For the first time, insect invaders have disrupted our happy home! This afternoon I noticed some odd white dots on the leaves of the succulent I bought at the farmers' market a couple of weeks ago. I leaned closer and discovered the dots had six legs each, and were in fact light green and pear-shaped. In short- the dreaded aphid!! The internet tells me I have basically three options (short of chemical weaponry): I can bring in an army of hungry ladybugs, I can spray the plant liberally with a mixture of detergent, vegetable oil and warm water, or I can chuck it. Bringing even MORE insects into the house seems a bit like swallowing a spider to catch a fly-- in other words not a solution at all, just a different sort of problem. I'm not ready to throw the pretty thing out. So I have sprayed it and am crossing fingers. Any advice is welcome!
When we had aphids, we used a soap "insecticide" that always worked well. However, the little bastards ALWAYS came back. :-/
I say enlist the army of ladybugs. Draft em up. Because with ladybugs come ... WISHES!