Question
Hi yearly some of my perennials and a few trees get aphids. The systemic control insecticides work well but I refrain form using them on my flowering plants because I am concerned the bees and butterflies might be affected. Do those pesticides make it into the flower nectar?

Answer
Chuck,

The short answer is yes they can. In fact, one widely used systemic insecticide called imidacloprid is implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder that is currently affecting honeybees.

There no reason to use a systemic insecticide in home gardens for aphids. This is overkill and can be dangerous for you and non-target insects. A much safer approach is insecticidal soap. Soap controls both aphids and spider mites and is practically non-toxic. Take a look at this page http://www.livingwithbugs.com/insecticidal_soap.html for some general information about using soaps.

Good luck with your garden this year.


Jack DeAngelis, PhD
Extension Entomologist (ret.)
author Living with Bugs: http://www.livingwithbus.com/bug_book.html