Taming of the Aphids

Barbara Kingsolver's book Prodigal Summer was my first introduction into the nature of food chains and ecosystems. Critters that may seem like pests play a beneficial role in maintaining a balance in nature. The spider spinning webs around my basement are also eating the ants that seem to inhabit my house in the spring. Or in the example used in the book, the pesky coyotes with desirable fur for coats are eating beetles. If you kill the coyotes, then the beetle population thrives putting a stress on their food sources. And rabbits, which rely on the same sources as the beetles would get pushed out. By killing the coyotes, then you also threaten the rabbits. It’s a tangled food-web.

In my garden, the aphids are attacking the brassicas: the kale, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and broccoli. These miniscule mites attack the leaves, first creating unassuming holes and then causing the leaves to shrivel. I’m not sure their purpose, but I think about this food-web as I think about protecting my vegetables.

Lady Bugs feast on aphids. Introducing them into the garden will help control the problem. But the spiders that I’m letting live in the basement to take care of my ant problem are also eating the lady bugs.

As much as I want to be one with nature and minimize my impact, I also really want to eat vegetables this summer. So, I am taking more drastic measures. I bought a bottle of “Horticultural Spray Oil.” As the label says, it kills insects by smothering.

The woman at the store cautioned me against using it before 5pm. The oil that coats the aphids will also coat bee wings and kill them, so I must wait until the bees are done buzzing for the day.   I remarked, that would be fine since I’m allergic to bees. But she reminded me that we need bees to pollinate plants and flowers. So I will follow her instructions and keep the epi-pen handy.

And perhaps, if I kill all the aphids, I will have a bumper crop of kale. I see no harm in the eco-system of that.