Aphid, otherwise known as greenfly or black fly is a nuisance pest that destroys plants. It destroys plants by draining the sap from it and by so doing also acts as an agent for the transfer of viruses and other diseases. It may also cause dis-figuration to your decorative plants at home. They are about 4 inches in length and are quite difficult to spot them with the unaided eye. They may be seen as black, brown or light green in color. They attack a wide array of plants which also results in a classification based on the crop of infestation. Thus we may have cabbage aphids, potato aphids etc.

Aphids are mostly found in the temperate regions thus you will find a lot of them here in Africa. They reproduce both sexually and asexually because of which they are able to take over or otherwise colonize a plant very quickly. Their Asexual Reproduction mostly occurs in the spring or rainy season in the temperate zone whereas the sexual reproduction occurs in the autumn or dry season.

Because of their ability to colonize very quickly it is quite difficult to control or even eradicate them, not saying is not possible though but only that it is difficult, this is mostly attributed to the fact that they have lots of resistance to lots of pesticides and to make matters worst they are mostly found at the under surface of plant leaves so spraying your pesticides may just avoid them or not get in contact with them, if the invade your garden or your ornamental plants you may however use water jets against, it is known to be quite effective but am not sure if you can get access to water jets to use in the farm though. In the farms what we mostly do is use their natural predators against them, you may use lady bugs, crab spiders or wasps, either of them will work or you can use more than one of them to get rid of them quickly. Due to the largeness of the environment thus if we are considering a farm, probably a lot of acres, using their predators against them may not be extremely efficient however it is known to work and the results are commendable for those whose cultivation are in an enclosed area. You may also plant crops that repel them, a typical example is a catnip. Alcohol may also be used against them,

Don't be so frightened when you notice them in your farm, they can be gotten rid of, only that you have to be swift and strategic.