Aphids are one of the main enemies of summer residents and gardeners. These insects attack plants, feed on its juices, which leads to the death of the crop. Dealing with aphids can be quite difficult. Today we will tell you about an effective remedy in the fight against this insect, ammonia.
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How does ammonia work on aphids?
Many cultivated plants suffer from aphids. The most delicious plants for the parasite are currants, viburnum buldenezh, roses, cherries, sweet cherries, apple trees, and cucumbers. But in general, these small parasites can be found on any cultivated plant.
Ammonia causes respiratory arrest and paralysis of the insect's respiratory system. In addition, it causes swelling and burns. As a result, the pest cannot breathe and dies from suffocation.
Composition and action
Ammonia is an aqueous solution of ammonium hydrate, consisting of volatile compounds of nitrogen and inorganic hydrogen (ammonia), and it has a pungent odor that repels insects.
In an individual exposed to ammonia vapor, the respiratory system is paralyzed and the insect dies. Having a sensitive sense of smell, parasites sense its presence for a long period of time and do not visit the treatment area.
The drug is familiar to many. First of all, its pungent and heavy smell. It appears to be a colorless liquid consisting of water and ammonia. Widely used in agriculture, as part of fertilizers. It is used in the food industry in the form of additive E237. It has long been used in medicine as an activator for loss of consciousness and a means for inducing the gag reflex. Included in household chemicals. For example, in stain removers, detergents and cleaning products. Used to feed indoor flowers.
Ammonia for aphids is not an insecticide. Its effect on the pest can be attributed to the by-products of using the substance. It irritates the gastrointestinal tract of the parasite, leading to mucosal burns, swelling, convulsions and death. Or it quickly paralyzes the insect's breathing.
Ammonia is a solution of ammonia (10%). Its composition contains 82% nitrogen, which provides an irritating effect of the product. By affecting the body of pests, ammonia affects their respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract. The consequence is swelling, burns of the mucous membrane, convulsions and death of the insect.
How to make a solution of ammonia, effective recipes for aphids
It is very simple to prepare the working solution. Prepare a ten-liter bucket of settled water.
IMPORTANT! Do not use water directly from a well or pipeline for spraying.
Carefully pour a bottle of ammonia (50 ml) into the bucket. Stir and use immediately. To prevent the solution from eroding, you can dilute the drug directly in a sprayer, then reduce the dose several times. For 1 liter of water you need 2 tablespoons of the drug.
To make the product stick better and stay on the leaves longer, add soap to the mixture. Laundry soap is the most effective. It is grated so that it dissolves faster.
To enhance the effect of the drug, you can add strong-smelling ingredients to it. For example, garlic infusion. First, grate or finely chop the head of garlic. Fill the mixture with water and leave to infuse for a week and a half. Then strain the mixture and add the liquid to a bucket of water and ammonia.
ON A NOTE. When treating with ammonia, it is better not to use fine spraying. In this case, the ammonia will quickly disappear. Set the sprayer to medium spray level.
How to use the drug
The remarkable thing about using the substance is its rapid elimination and the ability to not accumulate in fruits. The entire period of a plant’s life, from flowering to almost until harvest, can be treated with ammonia.
Feel free to spray the crops - the smell will disappear, and the product that gets into the plant will serve as a fertilizer. All recipes with ammonia must include soap, shampoo or powder in order to impart viscosity and preserve the solution on the leaves and stems.
In ten liters of water, dilute ammonia in the amount of two tablespoons and a spoonful of soapy substance. To spray plants you need to have:
- spray;
- gauze bandage;
- gloves;
- bucket;
- ammonia;
- soap;
- water.
Why do you need a gauze bandage and gloves? Ammonia does not belong to the category of especially dangerous substances if it is used in small quantities and in 10% concentration, i.e. it is relatively safe. But if a larger volume of ammonia enters the human body, poisoning can occur.
To comply with safety measures, you should use a gauze bandage and gloves when spraying plants with a solution of ammonia. Remember that a dose of ten grams of ammonium hydroxide can be fatal to the human body.
