Whiteflies and worm castings - Page 2

GrannyG · February 4, 2010

I worked at a friends hydroponic tomato greenhouses for a summer, they also grew beautiful red bell peppers and got an invasion of white flies. We were only allowed to use a spray mixture of denatured alcohol, added to this was a few drops of Palmolive dish soap and it was added to a gallon or so of water. This solution was sprayed on the plants and killed the white flies. We also used it on the tomato plants for various problems. The local University gave him the advice to use this solution.

b54red · February 5, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueaussi

LALALALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

*sigh*

And I was really hoping this would help.

SORRY ~ at least I now have a much healthier soil with just as many whiteflies.

I have found one way that will work but I'm unable to keep the demanding schedule required. If you spray every other day or two for about a month being sure to alternate between soapy,mild contact pesticides, plain water and different types of oils(dormant and essential like peppermint,cedarwood, lavender.etc). I was able to do this for about two weeks before my arthritis kicked into high gear and I slacked off. The whiteflies were nearly gone at the end of two weeks but a couple of weeks without the spraying and they were back in abundance.
This demanding schedule will work if you can do it and your garden is small enough to make it practical. My plants really looked so much better for those few weeks without the whiteflies.

Blueaussi · February 5, 2010

Well, but see, I have squirrel tree frogs, bunches and bunches of squirrel tree frogs. And I love my tree frogs. So, I very rarely spray, and only if I go over the plants and remove as many tree frogs and anolis lizards as possible first. And only if non-lethal measures like squirting aphids off with a hose or yellow sticky paper traps aren't coming even close to helping.

I wish I could make a sun dew moat around the garden. I had one in my container bog garden last summer, and that thing looked frosted it had so many white flies on it.

b54red · February 12, 2010

Spraying them off with water and sticky traps are usually first steps but if they get like they did the last 3 years in my garden you won't see much green. They got so bad they covered my hot peppers to the point they looked like they were gonna die and yes I tried hot pepper spray to little avail. My garden is full of toads and lizards and as I said earlier my worm population is huge. I don't use the toxic stuff very often but it does become necessary occasionally. I try to spray in mid afternoon as they sun is still up high enough to keep the whiteflies on the underside of the leaves and the bees and other helpful critters are elsewhere. I usually use the strong water sprays in the mornings so the plants have time to dry out and use the essential oils like peppermint or dormant oil at dusk or even at night to lessen the chance of leaf burn. I usually add a little soap to all my sprays and frequently just use soapy water sprays though they are only mildly beneficial when the infestation is heavy. Neem oil is fairly effective when used in rotation with other sprays.
Looking out at the snow covering my garden I am just hoping this incredibly cold winter will leave me with far fewer pests to deal with this next season.

habitat_gardener · February 13, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertlzbn

Worse yet, I have whiteflys on my SEEDLINGS URGGGHHHHHHHHHHH Now I have to try to figure out how to not kill my seedlings but kill the whiteflys.

If the seedlings are indoors or in a greenhouse, it's possible they may be fungus gnats, in which case you may be able to control them by covering the soil surface, say with perlite.

b54red · February 13, 2010

My little greenhouse has a concrete floor and I have never had a problem with fungus gnats, though I have been invaded by whiteflies before. I usually mix a soap and water solution and spray the underside of the leaves every day for a week or so, wait about an hour and spray again with clean water. This usually keeps them to a minimum and sometimes gets rid of them entirely. Just remember when you first see them start spraying. DON'T WAIT! If you give them time to reproduce you will have a much harder time getting them under control. Oh yeah, remember to spray the soil with the soap when spraying the leaves.

desertlzbn · February 14, 2010

Well I have not seen any for a couple of days now, so maybe I did not have them at all? or maybe the transplanting and dip in Fish emulsion water helped.

b54red · February 14, 2010

If you really had them they aren't gone that easy. LOL. Best if you never had them.

February 4, 2010	#16
GrannyG Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: near Abilene, TX Posts: 34	I worked at a friends hydroponic tomato greenhouses for a summer, they also grew beautiful red bell peppers and got an invasion of white flies. We were only allowed to use a spray mixture of denatured alcohol, added to this was a few drops of Palmolive dish soap and it was added to a gallon or so of water. This solution was sprayed on the plants and killed the white flies. We also used it on the tomato plants for various problems. The local University gave him the advice to use this solution. Last edited by GrannyG; February 4, 2010 at 01:01 PM. Reason: spelling

February 5, 2010	#18
Blueaussi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Zone 8a Posts: 1,205	Well, but see, I have squirrel tree frogs, bunches and bunches of squirrel tree frogs. And I love my tree frogs. So, I very rarely spray, and only if I go over the plants and remove as many tree frogs and anolis lizards as possible first. And only if non-lethal measures like squirting aphids off with a hose or yellow sticky paper traps aren't coming even close to helping. I wish I could make a sun dew moat around the garden. I had one in my container bog garden last summer, and that thing looked frosted it had so many white flies on it.

February 12, 2010	#19
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Spraying them off with water and sticky traps are usually first steps but if they get like they did the last 3 years in my garden you won't see much green. They got so bad they covered my hot peppers to the point they looked like they were gonna die and yes I tried hot pepper spray to little avail. My garden is full of toads and lizards and as I said earlier my worm population is huge. I don't use the toxic stuff very often but it does become necessary occasionally. I try to spray in mid afternoon as they sun is still up high enough to keep the whiteflies on the underside of the leaves and the bees and other helpful critters are elsewhere. I usually use the strong water sprays in the mornings so the plants have time to dry out and use the essential oils like peppermint or dormant oil at dusk or even at night to lessen the chance of leaf burn. I usually add a little soap to all my sprays and frequently just use soapy water sprays though they are only mildly beneficial when the infestation is heavy. Neem oil is fairly effective when used in rotation with other sprays. Looking out at the snow covering my garden I am just hoping this incredibly cold winter will leave me with far fewer pests to deal with this next season.

February 13, 2010	#21
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	My little greenhouse has a concrete floor and I have never had a problem with fungus gnats, though I have been invaded by whiteflies before. I usually mix a soap and water solution and spray the underside of the leaves every day for a week or so, wait about an hour and spray again with clean water. This usually keeps them to a minimum and sometimes gets rid of them entirely. Just remember when you first see them start spraying. DON'T WAIT! If you give them time to reproduce you will have a much harder time getting them under control. Oh yeah, remember to spray the soil with the soap when spraying the leaves.

February 14, 2010	#22
desertlzbn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 659	Well I have not seen any for a couple of days now, so maybe I did not have them at all? or maybe the transplanting and dip in Fish emulsion water helped.