Understanding and Controlling Aphids in Strawberry Plants

Understanding Aphids on Strawberry Plants

Strawberries are a beloved fruit, known for their sweet juicy flavor and versatility. However, strawberry plants can fall victim to sap-sucking insects called aphids. When aphids feed on strawberry plants, they can stunt growth, reduce yields, and spread harmful viruses.

What Are Aphids?

Aphids are soft-bodied insects that use their slender mouthparts to pierce the vascular tissues of plants and feed on the sap. There are around 250 species of aphids known to feed on various crops and ornamental plants.

Some of the most common aphid species that affect strawberries include:

• Strawberry aphid (Chaetosiphon fragaefolii)
• Shallot aphid (Myzus ascalonicus)
• Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae)
• Potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae)
• Foxglove aphid (Aulacorthum solani)

Identifying Aphids on Strawberry Plants

Aphids are tiny, typically measuring between 1-4 millimeters long. They tend to cluster together in large groups on the undersides of leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits.

Some signs that your strawberry plants have an aphid infestation include:

• Clustered colonies of small, pear-shaped insects on the plants
• Curled, twisted, or distorted leaves
• Stunted plant growth
• Buildup of sticky residue (called honeydew) on the plants
• Sooty mold fungus growing on the honeydew
• Deformed or undersized fruits

How Aphids Damage Strawberry Plants

Aphids weaken and damage strawberry plants in several ways:

Sapping Nutrients

By piercing plant tissues and extracting the sap, aphids deprive strawberry plants of essential nutrients and carbohydrates. This impedes photosynthesis, growth, and the development of runners and daughter plants.

Transmitting Viruses

Aphids transmit harmful viral diseases as they feed, like strawberry mottle virus, strawberry mild yellow edge virus, and strawberry crinkle virus. These viruses significantly reduce fruit quality and yield.

Secreting Honeydew

As aphids feed, they excrete sticky honeydew onto the surface of leaves, fruits, and flowers. Honeydew provides the ideal medium for sooty mold to grow. Sooty mold blocks sunlight from reaching the plants tissues.

Preventing Aphid Infestations on Strawberries

It takes vigilance and integrated pest management to keep aphids off your strawberries. Useful preventative measures include:

Inspect Regularly

Check your strawberry patch at least once a week during the growing season for signs of aphids. Catch infestations early before they escalate.

Remove Weeds

Weeds surrounding the strawberry patch provide shelter for aphids and their predators. Remove weeds to eliminate hiding places.

Use Row Covers

Installing spun polyester row covers over your strawberry plants creates a barrier against flying aphids looking to colonize the patch.

Apply Horticultural Oils

Coating plants with lightweight horticultural oils in early spring interferes with aphid reproduction and disrupts their growth cycles.

Introduce Ladybugs

Releasing ladybugs (lady beetles) and green lacewings onto the strawberry plants allows beneficial predators to kill and eat the aphids.

How to Get Rid of Aphids on Strawberry Plants

If preventative tactics fail and a full-blown aphid infestation takes hold, youll need to take corrective action. Here are ways to get rid of aphids on strawberries.

Use Insecticidal Soaps

Insecticidal soap spray kills aphids on contact through formulation-specific mechanisms without posing risks to human health or the environment.

Apply Neem Oil

Neem oil coats and asphyxiates soft-bodied insects like aphids. It also hampers larvae development and insect egg-laying activities.

Kill Ants in the Garden

Destroying nearby ant colonies deprives aphids of their livestock farmers. Ants protect and transport aphids to plants, herding them like cattle to feed off the honeydew secretions.

Use Organic and Synthetic Pesticides

As a last resort if other control methods fail, certain EPA-registered organic pesticides (like pyrethrins) and synthetic pesticides containing imidacloprid may prove effective against stubborn aphid populations.

Remove Infested Growth

Pruning off and destroying severely infested leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits helps eliminate aphid breeding spots. But be careful not to over-prune the strawberry plant.

Support Natural Predators

Promote aphid-eating lacewings, ladybugs, hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, and predatory midges through habitat conservation techniques.

How to Tell If There Are Bugs in Your Berries

Small soft-bodied insects like thrips, aphids, and spider mites often infiltrate strawberry flower buds and hide within developing fruits. Heres what you should know about bugs in berries:

Bugs Pose Minimal Health Risk

Swallowing the occasional tiny insect hitchhiker wont cause illness or toxicity. Theres a natural or unavoidable defect allowance for bugs within government produce standards.

Dont Confuse Sap Beads for Bugs

Shiny seed-like droplets on the outside of berries are probably just sap secretions, not insect eggs or larvae.

Wash Thoroughly Before Eating

Giving strawberries a saltwater bath as the viral TikTok video shows is unnecessary. Simply rinsing berries under cool running water right before eating or preparing them helps wash away dirt, debris, and small lurking bugs.

Aphids and other sap-feeding bugs can seriously impact strawberry plants and fruit crops. Being able to promptly identify and manage infestations using IPM techniques is key to protecting your strawberries.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.