White fly

22 Comments

1. Kris - March 1, 2005 at 3:36 pm

   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 the white bugs fly away when you shake the plant, its probably white fly. They are the size of celery seeds, eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves in a circular pattern. The young legless larvae attach themselves with their sucking mouthpart until they develop wings. You may also see some clear sticky ‘stuff’on the plant, this is an exceretion typical of white fly, aphid, mealy bugs and scale. For treatment see above article

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2. d hubb - August 10, 2005 at 11:43 am

   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.

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3. Kris - March 7, 2006 at 12:45 pm

   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

   If they fly when the plant is disturbed then it sounds like white fly. They can be difficult to control. Use insecticidal soap spray and be sure to spray the underside of the leaves as that’s where they lay their eggs. To control spray every 5-7 days for about 2 weeks. It should take care of the adults and hatching eggs. If insecticidal soap doesn’t do the job try a pyrethroid type insecticide and follow manufacturers direction as to its use.

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4. Karen Fournier - January 5, 2007 at 5:18 pm

   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

   Is your Christmas cactus outdoors? Whiteflies are difficult insect to get rid of indoors. A safe method is to hang yellow or blue sticky cards on the plant or on stakes to attract and trap the adult population of whiteflies. The sticky cards are available at garden centers. Be sure not to touch it or get it on your clothes. As for the rest of the younger population, spray the plant and soil surface with horticultural oil. Repeat treatment in 7-10 days until you no longer see the insect. Whitefly will spread from plant to plant therefore you should isolate the infested plant.

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5. Wally Morgan - January 28, 2008 at 7:06 pm

   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.

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6. Roseann Eli - September 20, 2008 at 10:18 am

   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

   Hi Roseann
   The houseflies may be attracted to something in or on your mandevilla plant. They like moist soil and could be laying eggs in the soil that will hatch when you bring it indoors. Make sure there is no rotting or decaying material around or in the soil, if so remove it. If your mandevilla plant is still outdoors, attach some sticky fly paper to capture the flies. Loosen the soil at the base of the plant to disturb any hatching eggs. At last resort, spray the soil surface with a pyrethroid base chemical or use a soil drench of insecticidal soap to kill off any larvae. For label directions for chemical use. It’s best to spray before you bring it indoors.

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7. J Dowling - January 4, 2009 at 9:10 am

   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?

   Hi J.
   Harvesting time will depend on what chemical you used to spray the vegetables. Check the manufacturers label -it should tell you how many days after spraying it is safe harvest.

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8. JWJones - February 21, 2009 at 10:47 pm

   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!

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9. Kaleigh - September 15, 2010 at 1:29 pm

   I have whiteflies and I am wondering if it is okay to eat the leafy veggies if I wash them first?

   Hi Kaleigh
   You can eat the leafy veggies as long as you have not sprayed them with any chemicals and thoroughly wash the leaves (top and bottom).

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10. Sue - September 20, 2010 at 8:53 am

    I had a poinsettia that got white flies. I wrapped the plant in a heft bag and threw the entire plant in the garbage! Will the white flies disappear/die on their own now that there is no plant for it to feed off, or do I still need to apply some kind of formula? Also, are these white flies be attracted to human hair, or upholstered furniture like lice is?

    Hi Sue
    Once you remove the “food” source (poinsettia), you should eliiminate the whitefly problem. If you have some on furniture etc. try vacumning. Yellow sticking traps will also attract the adults and trap them.

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11. Ron - September 22, 2010 at 8:37 pm

    Whitefly indoors
    White fly has infested my place too. MY problem is that I do have a large yard, but I have NO indoor plants at all, and it is in my house that I have the problem. HOW do you eradicate them indoors when there is no normal place for them to congregate (like a house plant)? To be sure these are white fly, they land on your skin and “meld themselves” flatly. Once they adhere, to try to peel them off results in peeling off skin.

    Hi Ron
    Whitefly do need plant material to feed on. Apparently, yours are feeding outdoors and flying indoors. Their lifecycle last a month, so if you can keep them from flying inside the house, your problem should be elliminated within a month. You can try sticky fly paper to trap them. and vacumning areas where they congregate.

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12. Elaine Montgomery - October 4, 2010 at 10:01 am

    Whitefly on crepe myrtle
    We have about 30 crepe myrtle trees that are infected with whitefly. What would you suggest in treating them?

    Hi Elaine
    Whitefly have been especially troublesome this year. Spray your trees with horticultural oil (All Season brand) its cheap and effective. Make sure that you thoroughly cover both top and bottom of leaves. This will suffocate the adults and crawlers. Also, spray again in late winter to kill all wintering eggs that will hatch in spring followed by a repeat spray 10 days later to make sure you got all the eggs. To control whitefly effectively, you may need another application in summer.

