Whitefly Problem

I've got a plant ready for propagation but it's covered with whitefly. Anybody have some recommendations on how to handle it? I've dealt with whitefly in the greenhouse with biologicals and sprays but this one is next to my kitchen in my small prop area on shelves. I never noticed the whitefly when I brought the plant indoors.

Growin.... I would take the cutting to the kitchen sink and submerge and switch it around for a bit in some really soapy dish soap. This will help remove any eggs and kill the rest. If the infestation real bad, you might even want to try and gently use a fingernail to scrap some of the eggs off.

Now the adults are gonna fly maybe, but once you pot the cutting up in some new soil you can spray the dirt with maybe like one of the garden safe products for white fly or cut up slices of potatoes and place on top of the soil too. That way an escaped female s will lay their eggs on it and you can throw the potato piece s away.

For the rest of your stock plant, if it's not to big maybe you can wash it too and give it new clean soil.

They are a real pain when they get in the house for the winter.



Some folks put a layer of sand on top of their plants to hep keep adults from laying, but not really sure just how effective that is.

Wow - if you want to know your whiteflies, try this page:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7401.html

They have some interesting suggestions - Aluminum foil as a mulch around the plant (although I'll have to re-read that, I can't understand why,) yellow sticky traps, and using a Dust Buster to get them off of the plants. They also say that none of these alone will take care of the problem and that other beneficial insects are your best bet, along with not using insecticides in the garden. It's a good page, take a look for more in depth ideas.

I like the potato approach, too. Always looking for stuff like that!

I've seen others post about putting a layer of worm castings on the top of the soil, guess as the plant absorbs the goodies from the worm castings it makes it taste bad to whiteflies or something. Not a short term fix, but something to think about for longer term prevention.

Pagancat.. the aluminum foil is to confuse the pests. There alot of gardenrs starting to put the foil on their beds. Somethign out the way the suns rays hit it and reflect back throws them off their target.

Outside I know it works, but not sure about in the house. Their may not be enough light to bounce rays back off of it.

Now if I tried to use a dust buster I would probaby be watching my plant get sucked up in one swoop. Trust me them kind a things can and do happen to me. LOL

The insectialcideal soap seems to work on white flies to me.Mike

>smile< ==> @ Starlight...

Starlight has taught me a lot, she has the experance, and the hort. courses, or the best of both worlds.I think I have taken her advice many times, and still will.I know she has worked this out, in most cases, and it works.The soap over neem oil any day, for better results.Mike

Thanks for the vote of confidence Mike. I may be a horticulturist ( terrible typist ; ) ) but I learn new things here too everyday from folks and even some things from you. : ) That what so great about Dave's is we can all share and learn new, exciting and invovative, time saving, better growing ways from each other.

The bad sid e to Dave's is that you suddendly find yourself with a wish list notebook page s long from seeing people's pics and discuss new plants that ya just gotta have whether they suppose d to be for your area or not. LOL I am a plant addict... I am a plant addict... : )

I have a lot of gratitude for those of us who are willing to share of their professional knowledge. And experience is indispensible, but an amalgam of both is a true gift when shared.

Thanks, ya'll!

Thanks everyone for the comments on getting rid of these whitefly. The shelf unit has tinfoil on all sides, the top to reflect the 100 watt bulbs (flourescent equiv). I'll try some of these out but the dusbuster made me laugh. Wish me luck on this - the plant looks awesome and I don't want to lose it.

Variegated Hibiscus?

Duranta erecta 'Golden Edge' - ID'd in ID forum. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/123799/
It stopped me in my tracks and was planted as a seasonal planter filler. It looked so nice I thought it might be fake - glossy leaves, clean looking and full growth with that great lemon-yellow edge. I emailed the fancy restaurant where it was in planters and the gardener who makes these nice planters was so nice as to give me the plants when they were removed.

Huh - that *was* nice! Good for you. And good luck with it!

I know about whitefly! First year I had my greenhouse I was totally enthralled with the idea of enjoying "vine ripened" tomatoes in Jan/Feb, so I planted one. Big mistake! They're white fly magnets! Even worse than Gardenias!! I sprayed that thing every day alternating Safer Soap, Pyrethrum, Rotenone, Neem oil, and sun oil. Nothing slowed them down! I got them in the end, though. Waited for a night when the outside temp was forecasted to be in the low 20's, and moved that tomato plant outside. Killed all of them. Killed the tomato plant too, but by this time I was actually happy to see it go! Will never try growing tomatoes in the GH again. Funny thing was that I had a lot of other stuff in the greenhouse that year, including Citrus and Gardenia, but the white fly was easily controlled on all of them with just Safer Soap. But that whitefly infestation that year so shook me up that every year since then come July/August, I seal that GH up tight and let it "cook" for 2 weeks. Haven't had a problem like that since then. Except with spider mites. A whole different story...

I'm still working on getting rid of them. Sprayed them a few times over the past few weeks & used the vacuum cleaner on the plants. I guess I just need to keep at it. I'm lucky i don't have much else in my apartment. I used to have the same problem you're talking about in my little greenhouse with whitefly. Don't have the GH anymore though.

I'm not sure it's possible to ever totally eliminate them, once they get a start. Maybe a combination of a systemic like Merit or Disyston in conjunction with the spraying would totally wipe them out? I try to avoid the heavy artillery when I can, but I NEVER want to go through that tomato thing again! Good luck!