WATCH: This unseasonably hot and dry summer is leading to an explosion of one garden pest. Linda Aylesworth reports.
Aphids are having a banner year thanks to a mild winter followed by an unusually dry and hot summer.
The tiny soft-bodied insects are a common garden pest that suck the sap from plant leaves.
“We are certainly seeing a lot of aphid problems this year, mostly we had a very mild winter…so they weren’t killed off,” explains Miles Hunter, general manager of David Hunter Garden Centers.
The aphid population is thriving this summer as drought conditions in the region put stress on plants they depend on for food.
“If a plant is stressed it tends to be easier for them to attack it because their defences…their immune system basically, isn’t as effective against them,” said Hunter.
Ideal conditions
It’s not just stressed-out plants that are making it easy for aphids to flourish this season. The sap in drought-stressed plants often contain higher concentrations of nutrients that aphids need to reproduce.
According to Hunter, in warm weather aphids give birth to live young and can produce a new generation every seven to 10 days.
Under these ideal conditions, a single aphid can produce about 300 billion descendants in a single season.
Helper ants
Aphids and ants share a symbiotic relationship. Ants often bring aphids to plants and, in turn, aphids provide them with “honeydew,” a sticky sweet liquid produced by aphids that ants love to feed on.
Since aphids are a source of a much prized food, ants defend them.
Most often, they have to fight off ladybugs which are the first line of defence against aphids for most gardeners.
“If the ladybugs come along, ants will actually fend off the ladybug because they don’t want the ladybug to eat their food crop.”
Control and prevention
Ladybugs are a natural predator of aphids, and a great way of controlling an aphid population.
Available by the bag at most garden centres, an adult ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day. Baby ladybugs, known as nymphs, can eat 30 times that much.
The City of Vancouver also endorses the use of natural predators to control an aphid infestation.
While there are a variety of natural and other solutions available to tackle an aphid problem, prevention measures are also a good idea.
Hunter advises that first and foremost it is important to have healthy plants.
“Make sure you fertilize your plants properly…(that) they are planted in the right location,” suggests Hunter.
While these measures might not ensure an aphid-free garden this summer, it can help you get an upper hand.
-With files from Linda Aylesworth
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