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To exterminate insect pests (at home and on the property), an aqueous solution of 10% ammonia is used, which can be purchased at any pharmacy or garden store. For each harmful individual, individual concentration is effective.
For which plants can ammonia be used?
Almost all plants can be treated with ammonia. Let's talk about some of the nuances of spraying.
Treat only buds, shoots and leaves. Do not work with flowering plants. Roses are best sprayed with a hand sprayer.
When processing currants and apricots, unroll the curled leaves. Aphids hide in them.
It is also better to spray Buldenezh manually. Here aphids accumulate near the rosettes of leaves and near the petioles.
Pay special attention to spraying cherries. The tree forms a dense crown, and aphids most often hide on the back side of the leaf blade. Therefore, cherries need to be treated at the first sign of aphids. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to deal with it later.
Other crops are processed by simple spraying: tomatoes, peppers, dill, raspberries, cucumbers, etc.
ON A NOTE. Treatments with ammonia can be carried out once every 20 days.
Pros and cons of using this product
Let's say a few words about the pros and cons of using this tool.
The benefits of ammonia include:
- Efficiency in the fight against aphids;
- Cheapness and availability;
- Ease of preparation of the working solution;
- The product acts immediately;
- Ammonia is a source of nitrogen, that is, at the same time it is a foliar nitrogen fertilizer.
The disadvantage of this product is:
- Ammonia volatility;
- Inability to work with the drug for a long time (may cause respiratory arrest).
- Difficult to use on large trees;
- May cause an excess of nitrogen in plant tissues.
Precautions for use
When working with ammonia, you need to be careful. Protect your eyes and respiratory system. Remember that ammonia vapor can cause temporary respiratory arrest. Therefore, be sure to dilute the liquid outdoors. If you have to work indoors, open the windows.
Carry out spraying in calm weather. It is best to do this in the morning or evening after sunset.
Another important point: do not use the product during flowering, as ammonia vapor is harmful to beneficial insects too.
Does ammonia help against aphids?
The experience of various summer residents shows that ammonia copes with aphids. But there is one caveat. Processing should be targeted and targeted. That is, you need to spray the aphids directly. This is easy to do on small shrubs or young trees. You can process both the upper and lower parts of the sheet plate. But with a large bush or tree it will be more difficult. Some insects will survive and breed again. Therefore, when large plants are seriously infested, it is better to use more powerful insecticides.
Aphids in the garden and vegetable garden: briefly about the enemy
There is no worse disaster for a gardener than an invasion of aphids and similar sucking parasites. These small monsters can spread throughout the entire garden in a matter of days. They destroy leaves, young shoots and flower ovaries by sucking out cell sap, simultaneously transmitting viruses and fungal spores. Without taking timely measures, gardeners risk being left without a harvest.
Ammonia is harmless to plants, unlike effective chemicals. The ammonia solution not only effectively kills the suckers, but also serves as a nitrogen supplement. It can be used repeatedly, at any growing season, until the individuals are completely destroyed, without fear of a ruined garden or a poisoned harvest.
Whereas insecticides are used a maximum of 3 times per season and with a long break. Which is clearly not enough when aphids multiply at lightning speed.
Ingredients:
- Water – 10 l.
- Ammonia – 50 ml.
Combine the components, mix and immediately treat the infected areas of the garden.
Ammonia water will be a good help for gardeners in growing vegetables. They are afraid of the strong smell of ammonia:
- carrot and onion flies, just water the plantings with a solution of 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. l. ammonia;
- wireworm – nightshade storm, 20 ml per 1 l;
- mole cricket - threat to seedlings, 10 ml of alcohol per bucket of water, pour directly into the hole before planting;
- secretive proboscis - attacks onion plantings, at the beginning of the season, water the ridges with a solution of 25 ml per bucket, repeat after 2 weeks.
After watering the ridges, it is necessary to loosen the soil so that the smell penetrates inside.
Ammonia should always be on hand. This is an excellent alternative to insecticides and provides additional nitrogen nutrition to plants.
