How to control whiteflies in the garden
If you give your plant a shake and a cloud of tiny white flies burst into flight then you no doubt have an infestation of whitefly. A perennial plague in home gardens, whiteflies like to cluster on the underside of leaves to pierce and sap the juices out of your plants. There are hundreds of types of whiteflies but all exhibit similar eating habits that make them a common pest to gardeners.
What are their favourite plants?
They attack a fairly broad range of plants, including ornamental plants, fruit and vegetables: Hibiscus, poinsettia, gerberas, ferns, azaleas, roses and herbs such as sage and mint, vegetable seedlings such as squash, melon, tomato, eggplant, sweet potatoes, cabbage, beans, and broccoli.
What are the symptoms of a whitefly infestation?
- New shoots wilting or stunting
- Pale, yellow or mottled leaves
- Uneven ripening of fruit and vegetables
- Sooty mould developing around plants
- Leaves dropping
What can be done?
- Try this home remedy to control the pests. Combine 2 cups of vegetable oil and ½ cup dishwashing detergent. Shake together in jar. Add 2 tablespoons of this mixture to a litre of water. Use this to spray on plants, giving special attention to underneath leaves. Make sure you wet entire surface.
- Encourage natural predators of this pest into your garden. Insects like ladybugs and lacewing larvae feed on whitefly eggs. This works best before whitefly populations get out of hand.
- Vacuum the whiteflies from your plants with a small hand vacuum. Do this at dawn when the flies are sluggish. Once done, place vacuum bag inside another plastic bag. Freeze and then throw out.
- Lay yellow sticky tape traps around your plants as whiteflies are attracted to yellow. This is a helpful way of monitoring the size of your whitefly infestation. Sticky tape traps can be bought from gardening stores.
- Apply alternating sprays of organic insecticides as whiteflies build up chemical resistance quickly. Using two different types of sprays prevents their immunity. Spray in early morning or late afternoon.
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