Whiteflys taking over universe

Any advice on doing in resident whitefly populations without resorting to pesticides? Sticky traps and wiping off undersides of leaves are helping, but are not enough. Thanks, j.

Julie read the post about fungus gnats..maybe thats what they are. One of the links says to lay the sticky yellow traps horizontal on the pot..they like to land on flat surfaces.(i'v e been using them hanging on chop sticks)
I tried the vinagar in a dish..no luck..maybe i'll try wine. That would make me stop and take a drink more than vinagar...I do notice whn i poke the soil these little bugs are crawling all over and when i water they start flying aroung..

Julie: Are you against using something like "SAFER" spray? I've found that this was the only thing I could do to save my indoor herbs from those nasty whiteflies!

Hello mom24cats!
My only concern with safer is I've had problems with it damaging the leaves on my scheffs, and so I"ve been hesitant to try it on my other plants. I'm glad to hear it worked for you, maybe I'll try it. The plants I'm having trouble with are my scented geraniums, heliotrope, a little silver leaved thing I don't know the name a few others. I suppose I can do as they always recommend and try it out on a few leaves first.

Hey Em, set out a glass for me, and we won't be worrying about those whiteflys for long..j.

Try letting your soil dry a bit more. If these are fungus knats they are attracted to moisture in the soil. If whiteflies you might try spraying your plants with a hot pepper/oil spray. I put a systemic insectide in the soil to make the entire plant toxic to all insects. That really cuts down on the number of insects we hav to battle. The one I use is from FertiLome.

Have you tried rubbing alcohol? It kills all insects on contact and I have used it on all my plants including African violets.

I am an organic grower. I use safier soap solution and a half bottle of alcohol in a gallon sprayer. I spray every couple of days until all evidence of eggs/adults are gone. Usually is 3 weeks to a month time. You have to stay with this thru their production cycle to be rid of them.

What is safier soap solution??? I need help quick! The spray I bought at the store damages the leaves real bad.

Has anyone tried 2 squirts dish detergant to a litre of water and soak the leaves (make sure you soak the underside of the leaf) from the bottom working your way up. After 10 mins rinse off. This must be repeated in 7 to 10 days. It's safe and easy with no damage to leaves.

You might try the "mud" method: use everything you got, all at once, for several days. (like throwing mud at a wall and seeing what sticks). Whiteflies are such a pain!!! The difference is, whiteflies are uh, white. They look like itty tiny white moths and are a little (LITTLE!?) harder to catch inflight than fungus gnats. The damage they do is mostly visible on the leaves, shininess where they've scraped and slurped at your plant.
For fungus gnats, I've honestly had good luck with a Sundew potted next to the affected plants. Sundew attracts them two ways: they're bog plants so there's that moisture. then the sticky leaves they can't get away from. ha ha.
Don't know how this would work for Whiteflies though.
good luck.... perL