Predatory Lacewings to Kill Aphids on Weed Plants

Lacewings, ladybugs, and parasitic wasps are some of the examples of predatory insects that can be used to kill mites and other types of pests in your weed plants. So if you are asking if the lacewings can kill aphids in your weed plants, the answer is a big YES.

And if you are wondering how possible it is to happen and how their relationship is working, you need to continue reading this article for we will explain to you what are the abilities of lacewings and how the aphids can damage your weed plants. So let’s get the ball rolling!

What are Aphids?

Aphids are one of the most destructive sap-sucking pests that are very common in cannabis plants. They appear in different colors such as black, red, brown, yellow, or green and these winged pests also have antennae with oval-shaped bodies.

Aphids can produce 40 to 60 offspring when they mature after 7 to 10 days. That means in just a few weeks, their population will balloon into hundreds or even in thousands if you will not be able to eradicate these pests!

That’s why they are always being called as fast-spreading pests that can totally cause a lot of damage to the overall health and life of cannabis plants.

Effects of Aphids on Cannabis Plants

Aphids can be usually found under the cannabis leaves. They can suck all the nutrients present in your cannabis and they can also leave holes into your plants because they also have a mouth to do such damage.

Aphids can bring tons of infection and disease to your cannabis plants by means of their honeydew. This honeydew is considered to be their waste and they are sugary and sweet. And once their waste dropped to the cannabis leaves, the discoloration will occur.

So if your cannabis leaves are turning yellow or black, it only means that there are colonies of aphids at the bottom of your cannabis leaves. And there’s a greater chance that your cannabis will be exposed to fungal infection and disease if the aphids and other insects that are attracted to their waste will continue to emerge in your cannabis.

How to Kill Aphids Using Lacewings?

Lacewing or also called as “Aphid Lion” is commonly used for IPM programs or Integrated Pest Management in the field of horticultural and crop pests. That means they are truly effective as predatory insects and hundreds of experts can give you a full proof that they can kill aphids and other pests such as spider mites, white-flies, thrips, and caterpillar eggs.

The lacewing larvae have a consistent appetite for different species of aphids. That means the lacewing larvae will immediately attack the aphids, paralyze the aphids using their venom until all the fluid from the body of the aphids will be extracted.

With that being said, if you have aphids in your cannabis plants you need to immediately buy the lacewing eggs at a reputable supplier to ensure that you will get the exact lacewing that is made to attack aphids on cannabis plants.

So after you have received your lacewing eggs, you need to release at least 10 lacewing eggs or larvae on each of your cannabis plants or if you are using a 200 square feet growing medium, you can add a thousand of them early in the morning since when they are released at the time where heat or cold is more consistent, they will be forced to be hatched and there’s a tendency that they will eat each other if not scattered properly on cannabis leaves.

Note: Make sure that there are no ants present in your cannabis plants because these ants will help the aphids from surviving and they might destroy the lacewing eggs or larvae since they are protecting the honeydew waste that is being secreted by the aphids. So check the condition of your cannabis plants first before you release the eggs of the lacewing.

All in all, if you want to make sure that all the aphids will be killed by your lacewings, you need to schedule the release of your lacewings at least twice or thrice every week for about 10 days. Additionally, you can use home remedies or natural ways of killing the aphids in your cannabis to get a guarantee that all kinds of pests will be eradicated to your plants.

So good luck on your journey in killing those unwanted aphids and make sure that you will follow the given rules above for more successful result!