How to Get Rid of Blackfly: Tips on Protecting Your Plants From Aphids

Have you noticed any deformities in your plants recently? Are they not growing as well as usual? Or, have you been seeing ants climbing up and down your crops? That sounds like it could be blackfly. If you want to learn how to get rid of blackfly, WM James has some tips to help you.

Rest assured, your plants are in safe hands.

So, if you're not quite sure how to handle your infestation, no matter how big or small, follow our guidance and let's keep your precious plants healthy and thriving!

If you're looking for some products to help remove blackfly, check them out below! Free and fast delivery is available.

What is Blackfly?

In the gardening world, blackfly refers to a type of aphid commonly called the 'black bean aphid'. These are tiny bugs (1.5-3mm long) that suck the sap out of plants, like beans, nasturtiums, and spinach, causing leaves to curl, affecting growth.

They also excrete sticky honeydew, which can attract other pests and lead to mould. So, yeah, they aren't great for your crop.

They're often found in dense colonies on the soft, new growth of plants, such as shoots, leaves, and flower buds.

Winged blackfly can also form if the colony gets too crowded, and they need to migrate to your other surrounding plants.

What is an Aphid?

Aphids are among the most common pests you'll find in a garden, greenhouse, and farms. Common aphids include blackfly and greenfly.

They are known as sap-sucking insects, and they can seriously impact your plant's growth – not in a good way.

Needing warmth to survive and thrive, their life cycle is limited from spring to summer, but in your home or in a greenhouse, aphids can pop up at any time of the year.

According to the RHS, there are more than 500 species of aphids in Britain, and they can be found on a wide variety of hosts. This, paired with the size of aphids (1-7mm), means they can be particularly hard to spot and therefore remove. But we'll get onto that later.

Why is Blackfly a Problem?

As we mentioned earlier, blackfly are sap-sucking insects. Without sap, plants could weaken, leading to stunted growth and deformities.

They can also excrete honeydew, which attracts other pests like ants. These ants that the honeydew attracts will remove any predators of the blackfly, helping them flourish.

5 Ways to Get Rid of Ants Nests in Your Lawn

Over time, the honeydew will also cause a sooty mould that blocks the plant from getting sunlight. If you spot this, you can remove it with a damp cloth.

Blackfly can also be responsible for spreading harmful diseases as they move from plant to plant.

Having said all that, however, blackfly are essential in a garden's food chain, providing food for many species of insects and even birds. They’re only really a problem to your plants when they appear in large quantities.

How to Get Rid of Blackfly Naturally

Using harsh pesticides in your garden can negatively impact your plants and surrounding wildlife, especially bees, which is extremely damaging to our environment.

Pesticides ultimately give you no natural control over your garden, reducing biodiversity, which will lead to the return of blackfly.

So, we'll be giving you some useful tips on how to get rid of blackfly naturally and safely while keeping your garden's natural ecosystem intact.

Some non-harmful, beneficial insects – like ladybirds – actually rely on blackfly for food, so it's important to note that removing the aphids will likely kill the other insects.

You could always try to let nature do its thing until there are dense amounts of blackfly that you want to control yourself.

Why Wildlife Gardening is Important

Let's get into the tips.

How to Get Rid of Blackfly on Plants

If you have a severe infestation of blackfly and they're seriously affecting your crop, you might not want to wait for natural predators to get at them.

Here are some things you can do to your outdoor plants to remove large colonies of blackfly:

Preventing Future Blackfly Infestations on Your Outdoor Plants

Once you've successfully removed the blackfly, you'll want to ensure they don't return in huge numbers again. Here are some things you can do:

How to Get Rid of Blackfly on Houseplants

Houseplants are a little different because you don't have natural predators inside your house, like ladybirds and wasps that eat blackfly, so the approach needs to be altered slightly.

Here are some things you can do if you have an infestation of blackfly on houseplants:

Preventing Future Blackfly Infestations on Your Houseplants

Well done for controlling the blackfly on your houseplants! But you need to take preventative measures to keep your plants healthy and thriving. Here are some things you can do:

Summary: Getting Rid of Blackfly for Healthy Plants

If you're struggling with blackfly and an infestation is significantly impacting your plants' health, you should now have some useful tips to try out for yourself.

But before you go, here are two key points that are important to remember:

Go ahead and tackle your blackfly problem with our handy tips. By following WM James’ advice, you can help save the health of your plants and your garden's ecosystems!

If you need any more assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us. With over 60 years of experience in the horticultural industry, we are more than happy to help!

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