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Are these different types of aphid?

elise1973elise1973 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
I appear to have some problems with bugs this year that appear to be out of control. 

Is there any way of controlling them without damaging other wildlife?

This is my peach tree - whatever it is appears to be killing the leaves:

This is my plum tree and in the evenings it looks like rain falling off the leaves


This is a damson tree that had loads of flowers this year but none of the fruit appear to have survived. 


This is a cherry tree that’s never had bugs on it before:


This is supposed to be a mandarin but it seems to be constantly covered in sticky stuff that then goes into something resembling dried algae that I try to was off but it keeps coming back 


Any advice on what these are and how to get them under control would be much appreciated. 

Apologies for the photos - all phone uploads so no ability to rotate them. 
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  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited June 2023
    @elise1973 It is a bad year for aphids. The dry weather is the cause. If yoy don't have a ban you could try to wash your tree down with a hose.  There are hundreds of different aphids if not thousands?

    I was interested to read that your photos were taken on your phone so won't rotate.
    That could be what I am doing wrong. Thankyou and Welcome.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Aphids of all kinds excrete honeydew, which, if heavy enough, can drip onto other planting, and can cover foliage, which then creates more problems, like the sooty mould which is the black stuff in your last pic. It's why you'll often see ants around them too as they farm the aphids for that honeydew.
    Most people clean heavy infestations using a hose or a hand sprayer to temporarily clear them, but it's easier when plants are outdoors as birds will help eat them, especially when they have young to feed, and also ladybirds are heavy feeders of aphids.
    Are the plants all inside? If so, ventilation is vital as they need good airflow. You may need to bite the bullet and hose them down in there too. 

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • clematisdorsetclematisdorset Posts: 1,348
    I just want to add that I thought my aphids, which I generally only see on rose stems, had gone. However yesterday in a first for me, I found aphids on my bamboo stems, which seems weird. Would they be the same type of aphids I wonder?
    Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus 
  • elise1973elise1973 Posts: 4
    @Fairygirl they’re all outside with the exception of the peach and mandarin which are in the greenhouse. We have a healthy variety of birds visit the garden and in previous years had a reasonable level of ladybirds and lacewings, having purchased a batch of ladybird and lacewing lava eggs when we noticed there weren’t many around, but even they don’t seem to be around this year, yet even in previous years they’ve never keep on top of the ones on the plum tree! But this year it seems to have exploded and I really don’t want to loose the likes of peach which it seems to be having a detrimental effect on at the moment 😔. Will give them all a good hosing tonight, thank you. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2023
    If you take the photos on your phone before you type your post, you can edit them by trimming them slightly and upload them and add to your post from your photo gallery. They should then be the right way up 🤞 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @clematisdorset There is a type of aphid that likes bamboo it would seem. Think I will check mine today too,  thanks for the tip.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    clematisdorset said:
    I just want to add that I thought my aphids, which I generally only see on rose stems, had gone. However yesterday in a first for me, I found aphids on my bamboo stems, which seems weird. Would they be the same type of aphids I wonder?
    There are 700 or more aphid species recorded in the UK. Most of them are very specifically tied to certain plant species or families and only a few are generalist feeders.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    If you take photos landscape they will load correctly,  most people hold the phone upright, or is landscape not an option on some phones.
    i use iPad,  uprights I have crop but not landscape,  they are well over 6mb.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • AsarumAsarum Posts: 661
    edited June 2023
    I think the first photo shows red spider mites. You need to keep the atmosphere around the plants humid so as it’s indoors maybe you could mist regularly. 
    East Anglia
  • elise1973elise1973 Posts: 4
    @Asarum ooh thank you, it’s in a greenhouse, but will start misting it daily. 
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