this post was submitted on 11 May 2025
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67
Poverty gardening - APHIDS! (lemmynsfw.com)
submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
30 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Was so happy to see my sad, under-soiled tomato plant putting out flowers, but it's also attracted aphids! I'm too poor to even afford pesticides, and was planning on growing organic anyways, but I'm not getting any help with pest predators from the surrounding apartment environment (cropped lawn grass and dandelions)

How do I attract natural predators of plant pests, like hoverflies, parasitoid wasps, ladybeedles and others without just buying a pack from a store? I want to engage in the war on bugs on the side of bugs, but the bugs that eat the bugs that eat my plants, for essentially a budget of $0. How the hell am I supposed to do this...

Oh and if anyone's wondering, I bought these plants from the farmer's market on EBT because they were cheap but I can't buy any dirt or bigger pots. So I'm working with the best I got until I get a job and a paycheck

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

@nomugisan It is very difficult to give you an advice because nobody knows where you live. You should give at least some hints.

Aphids are sensitive to cold water. They stiffen and fall down. Rinse slowly, so that the tomato is not damaged.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Northeast Kansas, USA

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

you could try diluted cigarette ashes,
some even say they got positive results by soaking used filters( if ashes are not option)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

You could probably just use regular tobacco as a nicotine source if you don't have easy access to those, instead of picking random cigarette butts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Pests like stressed out plants. Cold water, especially one that has chlorine in it, which I assume it is because OP lives in the US, this would shock the plant.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Very, very few people in the US use water that isn't right out of the cold tap. It will not harm the plant.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

I go right out of the hot tap cause it's better than letting it go down the drain when I wait for the shower to heat up.