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Re: [SHADEGARDENS] aphids;Water & Vinegar Solutions

> To get rid of aphids I once used a mixture of water and white vinegar and it
> worked. I will say it was an established plant and I don't know if it would
> affect seedlings differently. Just another suggestion.
>  >>
>Amber,
>
>. I used a vinegar water solution to kill slugs-the small
>species that live at the base of hosta plants. It is only effective if it
>comes in contact with the slugs. It killed the slugs all right;however, I
>forgot to do something that is very important in treating plants with acetic
>acid as a pesticide. Be sure to rinse the leaves with water after the
>application of the solution. The day after I applied it, the leaves had
>bleached spots everywhere.(I was sloppy!) The affected areas eventually
melted
>out, leaving a MESS. (I took the lawn mower, put it on lowest setting and
>mowed down the plants.The plants sent up lush new growth but the leaves were
>only a fraction of the size of the mature plants.)
>What ratio of Water to Vinegar do you recommend?
>Thanks again,
>Clyde Crockett ccredux@aol.com Indy IN z5
>
Hi All -
        I have never used distilled white vinegar for aphids, but I use it all the
time for slugs. I do not dilute it, but simply put it into a spray bottle,
such as a Windex container. It is true that you must hit the slugs
directly; it does not stay on the leaves and kill them when they come back
later. I have never experienced any ill effects from the vinegar and
neither have the hosta - i.e., no stains on leaves, no bleached spots, no
melting out (even on the hosta that received the most sun) and I do not
rinse the plants afterward.

Carolyn Q. Bryson, Indianapolis, Zone 5a, where the snowdrops have been
blooming for several weeks, and where the Robins and Cedar Waxwings stopped
by for several days for baths.
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