How To Get Rid Of Aphids On Mandevilla Vines?

Mandevilla Vines are popular patio and outdoor plants with their colorful flowers. Mandevilla is a native tropical plant and does well in warm environments.

If you grow Mandevilla vines indoors, they need bright indirect or curtain-filtered sunlight.

Aphid infestion on plants like Mandevilla with ants farming for honeydewPin
Aphid colony feeding on plant juice | maldesowhat-DepositPhotos

Black and yellow aphid pests attack Mandevilla plants and their flowers. These are tiny bugs but cause lots of damage if left untreated.

Aphid species are tiny vampires leaving a visible track of death behind after they suck the sap from the plants.

Table Of Contents

What Are Aphids?

Aphids are small insects with soft-bodies that live in colonies. They particularly like sucking the plant juices out of fresh new growth on plants like Mandevilla.

Adults are typically wingless. Some aphids develop wings to travel to other plants when it gets overcrowded, or there is not enough food. This frequently occurs since Aphids generally feed in large groups.

Aphids reproduce fast and can produce many generations within one season.

For example, one Aphid can have tens of thousands of babies within weeks. So, it is important to get them under control as soon as possible.

There are different species of Aphids. The species can be white, yellow, light green, pink, brown, gray, or black. Look at an Aphid under a microscope, and you could see that some species appear to have a wooly coating or a waxy body.

These pests have pear-shaped bodies with long antennae and two short tubes coming from their rear called cornicles.

What Damage Do Aphids Cause?

Aphids on Mandevillas can cause its leaves to yellow and stunt the natural growth of the plant.

There are leaf curl ash aphid varieties that make the leaves curl using its saliva when it eats the plants’ saps.

Aphids weaken the plant and leave it vulnerable to other pests.

For example, aphids suck the phloem sap out of plants to consume large amounts of nitrogen. 

In its wake, aphids leave a sticky honeydew that attracts other predators like ants to the plant. The honeydew often breeds the sooty mold fungus. 

Aphids also transmit plant viruses with their bite. They can carry potyviruses, which make up about 30 percent of the known plant viruses.

How To Get Rid Of Aphids On Mandevilla Plants?

There are many ways to control aphids and stop them from harming your Mandevilla plants. A combination of both natural or chemical options may be needed.

Natural Ways To Control Garden Pest Aphids

There are a lot of different ways to get rid of aphids naturally.

Since aphids feed off of nitrogen, one preventative technique is to use a fertilizer with lower nitrogen levels.

Aphids also have natural predators. Aphid predators include ladybugs, green lacewings and birds that help control the Aphid population. Other insects like parasitic wasps can also be introduced for control.

A strong spray from a garden hose will knock off Oleander aphids off Mandevillas.

Or, mix soapy water using a liquid dish soap such as Castile to spray aphids. When using this natural technique, don’t use soap products with degreasers or moisturizers.

Stores also offer safe insecticidal soaps. These sprays don’t hurt other insects like ladybugs or bees.

Another great option is to use essential oils like neem oil, which acts as a natural repellent for aphids.

Make a spray solution by mixing Neem oil in water by following the package instructions.

Spraying Tip: Always make sure to cover the undersides of leaves where aphids love to collect.

You can also use a mixture of other essential oils such as peppermint, clove, rosemary, and thyme. Mix a few drops of each with water in a spray bottle to control aphids naturally.

A preventative natural solution to protect Mandevilla vines is to plant host plants that attract aphids. Or plant varieties that repel aphids or plant varieties that attract beneficial insects.

  • Plants that attract aphids: Zinnias, dahlias, cosmos, asters, mustard, and nasturtium
  • Plants that repel aphids: Catnip, garlic, chives, onion, and allium
  • Plants that attract beneficial insects to control aphids: Clover, mint, dill, fennel, and yarrow

Other low toxicity bug control solutions include horticultural oil, sticky traps, soap sprays, diatomaceous earth to control aphids and other common pests.

Chemical Ways To Control Aphid Colonies 

There are also pesticides available to help keep an aphid infestation from consuming your Mandevilla.

Here are a few top choices down at the garden center:

  • Ortho Flower, Fruit, and Vegetable Insect Killer
  • Permethrin SFR
  • Spectracide
  • FenvaStar

While aphids may be hard to detect since they are so small, they are easy to treat. There are a lot of solutions, from knocking the pests off plants by spraying a stream of water from a garden hose to applying strong pesticides.

JOIN Our FREE Plant Care Newsletter 
