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gnappi_gw

Whitefly spray recipe

gnappi
12 years ago

I found this "recipe" I'm going to try after I give the measures I started today a chance to work.

I know some here have used straight alcohol but has anyone tried this mixture?

Mix

1 cup isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol, or 70% alcohol)

1/2 teaspoon Volck oil

in 1 quart of water total

OR

4 cups (one quart) alcohol

3 quarts water

2 teaspoons Volck oil

Spray every one to two days until controlled. Saturate above and below leaves and all plant parts.

Comments (11)

  • tropicalgrower89
    12 years ago

    Good luck! I'll be careful since alcohol sucks the moisture away. Make sure it doesn't burn the leaves.

  • bsbullie
    12 years ago

    Word of caution, this is just my 2 cents - I would do some research on the difficulty in controlling whitefly through any type of "chemical" applications (this includes unproven "home remedies"). I sure wouldn't be spraying that mixture on my fruit trees every one to two days for any period of time. There is more likely a bigger issue that the mixture will not conquer, the source of the whitefly.

    Rob

  • wizzard419
    12 years ago

    I've tried a few home remedies but the best one has been the store bought non-toxic oil since it can attatch right to the hose and apply all over much better than anything else I've made.

  • jacob13
    12 years ago

    Hello Friends,

    I work for a landscape construction company and for many years have had to deal with Whitefly infestations. Additionally, many of our clients have been concerned with using pesticides and harsh chemicals.

    So, our solution has been to simply use Palmolive Dish Soap mixed with water and sprayed from in a Water Bottle. This absolutely does the trick for Whitefly infestations. We have found that Palmolive works the best, so try to stick with this brand of dish soap.

    Additionally, the link below with take you to a youtube video on how to make a home-made non-toxic pesticide for those of you that are concerened with putting chemicals on your plants. Check it out!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Non-Toxic Pesticide Recipe

  • gnappi
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks Jacob13,

    I'm going to try Palmolive at some point, but I have to say, the above formula worked in 2 days completely. Neem was doing nothing at all.

    The formula slightly burned a few leaves, but nothing at all severe. A side benefit, the sooty mold now wipes off easily with a tissue paper. I'm going to re-apply today and every few days to make certain that the life cycle of the whitefly is broken.


    Gary

  • stressbaby
    12 years ago

    Neem almost always works, but because of its mechanism(s) of action, it takes at least a couple of weeks to show results.

  • gnappi
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    stressbaby,

    I'm sure it works sometimes, but I've been using it on this for over two months and it only kept getting worse. I'll use neem as a preventative measure from now on.

  • wizzard419
    12 years ago

    You might want to go for the retail product then. I've applied it once and all the whiteflies (and sooty mold) were gone that day and haven't returned.

    One of the benefits of the ones that fit on the ends of hoses is that you get full coverage (you need to soak the tree with whatever you are using or it won't take).

  • bsbullie
    12 years ago

    wizard - whitefly is not that easy to control with one application of anything.

    As I stated, in addition to coming to the aide of "your" trees that are affected, you must also hope the source is conquered. Whitefly usually attack in "swarms" and can usually be found focusing on one source (i.e gardenia, ficus, gumbo limbo, papaya, depending on the species) and they just stray to these fruit trees. A lot of times, eliminate the source and you will eliminate the stragglers attacking the fruit trees.

    Rob

  • tropicdude
    12 years ago

    Neem oil can lose its effectiveness over time in storage, also sunlight exposure can weaken it.

    an excellent site I have to share on natural control recipes can be found here:

    http://www.oisat.org/controlmap.htm

    here is the link on whitefly remedies:

    http://www.oisat.org/pests/insect_pests/soft_bodied/whitefly/curative_control.html

    I have Andrographis growing all over like a weed, it self seeds like mad here in the tropics, I allow 1 or 2 plants to grow in each container i have another plant in, I noticed that plants benefit by having them nearby.

    Neem is a tree that grows all over the place also, people plant them because its an "instant" shade tree, and need little care. making a fresh Neem concoction is probably more effective than using stuff from the shelves, if you can get your hands on some leaves or seeds.

  • wizzard419
    12 years ago

    @bsbullie

    Actually, white flies can be taken out in a single application. I've applied the all seasons oil (it goes on a hose) one time and that was it. I will probably have to re-apply next year if they show up again.

    My infestation was pretty bad since some leaves were solid white on the underside.

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