Garden Pests and Diseases: ID of Pests on Young Noni (Morinda Citrifolia) Plant, 3 by linuscalvin

linuscalvin wrote:
Hi All,

It would be great if I could have some help identifying some pests and ways to remove them. These are tiny white insects (crawling / slowly moving) that have been feeding on the budding flowers, young leaves, and newly forming fruit of a noni plant that I have been growing indoors for about a year. See pictures attached. They are literally around 5/100 of an inch - miniscule. They started appearing after some small fleas (flying) continued to enter my window during the summer time. There were so many of them near the noni plant that I started to use a Neem oil spray in an attempt to get rid of them. The Neem spray seemed to work but about a month later I started seeing these small white insects. I first thought that they were somehow the remnants of the fleas after the Neem oil had somehow disabled their flying ability. But now I believe they are the babies of the fleas.They are leaving large sections of new leaves and the fruit black and very feeble. They obviously love the plant but will prevent me from ever enjoying the fruit and leaves.

Anyone know exactly what these are?
Also, what is the best method to remove them? Neem oil does not really seem to work on the non-flying creatures. Washing plants in the shower definitely does the trick but this last a max of 2 or 3 days and I see them (either new or old ones that did not wash down the drain completely) making their slow little way right back to the noni fruit. I've heard of using soapy water, kaolin, and BTK but don't know what is best for a chemical-free solution that won't harm the plant.

Any feedback would be much appreciated!