How to Keep Yellow Aphids off Green Beans
- 1). Place row covers on top of green bean seedlings to keep yellow aphids off the plants. Green beans are most susceptible to aphid damage when they are young. Remove the covers when the plants have grown too large for the cover to remain anchored.
- 2). Check green beans for aphids every other day. Look under the leaves, and scrutinize the upwind edge of your garden the most. Aphids may cause the leaves to curl under, providing a hiding place for the pests and making it more difficult for you to see and eliminate them.
- 3). Brush off and crush any aphids you find during the early stages of an infestation. Alternately, wash them off with a stream of water from a garden hose, or prune off the entire leaf if several aphids are present on one leaf.
- 4). Place ant baits around the garden, if ants are present. Ants should be eliminated because they eat the honeydew produced by aphids and help protect them against natural predators.
- 5). Mix 1/2 cup of liquid soap and 1 tsp. vegetable oil with 1 gallon of water in a bucket. Pour this solution into a plastic spray bottle and spray visible aphids as a means of control. The soap solution kills aphids and other insects it is sprayed on, but will only kill the aphids it contacts and will need to be repeated.
- 6). Spray the garden with a pesticide, if other methods of control fail. Look for one that contains malathion or dimethoate. Follow the instructions on the container for use.
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