Sticky Business: How to get rid of Aphids on Fruit Trees

In 2017, my neighbourhood was hit with an aphid invasion. Swarms of aphids gathered on fruit trees and other plants, sucking the life out of our beloved trees and plants and leaving them weak and bedraggled. Inevitably, the branches were also covered with a sticky substance that I later learned was aphid poop. Yuk!

Wherever I went, I would see trees in distress. At first, I thought the fruit trees in our community orchard were going to be ok. They seemed to be unaffected. But then, almost overnight, hordes of these tiny critters gathered on the leaves, sucking the juices out of them.

How aphids damage fruit trees

Aphids are like little vampires. Also known as “plant lice” these insects are from the insect order Hemiptera. There are thousands of aphid species and they can vary in colour size and shape depending on the species and their stage of development.

What they all have in common is that they use their piercing-sucking mouth parts to feed on plant tissue. When it comes to fruit trees, aphids suck out the sweet sugary sap that the tree uses to power its biological functions.

Essentially, the aphids are stealing the food your fruit tree needs to survive. The aphids damage the tree’s leaves and shoots. Without energy for self-repair, your tree’s growth may become stunted and it will produce poorer quality fruit.

To add insult to injury, the aphids will poop out a sugary substance euphemistically called “honeydew” which will cover tree leaves, stems and branches. And the honeydew attracts other pests, like ants and wasps, that feed on it. Sooty mould can also form on the honeydew, reducing your tree’s ability to produce energy through photosynthesis.

So, as you can see, these tiny aphids can cause a real mess if they are allowed to feast on your fruit trees.

The question is, what do you do about it?

Getting rid of aphids on fruit trees with dormant sprays

When it comes to fruit trees, the best cure for almost every problem is prevention. And there is one spray that I think every home grower should use that can protect fruit trees from many types of insect pests.

I am talking about dormant oil sprays. These sprays are applied during the winter months when the tree is dormant and has no leaves, blossoms or fruit. The oils in the spray coat the branches and bark of your tree, suffocating overwintering insects that are hiding in cracks and crevices.

If you want to get rid of aphids on your fruit trees, there are various dormant oil sprays to choose from including Green Earth Dormant Spray Kit and Monterey Dormant Horticultural Oil. Whatever you choose, carefully read the instructions, because if you apply these oils incorrectly, you can seriously damage your tree.

And in any case, if you already have aphid activity on your fruit trees, you’re probably too late for a dormant spray since the tree will no longer be dormant. So, let’s look for the next option when it comes to killing aphids on fruit trees.

Getting rid of aphids on fruit trees with insecticidal soap

Simple, homemade insecticidal soap can kill aphids. You can make it at home (recipe below) and spray the aphids every few days. When the soap spray covers aphids, it penetrates the protective waxy layer on their bodies and messes with their ability to retain water. Then the moisture in their little bodies leaks out and the aphid becomes dehydrated and dies.

But that process takes time and calls for repeated applications. The cherry trees in the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard are quite large, so that wasn’t an option for us.

Getting rid of aphids on fruit trees with water

Another option is to just take a hose and wash the aphids off of the leaves. No soap is needed. Sure, some of the aphids may crawl or fly back up into your tree, but this will stop immediate feeding and slow down the attack enough to give beneficial insects time to find the aphids and feast on them.

Grow 
Fruit Trees 
That Thrive

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Getting rid of aphids on fruit trees with beneficial insects

In the long term, the best way to protect your fruit tree from aphids is to have nature do the work for you.

Make sure you have a pollinator garden near your fruit tree. Ensure that you have planted a wide diversity of plants, including native plants, that will attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings throughout the growing season.

With lots of nectar or pollen to enjoy throughout the growing season and a healthy habitat to support them, these beneficial insects will stay in your garden. Then when aphids and other pests appear, they will prey on insect pests and act as a free pest control team for your garden.

This can be one step towards turning your yard into a food forest where the plants and trees can be both resilient and productive.

How did we get rid of the aphids in our fruit trees?

So what happened in our orchard? Well, we had been tending our pollinator garden for almost a decade at that point, and it worked. Within days I started to notice chubby little pupa (see in the photo above) showed up on the tree. I wasn’t sure if they were good guys or bad guys!

But when they matured and turned into ladybugs, I realized the pollinator garden had done its job. We had ladybugs at all stages feasting on the aphids in our trees. And while other trees in my city languished as a result of the aphid invasion, the cherry trees in Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard bounced back quickly and produced a wonderful harvest that year.

And if you want to give DIY insecticidal soap a try, use the recipe below. Enjoy your fruit trees!

Susan Poizner

Award-winning author, podcaster, fruit tree care educator and creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com. Learn more about Susan on the about us page.