Aphids can be one of the most annoying pests to have in your garden. They will completely tear apart your plants without a second thought.
We have seen whole plant beds destroyed by an aphid infestation, which means it’s best to get rid of them sooner rather than later.
Most people probably don’t want to be spraying chemicals on their precious plants, so they might want to explore other options.
How about drowning the pests?
So, can you drown aphids? Now, it won’t be the easiest task in the world to drown aphids, but sure swimming. In some instances, it may not be worthwhile (for example, if you are submerging plants). But pouring water on the aphids will be able to kill them.
Let’s elaborate on this some more.
This way, you are going to know everything you need to know about drowning aphids, and you’re going to end up in keeping them out of your garden once and for all.
Can You Drown Aphids?
Yes, you can.
But if you want to drown aphids, it’s going to take a while.
First off, you’re going to want to keep them submerged for a while.
Although they can’t breathe underwater, aphids can hold their breath for a really long time.
So, you may see those aphids swim around rather well for a while. You might have to even leave the aphids overnight.
Make sure you do fully submerged the aphids also, as they can float to the top.
Don’t forget: if they can get a gasp in down that oxygen, they won’t drown, and they will just remain pests to your nice plants.
Can Aphids Swim?
Yes. They can swim.
They are not exactly elite level swimmers though. They can swim.
This means that they “might,” swim out of the water that you dropped on them.
This is yet another reason, why you need to submerge the aphids completely. If you do not, the likelihood is that they will swim away very quickly.
So, other than making your garden a little wet, you are really not encouraging the aphids to leave.
Can You Drown Aphid Eggs?
If you encase aphid eggs in water, they will die.
So, if you think to submerge them in water, it is likely the best way to completely stop aphid breeding in your yard.
In some cases the aphid eggs will hatch once surrounded by the water, but baby aphids will die much quicker than big aphids.
This is because they have not developed the structure (the oxygen storage ability in their body) since they have never been in contact with water.
So, you do not need to be concerned if you see the eggs hatching.
How Do You Remove the Water after Drowning the Aphids?
You have a couple of options here:
- The next option is simply to let the water drain away into the soil. This can take a while, however. You are likely going to want a lot of hot water if you are going to drown the aphids. And you will run the risk of harming your plants. It is important to note that excessive water in plants can kill them too.
- The alternative option is to use a water pump. You can get small attachments for your drill if you do not want to invest in a heavy piece of equipment. This would allow you to pump the water away to a much safer part of the yard.
Will Hot Water Kill Aphids?
Absolutely. Boiling water will immediately kill aphids.
Nevertheless, we don’t typically recommend this method because boiling water can harm your plants as well.
Heads up: Use hot water to kill aphids when there are no plants involved or anywhere close that you want to keep.
Can You Use a Hose to Get Rid of Aphids?
If you really don’t want to drown your aphids, there is no reason why you could not blast them off the plants with a hose.
A light spray of water with the garden hose should be all that you need. This may not necessarily kill the aphids.
This is because aphids are tough bugs. However, you may blast them off enough that they won’t be damaging the plant.
There is a good chance that you will destroy the aphid eggs, however.
It is worth mentioning that aphids are won’t go back to the plant they were blasted off.
So, you don’t have to worry about the aphids jumping a couple feet away and make their way back to the plant when you are not looking.
When Should You Avoid Drowning Aphids?
You should try to avoid drowning aphids if they are on any delicate plant.
As we said before, there is a strong chance that you are drowning the plant too. Some plants are incredibly sensitive to too much watering.
If you do have aphids on your plants, you have a couple of options.
- The first option would be to simply spray the aphids off the leaves of the plant. As mentioned before, if you do this, they will not return to the plant again, but you could chance them hopping to another plant.
- The second option is to create a solution of water and methylated spirits and try to use a minimal amount of methylated spirits in the water. You can then spray the aphids with this, which will kill the aphids. This solution will or should also kill any eggs that may be present on the plant as well.
- The last option is to just cut off the leaves that are infested with aphids. Keep in mind that you want to make sure that your plant is not too delicate to be able to handle that, though. Most times this option works because you will not have to remove the entire plant’s leaves.
Aphids are generally social insects.
This means that a colony of aphids tends to remain on one branch or leaf, and does not venture to other branches or leaves as much.
If you do happen to have a recurring aphid issue in your backyard, you may want to see if you have ants in your yard.
Fun fact: ants will carry aphids from plant to plant, which facilitates the aphids moving more easily on the host plants.
Conclusion
You can drown aphids. But that’s not likely to be the best defend against aphids.
This is compounded by the fact that aphids are typically a bit higher up the plant.
Which means you would have to consider an alternative option, like hose blowing or spraying them off.
Overall, aphids are not that difficult to remove.