You recently discovered that some bugs resembling aphids had overrun your lovely garden. A fellow gardener has advised you to use banana peels, but you are hesitant and doubtful. You are unsure of the effectiveness of the banana peels in preventing aphids from landing on your plants.
Bananas are healthy fruits that can replenish the soil with nutrients because they are high in potassium, antioxidants, and minerals. You can use banana peels to create compost, fertilize plants, and kill insects. In your garden, aphids are a real annoyance, so you should try everything to get rid of them.
Do Banana Peels Get Rid of Aphids?
Banana peels are unappealing to aphids, who will not stay in an area with banana peels for long. If aphids have invaded your garden, banana peels can be your best solution. Aphids will leave if you place some banana peels at the base of the affected plants.
You will likely see aphids underneath the leaves of plants. Your plants’ leaves develop abnormally due to aphids sucking nutrient-rich sap from them; eventually, the plants wilt and die. Aphids prefer to target weak plants due to drought or poor soil.
Aphids dislike strong scents; thus, the smell of banana peels is enough to drive them away.
How to Use Banana Peels to Deter Aphids?
According to most gardeners, banana peels are ideal for plant growth. You can use banana peels to eliminate pests that harm plants. Using banana peels to keep aphids away is simple, and you can do it without a professional’s help.
You start by chopping banana peels into small, thin slices. Put the pieces under the affected plant’s base. Place the peels around the bases of other plants not affected by the aphids to prevent the aphids from spreading to them. The aphids will have left in a few days.
Which Other Fruit Peels Deter Aphids?
It seems it’s not only banana peels that can keep aphids away. You can use several other fruit peels to repel aphids from your garden plants. They contain natural chemicals and have a strong smell the aphids dislike.
1. Orange peels
You can protect your plants against pests by using orange peels. They contain d-limonene, a waxy substance that destroys the waxy coating of aphids, suffocating and killing them.
Put hot water in a spray bottle and add the orange peels. You can spray the cooled mixture on the affected plants. To eliminate the aphids, spray this mixture every 3 to 4 days. The mixture is also effective for your houseplants.
Another way is to chop or grind orange peels into small pieces and spread them near the base of the plants. The peels, however, need to be fresh to work well. Make sure the peels lack orange flesh because the juices from the flesh will attract unwanted pests.
2. Lemon peels
Lemon peels will keep aphids away as well. Aphids dislike strong smells, and most citrus fruits have strong scent. The peels may not have the same impact as orange peels, but they still work.
Lemon peels contain limonene as well. Another chemical, linalool, is produced naturally by obtaining oil from the lemon peel. Aphids and other pests become paralyzed when limonene and linalool are present together.
Dry the lemon peels, chop them into fine pieces and bury them around the base of the plant. Another approach involves grating the lemon rinds, adding crushed garlic and chili flakes to the saucepan of boiling water, and then covering the pan. Once the liquid has cooled, pour it into a spray bottle and apply it to the affected plants.
3. Grapefruit peels
Nootkatone is a substance found in grapefruits. It produces a safe insecticide, is a natural bug repellant, and is an approved food additive. Despite being a friendly insecticide, it kills aphids immediately and repels them.
The chemical reacts so quickly that it kills aphids in seconds. The aphids become overactive because it blocks their receptor. Aphids kill themselves by vibrating too much.
Are There Fruits That Attract Aphids?
Although some fruits indeed keep aphids away, not all of them do. Therefore, it is advisable to be aware of the fruits that the aphids will like before scattering fruit peels about your plants. Here are a few fruits that attract aphids, and you cannot use their peels to repel them:
1. Plums
The mealy plum aphid and the leaf curl plum aphid are two aphid species that live in plum trees. You should not use plum peels in your garden as they will attract insects to your plants.
If you already have plum trees, you might want to try covering the base of those plants with banana or orange peels to keep aphids away.
2. Cherries
The leaves of the fruiting cherries wilt and curl due to the black cherry aphids sucking the sap from them. The leaves eventually wilt and become brown. The aphids’ sweet, sticky honeydew excretion causes the moldy, black soot that forms on plant leaves.
3. Pears
Bean aphids, cotton aphids, and green peach aphids will be the main pests attracted to pears. Usually, the aphids appear as the pear trees are in full bloom and growing quickly. On the leaves and the shoots, they will build colonies.
