How to treat viburnum from pests and aphids?

Viburnum, so named for the color of the berries - fiery red, like red-hot iron - grows in almost every summer cottage. Unfortunately, in every garden, it is also attacked by insects that can deprive the bushes of vitality in a short time. What, how and in what time frame it is necessary to process viburnum from aphids in order to prevent pests from actively multiplying is a topic that excites summer residents.

Black aphid

As soon as the first buds bloom on the viburnum, black (viburnum) aphids occupy the young shoots. Deprived of vital juices, young leaves are deformed, curled. Dark spots of various shapes appear on them, which leads to complete drying and death of young twigs. In one season, several generations of aphids appear, and the first is equipped with wings - it has the ability to move from bush to bush, capturing all the plants, not only viburnum.

The last generation hibernates at the base of the bush and at the first signs of the beginning of spring rushes up the trunks, getting closer to the buds beginning to swell. That is why an active fight against the pest begins in early spring.

Viburnum aphid damages the entire site, but the main habitat is viburnum bushes. All the main means of struggle are used on them.

There are two main stages in the fight against black aphids.

1. Creation of the most unfavorable conditions for laying eggs of the last, wintering generation. To do this, without regret, you have to cut out all the basal shoots, which abound in viburnum bushes. It is optimal to carry out such a thinning of the base of the bushes from the second half of summer.
2. Spring treatment of bushes from a pest using chemicals or folk remedies.

In the first days of spring, before using any remedies for the pest, the trunks of the viburnum bushes are cleaned of the exfoliated old bark - most pests hibernate under it. After all the debris has been removed, hot water is poured over the ground under the bush.

The use of pesticides

The first treatment is carried out as soon as the spring sun warms up. During this period, the pests come out of hibernation and begin to move to the kidneys. The most effective drugs include:

• "Aktara";
• "Decis";
• "Prestige";
• "Karbofos";
• "Fufanon".

All of them contain either neonicotinoids or phosphorus organics. They are also applicable in the fight against other pests of the viburnum - sawflies, gall midges, viburnum leaf beetle. Prepare working solutions according to the manufacturer's instructions.

It is necessary to spray viburnum from pests in dry, calm weather using personal protective equipment.

Good results are obtained by treating viburnum with a solution of "Nitrafen" at the rate of 200 g of the product per 10 liters of water. The drug also needs to be sprayed on the dwellings of aphids - carriers of aphids.

It is permissible to poison pests with chemicals only in early spring, since later periods of application will harm pollinating insects, especially bees.

Folk remedies

The fact that folk remedies are less effective in the fight against aphids is a fairly common misconception. Their effectiveness is not lower than industrial pesticides, if they are prepared and used according to all the rules. At the same time, solutions prepared according to "grandmother's" recipes can be used throughout the growing season. But it is better not to wait for the pest to firmly settle on the viburnum, but to spray the affected plants immediately after the pest is detected.

• Soap solution

Prepared from laundry or green soap - 300 g per bucket of water. Processing is carried out 2-3 times a week, after washing the bush with water from a hose under moderate pressure.Instead of soap, you can use the most inexpensive laundry detergent.

• Ash infusion

A glass of ash is brewed with a liter of boiling water, insisted for a day. Then add 40-50 g of soap or washing powder, bring the volume to 10 liters. Viburnum is sprayed once a week.

• Ammonia

A solution is prepared from 20 ml of alcohol and a bucket of water. Viburnum is treated from pests twice, less often - three times, the interval between spraying is 2 weeks.

• Tobacco infusion

250 g of tobacco or makhorka are infused in 5 liters of water for 2 days. Then they filter, add 5 liters of water and process the bushes.

• Pharmacy chamomile

Take 1 kg of dry flowers on a bucket of hot water, leave for 12 hours. Filter the infusion, add 2 parts of water to 1 part of the infusion. Plants are treated with the finished solution immediately after mixing.

• Feverfew (Caucasian chamomile)

300 g of crushed dried flowers are poured with a small amount of boiling water, insisted for 2 hours, filtered, water is added up to 10 liters and the viburnum is immediately sprayed - the grass successfully fights against many pests of horticultural crops.

Dried pyrethrum flowers can be purchased at drugstores or garden stores under the trade name Persian Powder. The manufacturer indicates the recommendations for use on the packaging.

• Needles

Pine or spruce needles are crushed and steamed with boiling water at the rate of 200 g of dry raw materials per liter of water. The infusion is kept tightly sealed for two days, after which it is sprayed with the affected bushes.

• Black henbane

If there are thickets of this plant nearby, take young rosette leaves (about 200-300 g), fill it with a bucket of hot water and leave for 13 hours. Before spraying, add 30-50 g of liquid soap to the infusion.

Black henbane is a poisonous plant; care should be taken when working with it.

Biological methods of control

The use of deterrent factors and the attraction of natural enemies of aphids is of great help in the fight against the pest.

• To scare away, one- and perennial plants are planted next to the viburnum bushes, whose aroma of aphids cannot stand: lavender, marigold, coriander, bow, etc.
• Ladybugs and other insects that feed on aphids are attracted by sowing dill or leafy celery.
• To lure small birds (tits, warblers, linnet), feeders, drinkers, nesting houses are equipped for them.

If attracting natural enemies of aphids to the site is one of the components of pest control, pesticides are used extremely carefully.

In the fight against aphids in the spring, all means are good. Their competent and timely use will save a beautiful bush with useful berries from pests and get a good harvest.