It just doesn't seem to be possible at the moment to do anything on the plot without whitefly getting in on the act.Yesterday one decided to take a bath in my coffee. When weeding it is advisable to keep your mouth firmly shut and only breathe when absolutely necessary.
As soon as any type of plant is gently touched clouds of these tiny moth like insects rise into the air. It seems this is very much the pest of the moment but what do you know about these tiny invaders? Click here to read what I have managed to find out. There seems to be lots of ideas for how we may try to control if not eliminate these pests but do any of them work? If you have any tried and tested methods for control on food crops then please share.
I hate whiteflies! They are the hardest things to get rid of!
ReplyDeleteI had a terrible case of whiteflies on Sambac jasmine one year. We tried everything to rid ourselves of this pest. Insecticides, systemic products...they resisted our every effort.
Finally, in desperation, I covered the plants with a sheet of plastic, like a tent. I sprayed everything under the tent with 'YardGuard', shook plants and sprayed again when the flies flew. I repeated the treatment again the next day, and the next, then waited to see what happened. That was the end of my whiteflies.
I don't know if it will work for you, but my plants did not suffer from the treatment. I felt I had nothing to lose. I was going to lose the jasmine if I did nothing anyway.
I hope this helps.
I have white fly on my brussels and purple sprouting broccoli...I didn't realize that they could be so devastating to the plants...i have mostly left them alone and they only tend to be on these plants and did not go to any of the others that I had on my plot...I am kind of surrounded by allotment holders who have many weeds so maybe this is why I have so many. I don't like to use pesticides so I'm not sure what I should do....is it just year of the white fly?? I certainly don't want to use something that will harm the bee population...how are you going to treat yours????
ReplyDeleteJanie,
ReplyDeleteThe problem for us is that the whitefly is everywhere on our allotment and other people's too. A rather large area to treat in the way you describe.
A4Y The whitefly shouldn't devastate your crops if they are growing healthily. The main problem is the sooty mould that grows on the honeydew that they excrete and the fact that they are unpleasant especially when they get on broccoli or cauliflower.
We tend to leave them as it seems pointless trying to do anything else. Blasting with water sprays can sometimes get rid of some adults but it is a bit like throwing a pebble into the sea. WE usua;;y have some whitefly but they just seem everywhere this year and are a bit late in arriving.