Eeek! Aphids on my aquilegia. What to do?

[rholo]

Hi,

Sorry, am pretty new to gardening and was just congratulating myself and how nice our new border is looking when I saw that there are aphids all over the stems of the aquilegia!

Google seemed to suggest that I would either want to take stunning photographs of such a phenomenon or leave the aphids to attract ladybirds.

Should I not be washing them off or something similar? Please help, I feel like I've just started to get on top of the slugs that were destroying my attempts at veg and herbs and now there are aphids.

If you're minimising chemicals then very dilute washing up liquid in a spray bottle applied morning and night should help.

If there aren't masses you can run your thumb and first finger up the stem and squish them off.

Or buy a bottle of bug spray.

Thank you for replying.

Think I will be out later with some diluted washing up liquid and see if I can do battle.

Seconding dilute washing up liquid! Or, if you wash up in a bowl, you could always use the dishwater.

I'm quite happy to use a systemic greenfly spray. You aren't going to eat them.

I have this problem not just on the aquilegia! Has anyone here ever bought ladybirds/ladybird larvae to deal with this? If so, did it work and where's best to get them from? I'm trying to do my gardening as organically as possible.

Sorry for the mini hijack OP!