An environmentally friendly way might be dish detergent with water and then rinse afterwards.

I try not to use insecticide unless the problem is really bad, but one product I use is cygon. Mix it even about half strength that they recommend.

I have used it to kill fungas gnats in the soil when the problem got way out of hand. I find it is fairly safe, can be used on impatien plants (whereas malathion, etc will kill them.)

Still, probably best to use it outdoors as it smells quite a bit.

But, why do any treatment? Maybe last year was just a bad year and you won't have that problem this year.

Glen - dish soap as in Palmolive liquid dish soap?

Cygon -yes I've used that before a few years ago when my landscaper told me to use it on a shrub that was infested with aphids. I still must have it somewhere.

This is the aphid queen talking here! They always seem to turn up on my impatiens inside. Outside, there's never any problem that i've noticed, but inside it's Aphid City! >:( Here's what i do, and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't. I take the plants and swish them around in the soapy dishwater after washing my dishes. You have to manoeuvre a bit to hold the dirt in, but it's doable. I also use a home-made spray - a gallon of water mixed with a cup of alcohol and a tablespoon of dish detergent. The other day, i bought some insecticidal soap and everything is going to get a shot of that pretty soon.

Good luck!

Oh my gosh. I didn't know Diazinon has been banned !
Could anyone tell my why ? And I was going to mix a 7 ltr pump spray with it to do my Columbines. Canker worms( little green worms about 1/4 to 1/2 in long ) have infested all 3 of my plants. Now I will have to try the water, alcohol and dishsoap tomorrow morning. By the way, are these "canker worms" as we call them in Manitoba the same as the Sawfly ??

Silverflower - would Malathion work for your worms? When we had that infestation of the worms a few years ago that's what I used and it worked like a charm. I also used a solution of dish soap, warm water and vegetable oil - it smothered them.

I've used laundry soap, which suds up less than dish soap but still clogs up those wee aphid gills. You can go the extra mile and purchase laundry soap developed for campers - it's apparently more environmentally friendly.

When using soap, don't use the newer anti-bacterial soaps. No need to upset the micro-herd with more chemicals.

C.