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There are about four thousand species of aphids in the world. Some of them “specialize” on specific plant species, while others are able to settle on several species. Having settled on a plant, aphids begin to suck out the plant sap. Its tiny proboscis can only bite through delicate tissues, so aphids inhabit only the upper parts of growing shoots of shrubs and trees, and in vegetables - the lower part of the leaf. Aphids infest the garden almost throughout the warm season - from April to October.
Over the summer, different types of aphids produce from 10 to 17 or even more generations. They can be washed away by heavy rainfalls and natural enemies (sparrows, warblers, linnets, tits, as well as ladybugs, lacewing larvae, and some types of wasps). But even if 10-15% of the population remains, after two to three weeks the plant will again be occupied by aphids.
Aphids are dangerous because, by sucking out the juice, they weaken the crops, which affects the harvest. By biting a leaf, the aphid secretes a specific poison that causes it to curl—this is how the insect protects its habitat. Aphids are also carriers of viral diseases.
Where do aphids come from in the garden? It can be carried by goosebumps - “shepherds” of aphids that feed on honeydew (the sugary secretions of aphids), protect it from biological enemies, and even host it for the winter.
In addition, aphids “love” not only cultivated plants - they settle on many weeds (cruciferous, goosefoot), as well as bird cherry, viburnum, linden and other trees. Aphid eggs (less commonly, larvae) overwinter in plant debris and in tree bark.
A certain generation of aphids appears with wings - when a problem of overpopulation arises, or when aphids are naturally designed to change their host, that is, culture. Winged aphids can fly great distances and form new colonies in new places. Therefore, aphids can appear in any garden, in any garden.
Errors during use
Despite the ease of preparation and use of the product, some gardeners make mistakes:
- The working solution is not used immediately. In general, for the treatment to be as effective as possible, the working solution must be prepared directly in the garden or vegetable garden. Ammonia evaporates very quickly.
- Failure to comply with dosage. The drug is not only an insecticidal agent, but also saturates plants with nitrogen. Take this into account when treating them against aphids. During flowering and fruiting, excess nitrogen harms the plantings.
- Processing is carried out without personal protective equipment. Ammonia vapors can cause burns to the nasal mucosa and even cause loss of consciousness. Therefore, firstly, use personal protective equipment, and secondly, do not work for too long.
Preparation of the solution
When preparing mixtures based on ammonia, you need to take into account the concentration of the substance and the proportions of the ingredients in order to obtain gentle products that cannot harm beneficial insects - for example, ladybugs.
Ammonia is used exclusively in diluted form, since excess nitrogen causes the destruction of the chloroplast and the death of leaves. When preparing solutions at home, it is recommended to use 2 tbsp. l. (30 ml) ammonia (10%) per 10 liters of water. Sugar, liquid soap, gels and powders are added to spray mixtures, which ensures adhesion to shoots, leaves and other parts of the plant, and allows the protective properties to remain longer.
Video: Ammonia for aphids on currants
Answers to frequently asked questions
What ammonia should I use?
An ordinary bottle from a pharmacy will do.
Is it possible to treat indoor flowers with the drug?
Yes, but be careful not to get poisoned.
How many treatments are needed?
Usually 1-2 is enough. But it all depends on the degree of infection of your plants.
How to enhance the effect of the product?
Add garlic infusion or ground pepper.
Treatment of ant nests on the site
The carriers of aphids and their accomplices in reproduction are ants. It is necessary to carry out parallel treatment of anthills and nests of sucking insects. Otherwise, you may not expect any effect, because the “honey dew” secreted by aphids is the ant’s best delicacy. Not wanting to be deprived of food, they protect their benefactors, drag aphids onto fresh plants, and in the fall they hide them in their nests in order to bring them to freedom in the spring.
In addition, ants, partial to sweets, threaten the berry harvest, spoil nectar-producing plants, and infect them with diseases.
How to treat ant nests to ensure that the individuals on the site are destroyed? Boiling water and ammonia are an “explosive mixture” that can cause significant damage to the ant population. For this:
- boil water in a bucket;
- pour 25 ml of ammonia into boiling water;
- stir up the anthill in the center;
- pour the solution into the hole.
Cover the top with thick material or polyethylene to preserve the smell of ammonia longer. This should be done with all ant nests on the site.
