- Check peppermint regularly for lice
- Biological means to combat lice
- With a light infestation
- In case of heavy infestation
- Prevention of aphids
- tips and tricks
Not only we humans also love peppermint aphids. If you do nothing about it, the harvest may fail altogether. You should avoid swinging the chemical club if possible, so that you can enjoy your peppermint as a tea or spice carefree.
Check peppermint regularly for lice
Peppermint is very commonly infested with lice. Therefore, check your plants as regularly as possible so that you can do something about the pests as soon as they appear.
The lice infestation can be seen with the naked eye. You can see the little creepy crawlies, which unfortunately can also fly, on the upper and lower sides of the leaves. The leaves are coated with a sticky mass.
Since peppermint is used in the kitchen, you should use biological means and not use chemical aphid killers. The herb is then inedible for weeks.
Biological means to combat lice
- nettle brew
- soapy water
- tobacco brew
- insect hotels
- ladybug
With a light infestation
Collect the aphids by hand or rinse them off with water from a spray bottle. The jet has to be a little stronger because the lice are quite attached.
In case of heavy infestation
If the plants are too badly infested, broth, which you make from stinging nettles, tobacco or soapy water, will help. A treatment must be repeated several times to be effective. You should then wait two to three weeks before harvesting.
Put fresh nettle herb - without flowers! - in cold water for two days. Then strain the brew and spray the affected leaves with it. Tobacco brew can be made in the same way.
Use curd soap for soapy water. Detergents are not well suited. Dissolve the soap in water and fill the suds into the spray bottle.
Prevention of aphids
The best protection are other insects such as lacewings and ladybugs. Establish the beneficial insects in the garden by hanging insect hotels near the peppermint.
tips and tricks
Keep an eye out for ant trails in the garden. Ants keep veritable louse farms on the peppermint. Disrupt walkways to keep ants from bringing new lice onto peppermint and remove any ant nests near your vegetable and herb beds.
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