in ordinary pots and boxes.

Many gardeners place beds of fragrant herbs (mint, citrus fruits, marigolds, basil, thyme) near the bushes. Repellents protect not only honeysuckle, but also surrounding cultural plantings within a radius of several meters.

Types of scale insects that attack honeysuckle

The following types of scale insects can be found on honeysuckle:

• Parthenolecaniiim corni Bouche (acacia) - representatives of this species are polyphagous and can damage about 150 varieties and species of plants. With the arrival of spring, when the air temperature warms up to +9. 10°C the larvae settle on young shoots, branches and leaves and begin to suck out the nutritious juices from them. Acacia false scale
• Lepidosaphes ulmi L. (apple spot) are also polyphagous pests that parasitize 30 plant species. As a result of infection, the trunk and branches become covered with brown spots and gradually dry out. If there are a lot of scale insects, their activity can lead to the death of the plant. They can be recognized by their elongated body, which will be curved in the shape of a comma.

On a note! Apple comma scale is most common in gardens where there are many trees!

Apple comma scale

Chionaspis salicis L. (willow) – larvae emerge in the spring. They actively spread throughout the plant and attach to the bark. As a result of parasitism, honeysuckle weakens.

Among the scale insects that feed on honeysuckle, most reproduce by laying eggs, but some are viviparous. Fixed individuals can be found on the underside of leaves, as well as in those places where cuttings are attached to the branch. The dispersal of young larvae usually occurs in the spring. When there is a large cluster, the parasites are located so closely that they can be mistaken for a plaque that stretches along the large veins on the foliage.

Natural enemies of aphids

If there are a lot of ladybugs and hover flies on the site, the gardener need not worry about the massive spread of aphids. Small birds also destroy pests. Experienced farmers feed their feathered helpers and set up tree houses for them. Every garden has beneficial insects for which aphids are food.

What insects save currants from aphids?

Honey plants planted next to currants: sunflower, echinacea, alyssum, yarrow will decorate the garden plot and attract ladybugs and lacewings - biological enemies of aphids. Umbrella herbs anise and caraway are a favorite habitat for predatory bugs, Aphelinus ichneumon wasps and earwigs that feed on aphids.

Preventing the appearance of aphids on the site

The golden rule for all farmers is to maintain cleanliness throughout the entire area and a well-groomed garden. If you carry out autumn health measures for plants correctly, you won’t have to look for ways to combat parasites later.

How to prevent the spread of aphids? Experienced farmers advise:

• get rid of ants, move their houses outside the fenced area;
• attract more beneficial insects to the site (ground beetles, ladybugs, gall midges);
• plant repellent flowers and herbs near the bushes;
• regularly feed the bushes, following the norms;
• If a small number of aphids are found, wash the honeysuckle with water from a hose (after manually collecting pests from the leaves).

A prerequisite for the health of fruit trees and shrubs is seasonal whitewashing. In autumn, the garden should be cleared of dead wood and rotting leaves.

To avoid the spread of aphids on the site, the gardener needs to regularly inspect the crops and notice pests in time. When the number of insects is small, natural compounds are used against them to preserve plants and soil from the effects of chemicals.

Massive aphid infestations are suppressed only by synthetic drugs. You need to know when to apply the chemical composition: during the flowering of honeysuckle, during the fruiting period, or only in early spring. Attracting helping insects and birds to the garden and planting repellent plants will help the farmer curb the growth of the aphid population and prevent crop loss.

How to deal with ants on honeysuckle

The main distributors of aphids on the site are ants . They feed on sweet honeydew - a liquid that appears as a result of the activity of pests. Crawling from place to place, the ants carry aphid larvae on their bodies, infecting new bushes.

Anthills are filled with boiling water or Anteater preparation, and the soil in the tree trunk is loosened. Ants do not tolerate interference in their daily life and begin to look for a new place to settle.

Honeysuckle branches are wrapped in cotton cloth and thickly smeared with birch tar . It is difficult for ants to overcome such a barrier, so the risk of pests is significantly reduced.

