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Aphids everywhere by the millions, sprayed with 1 prt vinegar, 2 parts water, lettuce scorched, sprayed them with water. Will the lettuce come back and what to do with the aphids. I highly doubt that this swarm is gone. Should I cut lettuce back, baby green leaf, or will they heal. At a loss.

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Comment by Alex Veidel on July 7, 2014 at 9:30am

If you scorched your lettuce and it's getting damage from aphids, your plants are probably pretty stressed. But I've had plants recover from a lot of aphid damage.

Apply any sprays during the early morning or late evening, after the hot part of the day so you don't scorch your plants.

Comment by Stuart Polkinghorne on July 4, 2014 at 4:47pm

It is the ants bring them back that is killing my mint. I can cut back the mint and neem spray then water spray. If I don't water spray one day the ants are back building up the numbers very fast. I have three big nest around the production area which I am trying to kill off but it is hard when I don't want to use nasty chems and they live beep in the sandy base we have. I am at a lose as all natural way have failed (badly) to remove the ants.

Find your ants nest....

Comment by Converse on June 30, 2014 at 9:34am

   If you can get a hold of some fresh worm castings you can make worm casting tea that will get rid of the aphids. You will need to use pure worm castings (not worm compost), that have not been stored in an air tight container.  Add 2/3 cup worm castings to 1 gallon of non-chlorinated water.  Add 2 TBSP sugar or molasses (not honey).  Aerate for 24 hours.  To accomplish this you can use a cheap $5 fish tank air pump form Wal-Mart (also found at garage sales) .  Apply to ALL surfaces of your plants, and also to the surface of your media if the infestation is severe.  Do not spray with anything else (such as water) after applying this, or you will wash the worm casting tea away.

    If you need more than a gallon to treat your whole system, just use the same ratios, and double/triple/etc. the recipe as needed.

     The worm castings naturally contain and enzyme called chitinase.  This enzyme attacks the chitin that the aphids body is composed of. This will get rid of the aphids.  Worm casting tea is actually beneficial to yor AP system, so no worries about using it.

My best to you in your endeavor to get rid of the marauding aphids.

- Converse

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