I am having a problem with my purple duranta. I believe it might be parasites but I don't know. Hoping someone can tell me what it is and how to get rid of it. Some of the leaves have what look to be white eggs and now it looks like some leaves have black dots on them.
Whiteflies love duranta
Any helpful ways to get rd of them. I have tried Diatomaceous earth, and I have also sprayed it with an organic insecticide soap made by Natria
First, I always try to wash off any bugs with their eggs. If you wash the underside of the leaves every time you water on a bug prone plant, you can really control many insects. Now adult whiteflies will just fly away but their eggs and immature bugs will be done.
Next I try Neem because it is not toxic, especially to me. The drawback is you have to hit every bug which can be hard especially if the plant is full of leaves. You have to drench the whole leaf also getting the undersides. Natria may be Neem.
If it is a really bad infestation, I go to a systemic. Since imidacloprid will kill whitefly, I prefer Bayer Tree and Shrub since it is not a spray. You add to water and water the base of the plant. So not spraying poison all over yourself. And 1 application lasts up to 1 year.
Watering with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is organic and works 100% of the time for me for both whitefly & gnats. The research says that the common strains of Bt don't kill whitefly but I once found a research article noting that in their experiment, whitefly did not lay eggs on plants systemically treated with common Bt. I guess they can sense it somehow. I only use about 1/8 tsp powdered Bt or 1/2 tsp liquid Bt per gallon. Just let the plants get really dry then water with a solution of Bt and weak fertilizer. Water with this solution every time you water and the flies and gnats will disappear from your garden altogether. Meanwhile, keep hosing off the adult whiteflies and gently scraping off their eggs. If you just can't stand it and want to use a chemical to kill the adults and eggs immediately; Floramite is awesome. I use one drop per 8 ounces of water. The application lasts at least a month unless it rains hard; so it protects your plants until the Bt is absorbed into the tissue. I can buy both Bt and Floramite at my local pot growing store. But because you need such small quantities - just order it off ebay for your first season.
