Aphids Were Devouring My Dahlias Until This Chemical-Free Trick Got Rid of Them in Seconds – and No, I Didn't Use a Garden Hose

This summer has been relentless, with never-ending heatwaves exhausting my garden. A lack of rain also means garden pests have been thriving, and to my horror, brought a whole aphid army to my patch of dahlias. With hosepipe restrictions in place and a reluctance to turn to harmful chemicals, I tried a new method to get rid of them: wiping stems with a damp cloth.

It's a good way to get rid of aphids if you have an infestation (I'm talking stems covered in a thick clusters) and don't want to waste water or use pest sprays that may harm beneficial insects and damage your plant's foliage. It's as simple as taking a damp cloth (microfiber cloths from Walmart work well) and wiping clusters of these destructive insects away.

But, this isn't a fool-proof trick. You do have to be careful in your method and take care to look in hiding spots to make sure they're all gone. For me, this cleared up my aphid infestation in as little as a few days. Here's how it works.

How It Works

You can get rid of aphids with a damp cloth best if you're dealing with a huge population of them on long stems (like dahlias). For just a few aphids, you might find squashing them with your fingers or blasting them with your garden hose is more effective.

This summer, my local area had water regulations that meant I couldn't use my garden hose for a period of time. I likewise avoid using pest sprays and harmful chemicals where possible to protect beneficial insects and plant health in my garden. So, using this cloth trick made sense.

I took a bowl of warm water to my dahlias with a microfiber cloth (I find the texture helps scoop up these insects, so you may also want to order some microfiber cloths from Amazon), and wiped the stems to remove hundreds of aphids in one swipe. I then rinsed and repeated until they were all gone.

Doing this instead of using a DIY aphid spray also meant I didn't splash soap on foliage (though, this insecticidal soap from Amazon is meant to be quite effective), which could result in leaf scorch in the hot summer weather.

It may also be worth cutting off severely invested stems and disposing of them (always use sharp tools for this, like the Fiskars bypass pruning shears from Lowe's, and cut above a leaf node). Though you don't want to cut back your plants too much as this could remove flower buds and sabotage your late-summer display.

Mistakes to Avoid

This may seem like a simple solution, and it really is. But, there are a few things that can go wrong.

Firstly, you shouldn't get rid of aphids with a damp cloth just once and assume the problem will be solved. Aphids multiply extremely fast, so I found repeating this method for a few days cleared up the problem, removing any lingering aphids I missed the day before.

Second of all, aphids are excellent at hiding, notably underneath flower buds and leaves. Make sure to check all areas of your plant for these critters, otherwise the problem may just keep spreading.

It's also best to wipe top-down to get rid of aphids with a damp cloth. This removes aphids and their sticky honeydew more effectively than pushing them upwards onto clean parts of the stem and soft flower buds where they can continue damaging the plant.

Really, this method works well to quickly save plants being devoured by aphids. However, the strongest approach will always be combining methods. For example, it can help to introduce some aphid predators, like these live ladybugs from Amazon, and plant some pest-repellent plants nearby to deter them (gardeners often favor basil, which you can find at Walmart).

What to Shop

This method works well for getting rid of aphids on houseplants, too. Or, if you want another organic, chemical-free option, try making a tomato foliage spray to get rid of aphids.

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