Effing aphids! Help!

[Vodkacranberryplease]

I've got some honeysuckle (established bush/tree, and climber) plus a climbing rose. Last year black aphids got it - killed all the flower buds. It was so sad I bought ladybirds but they didn't help much. If at all.

This year I've got an plant invigorated and bug killer (a safe spray) which you dilute with water and spray and I've been pretty good with it Even doing it in winter to kill eggs.. but they are back.

My bush honeysuckle got a really good spray last weekend into the buds etc where they might live and Ive just been out to it and it's looking really tatty and with dead flower buds. My rose is ok ish but haven't examined it closely. I've seen these little fuckers on a campanula, and on aquilegias too. Both the normal pale ones and the black ones which seem to be mostly on the honeysuckles.

Im gutted. Ideally I'd like to do this safely and I don't want to wipe out my insect population but what can I do to kill them quickly?? As in wipe the little fuckers out. Thinking now I'm not going to have flowers on my lovely honeysuckle (heckrotti flame) for the summer now and it's the one I see from my bedroom window! My main flowery wall!

It's a long narrow garden and they have all taken hold along my left wall. There's pots and big troughs next to the house end then a 'shady' border then the honeysuckle tree.

I also have horticultural soap which I'll cover everything with later today but not used - an Italian one from amazon. I've got a dog and am not a fan of the non green approach but I'd definitely go more chemical if it got rid of them properly for the year (as long as it wasn't too disastrous for insects and birds)

The brand of my current spray is SB. Apple didn't let me put that in.

This is what I do. Squash as many as you can! Look out for early signs, like the white fluff of greenfly larvae and remove that. If you have a hose, wash as many off with the highest powered jet you can use without damaging the plant. I regularly spray my plants with soap, essential oils that repel insects (rosemary, garlic, lemon) and milk (it's a natural disinfectant and protects against fungal infections). Neem oil is also good but it repels good insects too. Try to treat at dusk to avoid harming bees and make sure you get inside tips.

You can also plant nearby things that repel (chives, allium, rosemary) or attract the aphids like nasturtiums (as sacrificial lambs to the aphids).

I just go out them and kill them too.

There's just too many! Last year I had to chop all the ends off my big honeysuckle bush and had no flowers. So annoying!

I've hosed the plants several times too. I'll use the soap later and see how often I can do it - the bug killer is a once a week thing. Also chop the worst ends off and bag them up.

I'm looking for the most effective approach within a range of not total insect destruction, something I don't have to repeat the whole time that targets aphids. But it doesn't have to be 100% natural if it works, as this is a pretty severe problem.

No magic answer: woolly aphids plague our apples trees, and I use a combo of spraying with insecticide, spraying with water, scrubbing with a brush and chopping off the worst affected bits. With moderate success.

Probably not the final solution, but we have bird feeders to attract small birds to the garden. They love the aphids and any time I’ve spotted a group they’ve been eaten by the birds in a few days. Won’t help for big infestations but it might stop them in future.

Sorry, there really is no magic one off treatment. The little critters reproduce exponentially and can reproduce asexually. Those clusters you find are all clones!

Even the nastiest strongest insecticide will need frequent repeat applications. Prevention is better than cure so next year spray with soap/essential oils before you see any aphids and look at for early signs before an infestation takes hold. Growing aphid repellent plants and aphid "trap"plants that they will choose over your honeysuckle does make a big difference IME.

Thanks everyone. Little fuckers. No point in using an insecticide if it's not going to wipe them out. These things are in pots so hard to add those plants nearby but I'll see what I can do.
I actually sprayed my big honeysuckle over winter and it made a big difference. I just didn't think to do the small ones (other end) or the aquilegia or campanulas. At this rate I'll be spraying the whole garden!!