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Greenfly on lupins
Angela Yeomans
Posts: 81
I have some lovely big lupins in my garden and they are full of flowers ????. However I have noticed today that some of the stems are now covered in greenfly and I have no idea what to do. Any advice is more than welcome!
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I usually just get rid of them manually - gently squeeze the greenfly off the stem with index finger and thumb. You can also spray with a washing up liquid and water solution.
Well, Angela, I had exactly the same problem with a well established lupin. Absolutely covered with very fat greenfly! I tried the diluted washing up liquid approach but to no avail. I have resorted to old fashioned chemicals ie pesticide spray and then removed them the following day. This year is a bad year for gardeners with blackfly and greenfly! I am fighting a battle with several well established plants, honeysuckle, clematis and now agapanthus! Good luck!
Thank you, just had a look and they are on the flowers ????. Also noticed my leaves are shiny and sticky looking, does this also have to do with the greenfly. Definitely will start spraying tomorrow , finished off my last bit of spray on my rosies which are thankfully not suffering.
Angela - The 'shiny sticky' substance you mention is honeydew secreted by those aphids and a wash with a mild soapy solution is the best way to remove it. You may also notice the presence of ants on your lupins, they feed on this substance. In fact, they actually farm these aphids by moving them from one plant to another.
It may be worth noting that the aphids found on lupins are a separate species that feed solely on lupins and are much larger than those found on other plants.