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13. Steve Stauber - October 30, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    we had whiteflies this summer in our greenhouse. the season is over & we have removed all the plants.

    would it be good to remove all the soil from the beds because of eggs, just the top few inches or not at all? will eggs winter over in the soil?

    Thanks Steve & Deb in Alaska.

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14. Muneera - May 27, 2011 at 1:11 am

    I actually didn’t know about whiteflies until reading this page and doing mu assignment on it.
    And lots of pplz commented and i read them
    I learned a lot

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15. Marjorie Fontaine - July 6, 2011 at 8:27 am

    I have a bad whitefly infestation on my windowbox plants which is spreading down to my rhododendrons underneath. Should I just spray with soapy insecticide mixture, soapy water, or should I pull out the plants & discard? Also, should I remove & replace the windowbox soil with new soil? I am a desperate gardner-I’ve never had this problem before & my window box looks so pretty now. The plants in the windowbox are small hanging petunias & orange marigolds. Please give me some advice. Thank you!

    Whitefly is difficult to control. You need a stronger spray. see http://hortchat.com/info/white-fly

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16. Patti - September 19, 2011 at 7:55 pm

    Plant tip
    When I used worm castings which is a terrific fertilizer I had no white fly problem for 2 years. Previously I had them every summer on my hibibcus in the front yard but never the plant in the backyard. I’m going to get more worm castings.
    My friend got a composting type of bin and is raising her own worms by putting her vegies waste and leaves in it. You can actually get a liquid from this arrangement and just use as fertilizer. I don’t know how it works but it does.

    Hi Patti
    Thanks for the info!

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17. Theo Vavas - November 10, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    I have the same problem with my indoor plants and vegetables.
    Has anyone tried a strong mixture of water and white vinegar? (1 part vinegar to 10 parts water).
    Out of desperation I just sprayed all of my plants with this mixture and will post the results here.

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18. vikkij - August 21, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    I have whiteflies on my collards…have been spraying with garlic infused water…will keep you posted

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19. Liz - May 21, 2013 at 7:52 am

    OMG now I finally know what these buggers are! I took my gerbera daisy inside the house over the winter and noticed tons of these white monthy flies all over the underside if the leaves…. They weren’t there before. But I’ve been mixing dish soap and water together to rince the leaves and wAter the plant itself. But they continue 🙁 now my son brought me another gerbera daisy and it’s absolutely beautiful, but I had it close to my other one which was outdoors in my deck and now they both have the problem. The bright orange yellow flowers the new one has on it are wilting because of this and I want to save them 🙁

    Hi Liz
    Whitefly are a difficult insect to control especially in warm weather when they reproduce rapidly. The best thing you can do is to reduce the whitefly population so it doesn’t get out of control. There are several treatments which will help manage the insect but not elliminate it. Trapping, vacuming and biological predators are some possibilities. Reflective plastic or aluminun foil can also repel whitefly from smaller plants. Also try insecticidal soap, or neem oil. See above article suggestions. When spraying, be sure to thoroughly cover the whole plant including the undersides of the leaves and repeated spraying may be required. When using insecticidal soap sprays make sure that the plant is not water and/or heat stressed. Spray when temperatures are below 80F degrees.

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    1. Liz - May 21, 2013 at 7:55 am

       I know that they are definitely the white flies… I noticed on my first gerbera that the leaves had developed a sticky substance that was very hard to remove from my skin. Just horrible

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20. ana - August 20, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    please somebody help! I have a Rio Dipladenia plant with beautiful red flowers, but i just discover this black bugs on the stem close to the flowers.There are also some white bugs but mostly black also some sticky film on the leaves. I have this plant outside in my balcony i was so proud of how beautiful the red flowers looked but now the flowers are turning white. Please somebody help!

    Hi Ana
    Not seeing them, my guess would be aphids. Aphids are soft bodied oval sized insects that come in different colors. Aphids reproduce quickly in warm, dry weather. Another option is scale look like bumps on the stem. Both insects are common to mandevilla and produce honeydew – a sticky clear film. see links for treatment.

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    1. Roy Stewart - September 10, 2014 at 8:54 am

       Ana,
       I am commenting about your comment, because your comment is so recent 8/2014.
       Trying to find information about ‘Ryania’
       ” Ryania is a mild alkaline contact insecticide that will not harm beneficial insects and leaves no residue.”;
       but it does not say what ‘Ryania’ is Or Where top get it!
       Article mentions ‘NeemOil’ and ‘Pyrethrum’.

       Lovely Lantana, but Whiteflies do their part to destroy it’s health.

       I hope you, someone can help in finding a source for obtaining/describing ‘Ryania’.

       Roy J Stewart,
       Phoenix AZ

       P.S. please reply so I Know this ‘Comment’ has been read!
       Rjs

       HI Roy
       Ryania is a botanical pesticide that comes from a tropical plant Ryania speciosa. It is short lived I can’t find any info for buying the product and I don’t see it available in retail stores.

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