Aphid
Aphids are an extremely common pest in your garden, scrubs and other plant
life. They suck the sap from plants leading to the drying, discoloration,
and eventually the death of the plant. Aphids will also transmit diseases
through their saliva from plant to plant. The plants sap is digested by
the Aphids and excreted as a sweet-sticky liquid called honeydew. Ants
feed on this honeydew.
Most Ant species do not cause much damage to plants; however they do protect
the Aphids from predators in order to harvest the honeydew. The harvesting
of the dew is called "milking" the aphids, which the ants accomplish
by stroking the abdomen of the Aphid to stimulate the release of the liquid.
The Ants will even save the eggs of these insects over winter in order
to bring them out during the spring. Aphids are to Ants what cows are
the Humans.
Control of Aphids is not usually difficult, but most insecticides will
kill the Aphids predators, which will allow these insects to increase
in population and destroy more vegetation. Not controlling Aphids can
lead to huge numbers of both Aphids and Ants. Controlling Ants will also
lead to the control of Aphids.
Haley Pest Control offers Pest Control and Termite Control in Lawrence,
KS and in Topeka, Kansas, Baldwin, Eudora, Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa,
Leawood, Shawnee Mission, Stanley, Ottawa, Kansas City, Basehor, Linwood,
Tonganoxie, Mclouth, and Perry-Lecompton. We offer Pest Management and
Exterminator services for the following counties: Douglas, Johnson, Jefferson,
Franklin, Shawnee, Wyandotte and Leavenworth , KS.
