I have a tropical hibiscus and started using palmolive and water in my spray bottle. I'll observe the plant for couple of days to see how it does. I'm always using plain water in a spray bottle to spray off the aphids. Now I'm gonna try dish soap.

Maybe - MAYBE - adding just a little rubbing alcohol would help the soap cut into the aphids.

I was thinking just yesterday that the next time one of my bushes is infested, I should spray half of it with one combination of soap and alcohol, the other half with a different mix. See which one works better.

I've read that "soap" is better to use than "detergent", because the fatty acids in true soap are what bothers the insects. I don't know if that's true, I only know what I've read.

@tot607

I, too, only use a spray of plain water to wash the aphids off of my roses. I grow over 100 roses and have never had a serious aphid infestation just using water for aphid control.

Soap is a sticker and can actually impact the beneficial insects in your garden, too.

I read years ago that aphids don't have lungs and once they are washed off of a plant, they don't return. You really don't have to worry about killing them.

I use the hose with a fairly gentle spray setting on the nozzle to spray my plants and often just put my hand behind young, tender growth and just wash the bugs off and move onto the next rose. I don't want to take the time to constantly be refilling a spray bottle. I guess I am kind of lazy that way. There's enough to do in the garden in spring when aphids show up that I tackle these kinds of issues in a manner that is easy for me and works to solve the problem.

Smiles,
Lyn

Lyn, water does the trick for me too on many of my plants. Except for coleus. They needed soapy water. After I wrote this hint, I tried an old garden fertilizer feeder (miracle grow) attachment that you hook up to the hose and filled it with a little bit of dawn. That worked great!

Ric, also wondering about alcohol.

Becky ....

I have never grown coleus. Maybe the texture of the leaves makes a difference. The mites are so small, it's possible that it might be harder to get to them.

Geesh ... there are so many variables in all things gardening, I think you have to just find out what works for you. I used to hate it when someone told me that gardening was a whole lot of "trial-and-error." Over the years, I've found she was right.

When the spider mites attack her in Phoenix, it is a true battle.

Becky .... I am sorry. Your hint was about aphids and I changed it to mites ...

I may be dealing with a different species of aphids and spider mites than you find in your garden and that's why just water does the trick for me. However, if just spraying with water didn't solve the problem, I would certainly add soap to my spray routine because of all of the positive feedback I've read in this thread.

Thanks for the tip.

Smiles,
Lyn

All pests can be such PESTS!

Folks, dish soap works BECAUSE all insects breath thru holes in their "skin" throughout their body. . . they don;t have lungs like us.

Soap coats that and prevents the oxygen exchange......so the insects die of suffocation.

(To clarify, aphids, mites, bugs are insects.)

@BetNC ...

There is a caveat to your advice .... it depends on your climate as to whether or not to use dish soap as an insect contol.

I live in a hot and dry climate. If I were to use dish soap or any oil product at ttemps above 80F, I would have burnt foliage. I accomplish the same thing by just washing the plants with plain water. The insects still suffocate and I do not have burnt foliage.....

Not all solutions fit every climate.

Roseblush1, I have also had leaves turn brown when using very dilute solutions of dish soap and water. After more research and finding information from an agricultural extension, dish soap like Dawn is actually dish detergent and not similar to insecticidal soap. While it may kill soft bodied insects (or perhaps just wash them away) it is not very safe for plants. Liquid handsoap is much closer to an actual soap, potassium salts of fatty acids, and will be safer for plants. I believe even better than handsoap would be a liquid castile soap because it is a true soap. If you already have castile soap that would be the way to go, but it costs about twice as much per oz as actual insecticidal soap concentrate. After all my research I plan on biting the bullet and spending $10 on 16 oz of insecticidal soap concentrate that will make over 6 gallons of spray. I hope this information helps others desperate to safely rid their plants of aphids

@8700ft ...

Hi, 8700ft Welcome to NGA.

I don't post often due to health issues.

My primary point was that a solution that works in one climate does not work in all climates.

In general, any product that contains any type of oil or fat leaves a residue on the leaf surface which in a hot and arid climate like mine, leads to burnt foliage because it cannot be washed off.

I am not a chemist, but did a little bit of research to respond to your post and am providing some links that may give you some better information.

Ingredients for castile soap:

Authentic castile soap is made of plant oils — coconut, hemp, sunflower seed, jojoba and olive. (Avoid brands with palm oil. That's devastating forests overseas where orangutans live.) Oils are mixed with an alkali — sodium hydroxide for solid soap and potassium hydroxide for liquid.

https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-...

Insecticidal soaps:

Soaps are made when the fatty acid portion of either plant or animal oils are joined with a strong alkali. They are potassium salts of fatty acids.

https://hgic.clemson.edu/facts...

Good article on insecticidal soap:

https://www.thespruce.com/how-...

Smiles,
Lyn