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live_oak_lady

Anyone else experiencing white flies?

live_oak_lady
19 years ago

My caladiums are full of white flies which eat the sap from the edges of the leaves and eventually turns them yellow. Perhaps it's all the rain--4 more inches today. Is anyone else having the same problem? And, what to do?

Coleen

Comments (14)

  • curdog007
    19 years ago

    Yes, they are bad bugs. Spray with either malathion 57% or sevin 21.3%. I've had good result with both.
    Lynn

  • jim2k
    19 years ago

    Me to I use Malathion 50 plus by Ortho. You can get it anywhere wal-mart H.D. good luck JIM

  • bigeasyjock
    19 years ago

    I've had them on my confederate rose and Texas star hybiscus. I made a mixture of dishwashing liquid soap and ammonia. A couple of hits of it and they are goners ;> Atleast in my case it was easy to get under the leaves...you are going to have to get on your hand and knees and turn those leaves over to spray the undersides if you want to get rid of the white flies.
    Mike

  • live_oak_lady
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    lBefore I make another trip to HD I need to know what proportions of dishwashing liquid and amonia do you use?
    I would rather use that because my nine year old duck goes in and out of those beds and I dislike using serious insecticides.

  • greenelbows
    19 years ago

    Somebody got really smart a few years ago and noticed that dairy farmers use a spray bottle that squirts up instead of out (to wash udders) and started selling them for plants. They do the under-sides of leaves really well. I used to be of the 'nuke 'em!' school and used a lot of pesticides, but since nearly killing myself with a 'safe' systemic I prefer to use things like soap (I usually use 'Safer's Soap') and salad oil and such, and find the birds and the lizards and such keep most the bugs eaten, even white flies. Most if not all chemical pesticides kill the beneficial insects as well as the destructive ones, so there's nobody waiting to eat them when the bad guys come back from your neighbors' yards.

  • HelgaMac
    19 years ago

    One of the houses next to me is a rental property and it is not well taken care off. The fruit trees (orange,lemon and grapefruit)have not been picked in at least ten years. Consequently we have a white fly population of biblical proportion. We also have a Lab puppy and I do not wish to spray chemicals that could potentially hurt my puppy. What can I do? All help is urgently appreciated!

  • nanadeb1
    19 years ago

    I use a mixture of soap and vinegar. Maybe it pickles them, but they're gone.

  • bigeasyjock
    19 years ago

    I use a cap full of each per quart (thats the size hand pump I use). Vinegar does the job too. The only trick is to check the caladiums often. I spray then come back in an hour, knock the plant a little (if flies are present they will take fight) if white flies still on hand spray again. Come back in a couple days (don't wait too long between check-ups) and see what you have left. I can get rid of any sucking pest (aphids!) doing this in two or three sprayings. Works well on a small scale. I would hate to do this on a large plot though.
    Mike

  • pecanman
    19 years ago

    2 teaspoons of Dawn dishwashing liquid in 1 gallon water is the dilution I use. It works fine. will normally take 3 sprayings 3 days apart to get good control.

  • greenelbows1
    17 years ago

    Sure nice to get help from experts! You might try your county extension office--they would know more about 'bugs' in plants. And spray the plants, not just your head!

  • ielle77
    14 years ago

    Ok, so i have been having problems with White Flies in New York state. I used the vinegar solution you guys suggested on both my tomatoes AND my green peppers. It seems to have sort of worked on the tomatoes (although i might have treated them during full sun and thus burned a few leaves, whoops) but i think i killed my green pepper plants (or certainly have scared them horribly). They have brown spots on the leaves now (and one of the flowers is shriveling up)A few of the leaves are drooping (or turned a very pale yellow/brown. I cut a few of the dead leaves off (in hopes of exposing the surviving leaves), but my question is this, did i do a number on my green peppers? Could they still survive (i did put miracle grown on them tonight in hopes of saving their lives) and after all this, will they still be edible? I'd rather not poison the family because i sprayed the planets with a vinager/dish soap solution. Thanks for any help you guys can give me. I'm a new gardener (this is my second summer attempting a garden on my patio in just pots, last year was a disaster but this year was amazing, until the white flies showed up and i got it my head to try and "save" the plants. Irony, how i hate thee *sigh*).

  • clanross
    13 years ago

    We have whiteflies on our gardenias every year. If I do anything, I use Neem oil (mixed with water per instructions) and it helps a lot. I usually do it 2-3 times a few days apart. I use Neem for a lot of plants because it is so safe.

  • Connie Hansen
    8 years ago

    I have been told whiteflies do not bite humans but their close cousin the Thrip does. Something sure is biting me!

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