Aphid Pick Up Stick

I enjoy growing a few herbs and chilli plants in my home as it's fun to use them in my cooking. However, just when my plants are getting settled, little gangs of aphids inevitably move in. I don't mind sharing but they multiply quickly inside and start overwhelming the plants and leaving a sticky residue on everything.

As I eat my herbs and chillies, I definitely wouldn't use any chemicals on them so over the years I've tried all sorts of naturally derived sprays and potions instead. The downsides are that although they're natural, I'm always a bit worried they'll harm the plants, or any surfaces they end up accidentally hitting. In the end, I haven't found any that work all that well.

I had this idea while sorting my stationary drawer the other day. I love it as it's so simple and it actually lets me capture the wile wee critters without any sprays or anything that might harm the plants. The idea is just to make a sticky tube and poke it around the areas of the plants with the most pests. You don't need to be precise and the pests easily stick on. Once you're done you can dispose of the tube any way you wish.

After a few days, I've noticed that most of the aphids I had are gone. The odd one pops up but it's super easy to just capture them when they do.

Obviously this works for me as I have a few plants and like seeing how they're while I have my coffee breaks. If you have a small urban farm this probably isn't the solution for you 😉

The only supply needed is a roll of cheap masking tape of the type used when painting and decorating.

I imagine any tape will be fine but I like this as:

1. I had it in my stationary drawer already
2. It's really easy to grab and just rip a bit off
3. It's sticky but not so much that it sticks to and damages the plant leaves

Tear off about 10-15cm of tape. There's no magic length but a longer piece of tape will make a longer tube which should make it easier to reach into bushier plants.

Starting at one corner of the tape, start to roll the length into a tube making sure the sticky side will end up on the outside. It doesn't have to be neat it'll work just as well no mater how beautiful it looks.

This is the satisfying bit... Just poke the tube around the bits of the plant where you can see the aphids or other pests. I've found I don't have to be too precise and the aphids quickly stick onto the tube.

Don't worry about getting them all. My aphids seem pretty good at hiding but the beauty is it's quick and easy to just make a new tube whenever you have a few spare minutes and want to visit your plants.

The tubes are pretty much a use once item. I normally just screw them up when I'm done and drop them in the bin. New pests will no doubt show up but at least these ones are gone 😀