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[Alcalaina]

Help!  Back in April I identified woolly aphids on my lemon tree, but since it is only small and in a pot I can get rid of all the little sticky white blobs on the stems by hand. 

However now I have discovered them on my geraniums and they are eating through the stems and totally destroying them.  I have way too many geraniums to clean them all by hand.  Has anyone else found a solution to this horrible pest?  Or can you recommend plants they don't like?  My "garden" is actually a roof terrace and windowsills so everything is container grown and has to provide lots of colour.

For anyone who hasn't come across these pests they appear as sticky white blobs on the stems of plants.  If you squish them they are reddish-orange.

[CampoGirl Gina]

Hi Alcalaina,

I have had problems with these aphids to but on my Bougainvillea. I found that a little washing up liquid diluted with water helped with mine. I just sprayed the plant with the solution and the aphids didnt like it. Hope this tip helps 

Gina

[Campo Girl]

Woolly Aphids

They appear on the bark of usually fruit trees, a part that hasnt been pruned clearly. They have a waxy substance that makes them look woolly, this coating makes them hard to treat with sprays.

If they are noticed early, paint them with methylated spirits, or scrape them off individually. If they have been  left to infect larger areas spray with derris which can be bought at a garden centre.

If this fails you have to cut out the lumps from the bark.

Simone x