Currants are one of the types of plants most commonly attacked by lice in the garden. The lice like to nest in large colonies on the berry bushes and can severely damage them. For this reason, it is important to protect the plants from the lice and to fight them as effectively as possible. Appropriate home remedies and methods are required at this point, since chemical pesticides should not be used on currants.
Occurring species
The currant is specifically the black currant (Ribes nigrum) and the red currant (Ribes rubrum), which aphids target particularly frequently. The reason is the sap-rich wood, which provides the insects with sufficient food. Due to this fact, it can be assumed that a large number of aphid species infest the shrubs, which makes it difficult to combat them. However, the individual damage patterns of the most important types differ so greatly from one another that you know exactly which one you are dealing with:
1. Currant bladder louse (Cryptomyzus ribis)
- blisters appear on the sheet
- reminiscent of bulges
- colored red in redcurrants
- yellow colored in blackcurrants
2. Lesser currant aphid (Aphis schneideri)
- curling shoot tips
- curling leaves
3. Large currant aphid (Nasonovia ribis-nigri)
- curling shoot tips
- Lice clearly visible
- up to 4 mm in size
4. Greenish thistle (Hyperomyzus lactucae)
- bright leaf veins
- leaves deformed
A big advantage of all these types is the possibility to fight them with the same home remedies. Typically, the lice nest on the eggs in autumn. They hatch in the spring with the first shoots and get to work immediately. This puts a lot of strain on the currant. For this reason, you must act as quickly as possible when an infestation occurs.
Get rid of lice on currants
Aphids are among the classic pests of currants. It is therefore not surprising that there are numerous home remedies and methods that you can use to get rid of the insects. It is important with all of these to apply them quickly and not to wait too long. Lice of the Aphidoidea family can multiply extremely quickly within a short period of time. In addition to the classic collecting or crushing the aphids, you will find 5 other methods and home remedies with which you can fight the lice.
Tip: An infestation with aphids on currants is often difficult to treat and for this reason it is advisable to prevent the insects. Important for this are a good location, a sprouting spray in spring, regular pruning to keep the bushes healthy and the use of beneficial insects such as lacewings and ladybirds.
water jet
The water jet is excellent for doing something about the lice. Aphids are washed off the leaves and shoots by the water jet and die on the ground because they can no longer reach the plant on their own. To do this, direct a "sharp" jet from the water hose directly at the insects until they have all been removed. Depending on the intensity of the infestation, you may need to repeat this process more often. Do not use a pressure washer as this could damage the plant.
Remove shoot tips
Since it is mainly the shoot tips that suffer from the lice of the various types of currants, it is advisable to remove them. Due to the aphids, these die off more and more and can no longer form buds, which in turn means that no more fruit forms on these shoots. For this very reason, you should remove the infested shoot tips along with the lice. It is best to use scissors that are sharp and clean. When cutting, be careful not to damage the berry bushes and only cut off as much as necessary. Be as specific as possible with this method.
Notice: When cutting the shoot tips, the lice do not fall off and must therefore be disposed of together with the shoot tips. Since the aphids are very attached to the parts of the plant, they do not fall off when cut, which protects the rest of the plant.
rapeseed oil
Rapeseed oil is part of numerous means that allow you to get rid of aphidoidea. The great advantage of rapeseed oil is the fine oil film that is placed on the plant through the use of appropriate preparations. The oil prevents the insects from accessing oxygen, causing them to slowly but surely die. The effectiveness of canola oil is very high and if you use it in the right way, you can easily get rid of a large number of aphids. It is important that you use the oil to create a spray and use it at the right time. Two appointments are recommended:
- shortly before new sprouting
- in case of an infestation
If you spray the rapeseed oil before they sprout, the young aphids die within a short time after hatching. It is therefore used both as a preventive measure and to combat lice. The mix works as follows:
- Mixing ratio: 70% water, 30% rapeseed oil
- fill in spray bottle
- mix well
- spray on affected areas
- repeat regularly
soap solution
Another spray for controlling lice on currants is a mixture of water and curd or soft soap. This has a similar effect to rapeseed oil, but relies more heavily on killing the insects directly. The soap does not contain any harmful additives, so it will not have a negative effect on your currant. The mixing ratio of the solution is 20 to 30 grams of soap to one liter of water. Warm water is used for mixing. After the spray has been filled into the bottle, it only has to cool down before it can be used. It is simply sprayed directly onto the aphids. Here it is also important to spray more often in case more specimens appear.
extracts
Last but not least, you can rely on strengthening extracts that also contain substances that can kill the lice. Compared to liquid manure, extracts are boiled down like a brew for 30 minutes or soaked for a period of 12 to 24 hours. You have different plants available from which you can make the sprays:
- Nettle stock: Soak 100 g in 1 l
- Rainfarnsud: Soak 30 g to 1 l
- Garlic stock: reduce 50 g to 1 l
Then you strain the plant substances and can then use the sprays immediately. With the garlic broth, you still have to wait until it has cooled down.