Whiteflies and Aphids

Oxford, MS

Does anyone have ideas for organic control of whiteflies and aphids? I have used a mixture of water, baking soda and dish detergent - I have been using that for about a week and a half now. Hasn't really made a difference. I have also hung yellow sticky paper around the plants - it has caught some of them but they are killing my petunias and hibiscus that are in the greenhouse. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Dublin, CA(Zone 9a)

I don't know about the whiteflies, but I use insecticidal soap on the aphids. The trouble with dish soap is you might not have a high enough concentration, but if you buy the insecticidal soap you know it'll be the right concentration to kill things without being too much. Aphids reproduce at the speed of light though, so you do need to keep after them for a while--if you miss one or two the first time there'll be thousands of them a week later so you need to stay on top of things. Check the label on the insectidal soap, it may kill whiteflies too. Or else maybe neem would work...it'll kill aphids too but it smells worse so I usually use the soap first.

Oxford, MS

Thanks ecrane - I have heard of the neem. Will try that..

SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a)

Does your detergent contain Lemon? I've read they don't like any citrus, so make sure you're using lemon detergent, and that it is not anti-bacterial detergent. Try it again on full blast.

Lind

Oxford, MS

Thanks Lind - I think the detergent was not citrus. I will try that. Poor petunias are on their death bed. They may have more problems than just the bugs :-(

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