Hi, Can anyone tell me what these are? Is this the white fly I've read about? They're so small you can barely see them and they wash off easily with a hose. Should I spray them with neem oil? Please advise so that I can protect my hibiscus. Thanks a bunch!
I can't really see them well enough but I hope someone can advise. When the plant is disturbed, whiteflies will usually flit away from it...sometimes like a "cloud" if there's a lot of them. If you image google for whitefly, there will be close shots of them and maybe you can ID if that's what you have. Is there anything on the leaf undersides?
Darn, I was afraid of that. I couldn't get a clearer image with my camera since they're so tiny. I looked up the whitefly as you suggested, good idea on the photos, but it doesn't look like them. These have an oblong body with legs sticking out all along the perimeter, and they don't fly or move that I can see with the naked eye. Are there any other white bugs that you can think of so that I can research them?
Thanks for posting a reply! I really appreciate it!
Well, I can't resist a mystery, lol. Are they fluffy looking or do they have lots of legs -- maybe mealy bugs?
ding ding ding, we have a winner! I just looked up a photo of mealy bugs and that's definitely it. Thank you for the help in identifying. Now do you, or anyone else have a suggestion on eradication? :)
Just thought I'd mention that I saw photos of ladybug larvae when covered with a white secretion and they look very similar to mealy bugs. (Would be terrible to mistake these two and accidently get rid of ladybug larvae.)
Short of heavy chemicals for bad infestations, or Neem, I've read that daily misting with diluted alcohol might work. Seems like rinsing it afterward would be a good idea, though. I'm so new to hibiscus myself that I don't know if it's ok to use it on them. Hope there's more info to come, and I bet a search here would pull up expert control advice. (Until then, I would keep rinsing/removing them, making sure to get the underside of the leaves, too, and maybe isolate the plant.) Hope everything works out good!
Thanks friend :)
In the Bahamas, I use soapy water (liquid start with a Tbls. of Ivory in a gallon of water) that I just rub on the stems.
Usually, here, the tiny white things on Hibiscus are aphids.
Thanks, I haven't tried soap yet although many people swear by it. I'll have to give it a try. Although, if I could live in the Bahamas I probably could live with just about anything! I'm jealous!!
Christina
PS: We're having a bad aphid problem here too.
just don't use malathion, it will kill hibiscus! debi
Thank you Debi, I'll steer clear. :~)
you're welcome. always read your labels and esp. with hisbiscus, ferns, fushias. i learned the hard way. most good pesticides will include a "do not use on this plant" list. debi
