They are omnipresent in the herb garden and don’t even spare basil. However, controlling aphids is a double-edged sword. We don’t want to swing the chemical club any more than we find aphids in our food. This is how you fight the pests with natural means.
Knowing the causes maximizes the success of the fight
If the triggering factors for a lice infestation are known, the fight starts with the cause and is all the more effective. Otherwise, the pests will only disappear for a short time and the aphid-free period will be short-lived. The pests tend to infest weakened basil, so you should take a close look at the care. This is where lice like to strike:
- in locations with poor air circulation
- where cold drafts and too dark light conditions prevail
- on basil with a waterlogged root ball
Read Also
In particular, lice target plants that are stressed by inadequate nutrient supply. If such omissions come to light in the course of investigating the causes, they should be remedied immediately.
This is how you fight lice on basil sustainably
The long list of environmentally and health-friendly anti-lice remedies is full of liquid-based recipes. Classics such as the soft soap solution, the milk-water mix, or tobacco brew prove to be counterproductive with basil.
It makes little sense to water the herbal plant from below and spray the foliage daily with home remedies against aphids. How to do it right:
- Check basil daily for aphids on the upper and lower sides of the leaves
- at the first sign of infestation dust with rock dust
- alternatively, sprinkle with pure charcoal ash
Both control agents are purely biological and are washed out before consumption. As an immediate measure, the pests can be vigorously showered off, provided that the basil plant can then dry off quickly in an airy place.
Targeted deterring of ants
Lice on basil excrete honeydew, which ants love to eat. For this sweet source not to dry up, the clever creepy-crawlies defend aphids with vehemence. If necessary, they even drag the beasts to the nearest plant to ‘milk’ them there.
Therefore, layout lemon slices studded with cloves. In this way, you disrupt the ants’ sense of direction so that they can no longer find their way to the aphids.
Tips
In a natural garden, aphids have a bad hand on basil. Where there are enough retreats for birds, ladybugs, ground beetles, or parasitic wasps, the pests are destroyed immediately. Even a hollow tree trunk, a pile of brushwood, drywall, or a hedge invite the beneficial insects to linger.