Signs of aphid damage to tomatoes

Signs of damage by small pests on tomatoes and cucumbers:

• leaves, ovaries and young shoots first turn yellow and curl, and then dry out and crumble;
• on the fruits and tops you can see a sticky coating secreted by insects, called sweet honeydew; ants are very fond of it;
• the bushes stop developing and begin to hurt.

Aphids usually do not touch fruits that have already set on adult plants, but young shoots or seedlings can become sick and die, since such insects are also carriers of various infections and viruses. Therefore, the optimal time to get rid of aphids on tomatoes is the period before flowering.

Pest protection and pest prevention

Simple prevention will help prevent white plaque on honeysuckle leaves and other diseases, which consists of:

• Choosing healthy planting material.
• Compliance with the rules of plant agricultural technology.
• Proper selection of varieties that are adapted to certain climatic conditions.
• Proper watering without stagnation of water at the roots or drought of the soil.
• Timely removal of weeds and loosening of the soil.
• Carrying out sanitary pruning.

Very often, the answer to the questions of why honeysuckle leaves turn black, which is why an infection or fungus develops, is damage to the plant by insects. Pests spread most of the bacteria, fungal spores and viruses. Colonies also cause the vine to become weak, metabolic processes are disrupted, and immunity to diseases is lost. Despite the fact that only some parasites pose a danger to the plant, they are the ones who spread diseases.

The most common pests are:

• Aphids are insects up to 7.5 mm long with developed heads, legs and antennae. All gardeners should know what aphids are on honeysuckle and how to treat the plant. After all, the pest is dangerous throughout its development and for all parts of the vine. Aphids settle on leaves, buds, and young shoots. The insect sucks out the juice, depleting the honeysuckle. During its life, the parasite secretes so-called “copper dew”, on which a variety of fungal infections develop. To eliminate the insect, use Aktellik, Confidor, Aktara, Elexar. Spraying the bush in calm, clear weather with tobacco infusion with the addition of laundry soap (100 g of tobacco is infused in 10 liters of water for 24 hours) has also proven to work well.
• The leaf roller is a pest that feeds on the vegetative organs of the plant. The adult is a butterfly with a wingspan of up to 2.5 cm, the larvae are caterpillars up to 2 cm.
• Scale is a common “plaque” in the garden and on houseplants. They suck out the juice, thereby weakening the plant. A depressed state is an excellent breeding ground for infection. If no action is taken, the plant dies. Scale insect on honeysuckle, how to fight? In the summer, with a break of 14 days, the vine is sprayed with Rogor and Actellik.
• Flies are insects that attack plants with great intensity. The insects themselves are not harmful, but their larvae - worms in honeysuckle - can destroy the fruit in a few weeks. Prevention - spring spraying with broad-spectrum insecticides (Zolon, Gardona, Nexion, Chlorophos).

Preventive measures

Honeysuckle is a capricious plant, and treating its diseases is very difficult. Therefore, it is easier to prevent them, and for this you need to know about effective preventive measures. So, any treatments should be carried out in the very early spring, before the buds open. This will allow you to find and neutralize fungi and parasites. After harvesting, treatments are also carried out. For prevention, you can use such means as “Skor”, “Chorus”. The drugs will help get rid of the fungus if its spores remain from the winter, or prevent its appearance.

Bordeaux mixture also gives very good results. In addition, the appearance of fungus will not occur if you treat the plants with copper sulfate. 100 grams of the substance are diluted in a bucket of water. If the disease manifests itself during the fruiting period, you need to act very carefully so that the grown berries can be eaten. Here you should choose non-aggressive products for processing: “Fitosporin”, “Baktofit”, “Albit”. The same means are used after fruiting.

In conclusion, we will add a few more useful rules for those gardeners who grow honeysuckle on their site.

Honeysuckle is not a particularly disease-resistant plant, so growing it healthy at home can be difficult. Culture is extremely important to care. Follow the regime of watering, loosening and processing. Don’t forget to cover honeysuckle for the winter at the end of autumn. If honeysuckle is sick, measures must be taken immediately. Immediately remove all damaged branches, collect leaves, burn it all away from the site

If there is an increased prevalence of pathogens and a large number of destroyed plants, the soil will have to be dug up and disinfected. Pay special attention to seedlings at the purchasing stage. Immediately discard sick and lethargic specimens

Contact only trusted nurseries.