Whiteflies & Aphids

hockman4357 · June 6, 2017

What are folks using this year to combat whiteflies and aphids on their tomatoes plants. I noticed this morning when gently shaking my tomato plants that I have a lot of whiteflies flying away along with some aphids. I want to get right on this so the plants don't begin to deteriorate.

Country Breeze · June 7, 2017

I've found soapy water to work very well with whiteflies and aphids. Gotta spray the whole plant top to bottom and undersides of the leaves. Spray then wait a few days and spray again.

hockman4357 · June 7, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Country Breeze

I've found soapy water to work very well with whiteflies and aphids. Gotta spray the whole plant top to bottom and undersides of the leaves. Spray then wait a few days and spray again.

What's your soapy spray recipe? Has it created any problems for your tomato plants?

b54red · June 8, 2017

Earlier in the spring I would used neem oil and Permethrin in a light dose. Now that it is so hot I don't use neem but rather a mix of Permethrin, food grade DE, and Dawn dish washing liquid if the infestation is getting bad. For a light infestation I use Dawn and Permethrin which will usually need a second application a few days later.

I got very tired of using soapy water only because of the frequency I had to apply it and the eventual damage the buildup of soap did to the leaves on the plants. If on the other hand you have a good supply of lacewings and ladybugs just using the soapy water would be the best coarse.

Bill

zipcode · June 8, 2017

I used some rapeseedoil mixture, and now neem oil mixture (with emulsifier), about 1-2% in water. They will not die completely (quite a good amount are always left, probably the bigger ones), so repeating all season is unfortunately necessary.
The whiteflies have the problem of adults that fly, so they won't be killed and can quickly begin to make more.

Country Breeze · June 8, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockman4357

What's your soapy spray recipe? Has it created any problems for your tomato plants?

I use about 2 tablespoons per gallon of Dr. Bronners castile soap. Other soap can work to, but i'd stay away from detergent like dish soap.

Test spray your plants first before spraying everything.

Oh, I've not had any issues with the plants.

oakley · June 9, 2017

That's pretty much my method learned from others. Castile soap, rapeseed oil is Canola.
Neem oil in the mix if needed.

Good idea to check on just one or two plants first to see if your mix is working and not
destructive to the plants.

All the nuisance buglies breed fast. I like to have a couple yellow sticky traps out to help
monitor how all the sprays are working. They catch quite a bit but usually for me do not
take care of the problem on its own.

It seems all the life stages of the beasts are eradicated with a combination of recipes.
Fungus gnats are also in this category and hard to control as they breed down in your
soil and feed on young roots.

If i ever have an explosion in the garden i will use beneficial insects. My troubles were
in the seed starting room indoors. Probably from contaminated soil or a couple house
plants moved inside for the winter.

clkeiper · June 9, 2017

feed your plant with a chicken manure based food along with sulfur and calcium. a healthy plant is not attractive to the pests. I have about 250 plants in the garden. I have not seen one pest bothering the plants. I use a fertilizer called Hy-Brix. I doubt if I ever go back to anything else now unless it isn't available.

Cole_Robbie · June 9, 2017

I use Met52 for whiteflies. It is non-toxic and very effective. It is pricey, but a small amount goes a long way. I store mine in my refrigerator to extend the shelf life.

The newest word about Met52 is that it also kills ticks. So you can spray down your yard with any extra spray for tick control. I think I am going to try a little on my dog for flea control, just to see if that works.

Dbent4064 · June 11, 2017

Hi I'm newto board but not new to gardening

June 6, 2017	#1
hockman4357 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Oregon Posts: 11	Whiteflies & Aphids What are folks using this year to combat whiteflies and aphids on their tomatoes plants. I noticed this morning when gently shaking my tomato plants that I have a lot of whiteflies flying away along with some aphids. I want to get right on this so the plants don't begin to deteriorate.

June 8, 2017	#5
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	I used some rapeseedoil mixture, and now neem oil mixture (with emulsifier), about 1-2% in water. They will not die completely (quite a good amount are always left, probably the bigger ones), so repeating all season is unfortunately necessary. The whiteflies have the problem of adults that fly, so they won't be killed and can quickly begin to make more. Last edited by zipcode; June 8, 2017 at 08:43 AM.

June 9, 2017	#8
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	feed your plant with a chicken manure based food along with sulfur and calcium. a healthy plant is not attractive to the pests. I have about 250 plants in the garden. I have not seen one pest bothering the plants. I use a fertilizer called Hy-Brix. I doubt if I ever go back to anything else now unless it isn't available. __________________ carolyn k

June 7, 2017	#2
Country Breeze Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: On The Mason Dixon Posts: 93	I've found soapy water to work very well with whiteflies and aphids. Gotta spray the whole plant top to bottom and undersides of the leaves. Spray then wait a few days and spray again.

June 8, 2017	#4
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Earlier in the spring I would used neem oil and Permethrin in a light dose. Now that it is so hot I don't use neem but rather a mix of Permethrin, food grade DE, and Dawn dish washing liquid if the infestation is getting bad. For a light infestation I use Dawn and Permethrin which will usually need a second application a few days later. I got very tired of using soapy water only because of the frequency I had to apply it and the eventual damage the buildup of soap did to the leaves on the plants. If on the other hand you have a good supply of lacewings and ladybugs just using the soapy water would be the best coarse. Bill

June 9, 2017	#7
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	That's pretty much my method learned from others. Castile soap, rapeseed oil is Canola. Neem oil in the mix if needed. Good idea to check on just one or two plants first to see if your mix is working and not destructive to the plants. All the nuisance buglies breed fast. I like to have a couple yellow sticky traps out to help monitor how all the sprays are working. They catch quite a bit but usually for me do not take care of the problem on its own. It seems all the life stages of the beasts are eradicated with a combination of recipes. Fungus gnats are also in this category and hard to control as they breed down in your soil and feed on young roots. If i ever have an explosion in the garden i will use beneficial insects. My troubles were in the seed starting room indoors. Probably from contaminated soil or a couple house plants moved inside for the winter.

June 9, 2017	#9
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I use Met52 for whiteflies. It is non-toxic and very effective. It is pricey, but a small amount goes a long way. I store mine in my refrigerator to extend the shelf life. The newest word about Met52 is that it also kills ticks. So you can spray down your yard with any extra spray for tick control. I think I am going to try a little on my dog for flea control, just to see if that works.

June 11, 2017	#10
Dbent4064 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Georgia Posts: 1	Hi I'm newto board but not new to gardening