Please help identify garden pest

Yo. I was out in the garden today eating some beans and stuff. When I looked closely at the beans, I could see MILLIONS of these aphid lookin things all over the place. I looked over to my right and saw billions of millions of them all through the tall grass by the garden, all over the fence and all over the corn. What are these little guys? Are they hurting my plans? How come they have not made there way into the greenhouse which is less than 1.5 feet away from the bean infestation? How do I kill them? Do I even need to?

Thanx a bunch guys!

 

they are aphids.

yes, they will harm the plants - they suck the juices from inside the stems and if left to their own devices they can kill the plants. you've got a severe infestation there and need to treat the plants with something. i would use something that is systemic rather than just topical because it will continue to be effective since it's inside the plant (re-infestion usually occurs).

they like some plants and not others, which is why they haven't affected what you've got in the greenhouse...or, they just haven't made it in there yet.

i don't have suggestion on what to use to treat the corn...most of the treatments that are available aren't recommended for edibles. you might have to treat the corn with something topical so that you can still eat the corn.

i don't have much of a problem with aphids...usually just on my roses and i just spray them to get rid of them. usually one treatment is all that's needed each year.

 

Since all aphids are female and reproduce rapidly, you'll need to do something. Obviously the ladybugs and wasps and birds have not managed to keep up. Cut the grass and bag it and leave it in the sun for some time; then later bury it in your compost (it'll be smelly!) And/or use jets of water to knock the aphids off and drown them with more water. And/or use your thumb and finger to smoosh aphids on stems or backs of leaves, or remove the worst covered leaves and smoosh them underfoot. Don't use pesticides. Oh, and since ants move aphids around so that they can collect the honeydew the aphids excrete, be sure to keep your soil watered so that ants won't feel comfortable (they like dry soil for their colonies).

 

Kill it! Kill it!

If scraping them off makes you feel icky, you can douse the grass in insecticidal soap - Safers or Trounce are good brands, and easy to find - try Rona or Home Depot garden sections. This will at the very least set them back, and the very best kill them all.

For the ants, who are most probably at fault here, if keeping the soil moist isn't enough, you can find their nest, mix it vigourously with baking soda, and then pour in some white vinegar. Foom! Ants begone.