The aphids eat the fruits while the shoots get stunted. The honeydew that the aphids secrete on the fruits makes the fruits sticky and gives them a sooty appearance.
4. Peaches
If peach fruits are present, the aphids will not spare them. The three main aphid species attracted to peaches are the black aphid, the mealy plum aphid, and the green peach aphid. The aphids will overwinter at the base of a peach tree’s buds. Deformed fruit is typically a sign that aphids have attacked the peaches.
5. Apples
Apples are a common target of aphids. The rose apple aphid, green apple aphid, and woolly apple aphid are the three most common aphids on apple trees.
Late April, when the apple trees’ new shoots and buds are beginning to grow, is when the aphids will primarily attack the trees. The aphids will wait until the fruits begin to ripen before attacking them.
What do Banana Peels Repel?
Banana peels repel other insects, including greenflies, black flies, and whiteflies. The insects will leave your plants in a few days if you slice up banana peels and scatter them around them. If you don’t have time to slice the banana peels, you can bury them.
Blow flies are another name for green (bottle) flies, bigger than regular houseflies. They usually eat decaying plant and animal matter, exposed food, and waste materials. They are a vivid blue-green color.
Black flies, sometimes known as buffalo gnats, are tiny, dark flies with a humpback appearance. Early summer and late spring are the two times when the flies are most active. To complete the reproduction process, the female members of this species suck blood from an animal or person.
Whiteflies are closely related to aphids and mealybugs but are not true flies. They have a moth-like look, are small, and are gray-white. By sucking up plant sap and removing nutrients, whiteflies weaken plants. They release honeydew, which leads to fungi-related diseases in the plants.
Banana peels make an effective natural bug repellant. You can be sure that no green, black, or white flies will appear where you have the peels.
Do Banana Peels Decompose?
Walking about throwing full banana peels is not a good idea. Your argument that they will decay quickly enough is incorrect. Although banana peels eventually decompose, the challenge is how quickly they do so. It could take months or even two years for whole peels to decompose completely.
Microorganisms secrete enzymes that aid in decomposition when you throw the peel. Considering the thickness and toughness of banana peels and the fact that microorganisms don’t have mouths, the process will take a long time.
The next phase of the banana peels’ decomposition involves insects’ intervention. Fortunately, insects have mouths, which speeds up the process.
However, composting can make the decomposition process faster, say 2-4 weeks. Have a compost bin outside and fill it about halfway with dead leaves. When you have a good collection of bananas or fruit peels, make a hole in the leaves, bury your peels and cover them with the old leaves.
Does Banana Peel Water Attract Bugs?
Use banana peel water to enrich the soil in your garden with some pleasant nutrients. Put sliced banana peels in water to soak. The banana peels’ nutrients will seep into the water. Your garden’s plant roots will absorb all those nutrients if you pour the banana water over them. Plants that benefit from the water include peppers, flowers, and tomatoes.
Yes, banana peel water in your garden will also become quite attractive to many bugs. The banana peel water attracts various insects, including fruit flies, ants, gnats, roaches, bees, and other insects. The banana peel water’s sweet smell will be a significant factor in attracting them.
Banana water, on the other hand, tastes great when used to make tea with cinnamon or honey. It offers potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants that help with heart health, digestion, and sleep.
Can You Get Rid of Aphids Naturally
While using banana peels to keep aphids away from your plants is a good option, there are other all-natural ways to keep them off. Let’s examine a few:
1. Removing manually
When you find the aphids, put on a pair of gloves and kill them by squeezing them between your fingers. Doing this a few times a week will enable you to eliminate them.
2. Spray with water
You can spray the aphids off the plants with water from a garden hose. Make sure not to damage the plants. After 2 to 3 days, you should assess the plants, then repeat the process until all of the aphids are gone.
3. Essential oil spray
Six cups of water should have four to five drops of essential oil, such as peppermint, neem, rosemary, or clove. To make this easier for you to spray several plants, pour the solution into a spray bottle.
Conclusion
Just because aphids have infested your lovely plants doesn’t mean you should give up on them. Not with so many options for preventing aphid infestation. Use grapefruits, oranges, bananas, and lemon peels to assist you in getting rid of this menace.
We hope you’ve taken note of the fruits to stay away from around your plants because they’ll attract aphids, which can wreak havoc in your garden.