lupins being attacked by greenfly

One way to deal with the troublesum little greenflies is to plant some marigolds near them as the marigolds attract hoverflies who in turn just love eating the naughty little green things....another wonderful and easy example of the circle of life! Hel.xxx.

If these greenfly are great big things - about 3x the size of a 'normal' greenfly - then you have lupin aphid. They are nasty little blighters that literally smother lupin plants. They are greyish in colour and seem to be regional. I am unlucky enough to have these and, as I do not like to use chemicals, I have found it easier to simply stop growing lupins. Sorry not to be more positive about this. If your greenfly are just the normal ones, then squirting them with soapy water should be effective. Good luck!

hi - thanks for the replies... Helofadigger, i've planted some marigold seedlings so when they're robust enough i'll try putting them near the lupins, but i think they're more likely to be the nasty "little blighters" sid mentioned... if the marigolds don't work, i think its for the bin with lupins!?

Fingers crossed Rita but either way you'll end up with something be it lupins or marigolds! Hel.xxx.

Hi - sifting through old posts...yes, sound like lupin aphids & yes, I just abandoned lupins on my front garden after infestation. Now, 2 yrs later, they're on my established 'Black Lace' elder sambucus nigra !?! Predators such as ladybirds & lacewings aren't interested in them, so very messy hand squashing or chemicals required. Big b*ggers.