Does anyone know how to get rid of white flys? I sprayed a plant wih 1 gallon of bug spray last night and the plant still has them all over.
white flys??
Two safer ways that work for me--first, hose the plant off frequently with a strong stream of water (this not only removes the white flies, it gets rid of the sticky secretions which seem to draw them back). Second, put up several strips of fly paper or white fly traps near the plant. Last, insecticidal soap works great on white flies, and is much less toxic than bug spray. Just find a recipe online or on the DG site, or buy some ready made--its basically a dilute mixture of dish soap and water, with or without a spreading/sticky agent of some kind. And if all else fails, never fear, frost will soon be here.....meaning, just keep them under control if you can't eradicate them--winter is coming.
They have been a real problem for me with my Confederate Roses. Once you have a bad infestation it's almost impossible to completely iradicate it. The best stuff I've found is Pyola, with a canola oil base. It kills the eggs as well, which other insecticides don't. You have to spray the front and backs of leaves to the dripping point. I find the best time to do it is at dusk so the whiteflies can't travel to another plant. Next year I'm going to start spraying before I see them.
X
Pyola is great, isn't it? Haven't run into whiteflies yet, but used it this year for leaf miners and it worked like a charm!
X, Run right out and buy a bag of worm castings; they work wonders on the white flies on Confederate Rose. You have to put down a heavy layer (an inch or two) from nrear the stem to the under the drip line of the bush. After doing that once I have never had another white fly on my CR's. I also used it successfully on Gardenias and one dose was all I needed.
I understand there is a lot of research going on by commercial hibiscus growers using worm castings in their soil mixes to prevent WF's. alice
Wow .. just got finished reading about it. Thanks Ardesia! Now I need to find a place that sells it.
X
ardesia, this is a misquito plant. Where are you saying to put the castings? From the base out to the drip line? Where do I get worm castings? Lowe's or home Depot. What about the Pyola?
X, Cross and Hyams in Chas. have it. The stuff at Cross is called Wiggle Worm.
Smokey, the drip line is the area covered by the outside edge of the plant. So you would spread the castings on the ground from near the stem to the drip line. I get the worm casting from a garden center as I have never seen them in Lowe's or HD.
I am not familiar with Pyola, sorry I have no info on that.
You can only get pyola online at:
www.gardensalive.com
X