Aphids
Soft, pear-shaped sap-suckers that cluster on tender new growth and breed astonishingly fast.
🔍 How to spot it
Small, soft-bodied insects - green, black, pink or grey - packed onto the softest new shoots, flower buds and leaf undersides. They move slowly, leave sticky honeydew, and often bring ants, which farm them for the sugary residue. Curling or distorted new leaves are an early sign.
💥 The damage it does
Aphids drain sap from young growth, causing twisted, stunted or yellowing leaves and weak shoots. They also spread plant viruses as they feed, and their honeydew coats leaves and grows sooty mould. A few become hundreds within days in warm conditions.
🧴 How to treat it
Blast them off with a jet of water, or wipe clusters away by hand. Insecticidal soap or neem oil clears the rest - spray the growing tips and leaf undersides, and repeat every few days. Outdoors, ladybirds and lacewings do much of the work if you leave the sprays off.
🛡️ How to prevent it
Check new growth regularly and catch colonies early, when a single wipe deals with them. Avoid heavy nitrogen feeding, which pushes the soft sappy growth aphids prefer, and encourage predators in the garden.
🌿 Plants that get aphids
Loves soft new growth on almost anything, indoors and out. These 194 profiled plants name them in their own troubleshooting notes:
Houseplants 60
Garden 129
Struggling to save a plant? The plant rescue guides walk through recovery step by step, and the problem solver works backwards from a symptom. This is general growing advice, not a diagnosis for a specific plant.