The questions have really been coming in lately. Here’s one selected for this week’s post:
“How do I control white flies? I tried using bugs that would eat them,
but they arrived in the mail dead. Is there anything else I can do? All of my plants died last summer and we had clouds of white flies all over
the place.”
Such a bummer about those white fly predators showing up dead. Take solace in knowing that you are not alone. Others have suffered the curse of the white fly. In fact, you might even check out a previous blog entry about the subject:
I have a few suggestions to try out:
First things first, strengthen the plant by giving it a dose of EM Bokashi (a microbial inoculant that boosts plant health with beneficial microorganisms) or worm castings. Fish or Kelp emulsion works as well. Dilute these products in water and drench the plant with it. All of these items deliver broad spectrum nutrients to the plant, making them stronger and less susceptible to white flies and other pests. You should see improvement over a couple of weeks.
Pot Stickers – also known as white fly traps. These sticky buggers attract white flies and hold them fast until they die.
Blast them with a hose – just a jet spray of water can help keep white flies at bay temporarily. Set your hose nozzle to “kill” and blast them to smithereens.
If you want to try the beneficial insect route again, you can usually pick up a container of green lacewings at most nurseries. They are reportedly eat anything “pest” in their path. You can also try getting Whitefly Parasites (Encarsia Formosa) and Whitefly Predators (Delphastus pusillus). They tend to work together and come ready to hatch. A few sights we found for these beneficial insects:
Hope that helps! Keep us posted on how it goes. Thanks for writing in.
Is there any harm in eating fruits or vegetables of plants afflicted by white fly?
As long as the fruit looks fine, the fruit itself shouldn’t be effected by or infested with white flies. It’s fine to eat, just wash it really well first.