White fly
I have got a serious white fly infestation in my front yard container garden. I have tried insecticidal soaps to no avail and live lady bugs. My aphids are gone but the white flies seem to multiply. This is an organic garden so I do not want to use serious pesticides. Any suggestions?
Whitefly are tiny white mothlike insects (adult stage) that fly when the plant is shaken. They can be found on the underside of leaves along with yellowish bumps which can resemble scale but are the nymph stage of the whitefly. The obvious symptoms of whitefly is the white cloud of tiny flies that emerges when the plant is distrubed as well as the sticky residue called honeydew on the leaves. Their sucking mouthparts feed on plants causing the leaves to turn yellow and die. In severe infestation, a sooty black mold may also be present from the honeydew. The general health of the plant is compromised, it becomes weak, produces pale, stunted and distorted growth, which eventually leads to death.
Whitefly are difficult to control because they reproduce so quickly (average life cycle is 30-34 days) and frequently build up a resistance to pesticides; therefore you need to be vigilant when it comes to treatment. Try repeated sprayings of insecticidal soap every 5-7 days for at least two weeks and make sure you spray the undersides of the leaves. In addition, try Vapona strips, yellow or blue sticky fly tape, ( a color that they are attracted to) hung above the plants. This will help reduce the adult whitefly population. A natural spray solution recommended by Rodale consists of 1 cup isopropyl alcohol mixed with 1/2 TB of insecticidal soap in 1 quart of water. Apply once a week for two weeks. Don’t use on hairy or waxy plants.
Some people have even tried vacuuming white flies off the leaves or spraying the plants vigorously with water to knock them off.
As a last resort use botanical poisons that are plant derived like Neem or a pyrethroid spray Pyrethrum that paralyzes whiteflies on contact. Ryania is a mild alkaline contact insecticide that will not harm beneficial insects and leaves no residue.
To use Neem oil -mix 1 ounce (2tBsp) of Neem oil and 1 1/2 tsp. of diswashing detergent to 1 gal. of water. It works on the crawler stage, smothers the eggs and regulates insect growth. Several applications every 5 days may be required. Some plants can be sensitive to Neem oil and develop phytotoxicity. Follow safety precautions and manufacturers recommendations when using any chemicals. *Loggee’s
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Lobelia is one of my favorite flowers, its blue/purple color makes a stunning addition to any flowerbed or planter. In hotter climates care must be taken to keep it away from the sun in the heat of the day. It can stand full sun but must be watered daily. Lobelia prefers cooler climates. I remember seeing a huge, cascading basket in Alaska. When the weather gets too hot it will stop blooming but will resume when temperatures cool off. If it gets too leggy simply cut it back and it will regrow.
If you use sticky strips then you may end up catching lizards. I put up yellow sticky fly paper & ended up with 4 lizards that got stuck to the paper. I will not use sticky paper any more as the liiizards eat the bugs naturally.
What are the white, flying bugs that look kind of like aphids? Are they aphids and how do I get rid of them? Also, what kind of dammage do they do to Mandevillas? Thank you, Christa
I have a very huge old (10 years?) Christmas Cactus that has had something eating SLOWLY at a few select leaves. I’ve tried a number of insecticides without success. It now has white flies I can’t get rid of. It appears to be loosing leaves and did not bloom this year. I replant it regularly as necessary. HELP! I love this plant
White fly has a breeding cycle of 3 days. You must spray every third day three times. That’s 3 sprays in 7 days and you must spray under and over every leaf. I de-loused a 1000 hibiscus plants using imidacloprid (Admire, Condifor, Gaucho, Premier, Premise, Provado). We have it as Confidor.
First I mixed 250 mL of Canola Oil with 150 mL of concentrated washing up liquid, added a little water, shook to make “white oil” and made the mixture up to 1 litre. I used 250 mL of this and 25 mL of Confidor in my 100 L tank and it took four tanks to do the job. After the twelfth tank on day seven, I’ve never seen a white fly since out in our isolated location.
I might add that we got the pest on bought abutilons. I tried to get it identified everywhere and when I did, six months later, the fly had spread badly. I’ve since used the same technique to clean up a nursery that was much more heavily infested than we were and they had only to re-spray a small pocket that escaped.
Hope that helps. I’ll add that imidacloprid is not very toxic – it’s the main chemical used on dogs and cats to eradicate fleas.
I have a Mandevella Plant, I have household flies all over it, them seem to be attaching to leaves and dying. Do you know why and if they are laying eggs. I will be wintering this plant shortly.
Thanks
great advice on the spraying/white fly cycle. I’m about to do this on my vege whitefly infestation. One question: is it safe to harvest & eat vege leaves (spinach, lettuce etc) within that 12 day spraying period?
For what it is worth…
I have a Confederate Rose that I started from a single leaf clipping given to me by the gift shop lady from a gorgeous specimen at Fort McCallister state park in Richmond Hill Georgia.
From that single leaf, 2 more have been grown. Aphids and white-flys have been the bane of their existence. The most effective insect deterrent I have found is French marigolds. Period.
Plant them and enjoy the healthiest, most insect-free Confederate roses you have ever seen.
Thanks for that helpfull tip!