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mistermoose
09-08-2011, 02:42 PM
I've been out-of-town for a few weeks only to come home and discover a major infestation of whiteflies in my tomato plants. I've tried garlic and soap spray, which sees to knock 'em down for a couple days but then they are right back.

I've read somewhere that you can place yellow cups around coated in oil to attract them....anyone tried that? Just looking for a suggestion for those that might have faced this in the past.

Thanks for you help!

stucco
09-08-2011, 04:05 PM
I make a kelp meal tea that the white flies don’t seem to like much. I’ve blasted them with tank water and the shop vac method as well.

urbanfarmer
09-09-2011, 07:17 AM
Monitoring

Monitoring is an essential part of a whitefly management program. Yellow sticky traps can be used to monitor adult whiteflies moving into the field. These traps also indicate when other sampling methods can be used. Yellow sticky traps have been reported to give a good correlation between catches and actual whitefly numbers in the field in some systems (Basu 1995) and hence their use is very popular in whitefly IPM programs. In-situ count (leaf turn method) is another sampling technique used to estimate the absolute population of adults in the field. These counts should be done in the morning when the whiteflies are least mobile. Quantification of immature whiteflies involves cutting of leaf discs of a designated area from the leaves to be sampled. The leaf discs are then examined under a microscope for identification of nymphal stages (Nyoike 2007). The eggs are laid on the younger leaves and the developing stages are found on the middle and older leaves.

Management

Prevention. In sustainable agriculture, prevention practices are the first line of defense for the growers. Such options include cultural techniques, use of physical barriers, removal of the crop in space and time, and the use of biological control agents. Some of the cultural practices available include mulching, crop rotation, floating row covers, and cover crops. Soil ground covers (synthetic and living mulches) have been shown to be effective in reducing whiteflies reaching host plants, and hence resulting in a lower incidence of whitefly-transmitted viruses (Frank and Liburd 2005, Nyoike 2007). UV-reflective mulch reflects short-wave light which repels incoming whiteflies, thus reducing their probability of alighting (landing) on host plants. Alternatively, living mulches decrease the chance of appropriate landings on host plants by reducing the contrast between bareground and the plant canopy, hence diminishing the activities of whiteflies on its host. In addition, whiteflies are less likely to remain in mixed croppings, which have fewer resources as compared to pure stands (without living mulches). Living mulches also provide habitats for natural enemies (beneficial insects) that can contribute to pest reduction.

Seasonal maintence. Some biological control agents including Encarsia formosa, Encarsia luteola and Eretmocerus californicus have been fairly successful in the greenhouse. There are very few cases of successes that have been reported under field conditions. However, horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps such as (M-Pede) can be used to reduce field populations. A few biological pesticides, including Beauveria bassiana (Naturalis-O® and BotaniGard®), Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (PFR-97®), and a few neem-based formulations containing azadirachtin (Neemazad & Azatin) have been reported to affect whitefly developmental stages.

badflash
09-11-2011, 08:55 PM
If you have a green house, brew lots of beer or wine in it. Vent it well in the AM before you go in. The CO2 will benefit the plants and kill the bugs. Use outside air with air stones for the fish.