The biggest challenge for gardeners is to keep away pests from their plants. These can be sometimes very stubborn and can do a lot of damage to your plants. Aphids are one of the most annoying pests, and these are the most common ones.
If you grow tomatoes to consume them, you probably don’t want to use chemicals to get rid of aphids. Then how should you do it naturally?
In this article, I will present you few natural methods which will help you not only to repel aphids on tomatoes, but if you are consistent, you can even prevent the infestation.
Treat Aphids Naturally on Tomatoes
There are over 4,000 different species of aphids, but luckily “only” 250 of these species will attack our garden plants, such as tomato plants.
Because they reproduce very quickly, it is essential to take action as soon as you see aphids in your garden.
This is how you can get rid of aphids on tomatoes naturally.
Remove Aphids by Hand
I know, this might sound a bit crazy. But yes, you can remove aphids by hand.
If you see a few aphids on your tomato plants, you can easily smash them with your fingers, or wipe them down with a soft paper or cotton pad.
You should check under the leaves as well because they love to hide over there.
Spray with Water Jet
If removing by hand isn’t a good idea for you, then you can use a water jet. Spraying a strong stream of water directly on the aphids, you can dislodge them from your tomato plants.
But be gentle, as you don’t want to hurt the plant. A too strong jet of water might hurt the plant, the flower or the tiny tomatoes.
Organic Aphid Spray
When growing your own plants, you might want to be as organic as possible. If you don’t want to use chemicals, and there are many aphids, then you can use an organic spray which you can prepare yourself.
What you need:
- one gallon of water
- 2,5 tbsp of organic soap
- 2,5 tbsp of organic vegetable oil
Mix these in a container and pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
If you add cayenne pepper, you can use it as a repellent and also will repel aphids on your tomatoes by killing them. The smell of the cayenne will keep away the pests.
So, after the mixture is ready, spray your tomato plants with it. Do not spray during the day when it is too hot, as it might burn your plants. After sunset, or when the weather is not that hot, is the best time to use sprays on your tomato plants.
Make sure you spray on the fruits and stems, also on the top and the underside of the leaves as well. This will kill the aphids and other soft-bodied pests and will remove the honeydew left by aphids.
As the mixture is organic and it has no chemicals, this formula will not kill the beneficial harder shell’ insects, like a ladybug.
If you use this organic spray for the first time, you should monitor your plants closely.
If you see yellow leaves on your tomato plants after using the spray, you should stop spraying them. This means the spray had a side effect on the plant.
Neem Oil
Spraying with neem oil is another natural way to get rid of aphids. It is also used to remove spider mites.
It will not only kill the pests, but it is a repellent as well.
What you need for the mixture:
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tbsp neem oil
This mixture can be used not only on tomato plants but on milkweed, roses and other plants because it doesn’t kill the beneficial insects. Neem oil is an organic oil and naturally can be found in trees. Its purpose is to keep away pests.
When using this natural remedy, make sure you’re spraying the whole plant (stem, fruits and leaves, even the underside of the leaves). You can use it once a week.
Keep in mind that spraying during the day, when it is hot, can burn your tomato plants. So, it is advised to do this after sunset.
Natural Predators
I mentioned before the beneficial insects, such as ladybugs. You may be asking why.
Let me tell you why: ladybugs are a natural predator of the aphids. Other natural predators are lacewings, Aphidius wasp (parasitic wasp), Aphid predatory midge, earwigs, and hoverflies.
These insects are eating the aphids, so if you see them in your garden, make sure you are not killing them, as they came to help you in the process of getting rid of aphids.
This is the most natural way to repel aphids on tomatoes because these will not harm your tomato plants. However, beneficial insects may appear later in the spring, so the aphids can still infest your plants.
Some of these natural predators can be found in gardening shops. But to buy them is a good idea only if your tomatoes are growing in a greenhouse.
If you are not using a greenhouse, then you can plant other plants around your tomatoes, such as fennel, catnip, clove, mint, dill or yarrow to attract these beneficial insects. Adding mulch to the base of your tomato plants will attract them also.
Another natural predator can be bug-eating birds (wrens and chickadees). You can provide houses to live in for these birds or grow some trees or shrubs in your garden so they can make nests. These birds will help you in pest repelling as a thank you for providing them with a home in your garden.
Natural Plant Traps and Repellents
Many plants can be planted near your tomato plants to help you keep away pests like aphids.
Some repellent plants are catnip, chives, onion and marigold. These will not only keep away the aphids, but they will keep away spiders as well. These plants will give off a scent that pests hate and will not attack your garden.
Some other plants, like mustard and nasturtium, will “trap” the aphids and other pests. These plants are aphids’ favourite so they will prefer to attack these rather than your tomato plants.
Do Coffee Grounds Get Rid of Aphids?
There is a myth going around, that coffee ground is a natural way to repel aphids and other pests on tomatoes. You can read in many places that coffee ground helps to keep away aphids, snails, slugs, and other pests, but is that true or not?
The truth is that coffee ground may keep away slugs and snails, but will not repel aphids. When you use the coffee ground on the soil, the slugs and snails may stay away from that soil, but aphids can still go on your tomato plants.
Aphids sometimes have wings, so it is easy to just fly from one plant to another. Therefore, the coffee ground is not a way of getting rid of aphids.
However, the coffee ground can be a great fertilizer and can be used as compost. Many people use it as mulch, but it isn’t the best thing to use as mulch.
TIP: If you use coffee ground in your garden, you should be aware that not all coffee grounds are the same, and if it is fresh, will have other effects than when it is already used.
Does Garlic Repel Aphids?
Garlic is one of the companion plants which can be planted next to your tomato plants. This is said that it is a good pest repellent, and will keep away aphids, moths, snails, root maggots, etc.
The pests will find the garlic’s flavour and smell repugnant, so they will not come close to your tomato plants.
If you don’t have enough space to plant garlic next to your tomatoes, then you can make your own garlic water. This is a non-toxic and low-cost repellent.
There are so many recipes, but I think that the basic one is enough, because it is simple, and it is making its job.
So, crush 4 or 5 garlic cloves to make a concentrated extract. Then add 6 cups of water and 4 or 5 drops of organic, biodegradable dish soap.
After mixing these ingredients, you may want to strain the mixture, as you don’t want bits of garlic in it. This may clog the spray bottle.
After pouring the mixture into a spray bottle, you are ready to use it on your tomato plants. You can use it weekly, or twice a week, depends how rainy the weather is.
Because this garlic spray can repel other beneficial insects as well, you might want to spray only on the infested areas of your plant.
TIP: Garlic water is best when it is fresh, so make sure you use it after preparing it, and you’re not storing it for too long.
Wrap Up
I hope these tips and tricks will help you repel aphids on your tomatoes. As these are all-natural remedies, you can use them many times, also you can mix and match until the job is done.
Now that you know what to do when there are pests on your tomato plants, you can share the article with your friends, so they can learn these tips as well. Happy gardening!