Print

[Mangrove]

My entire garden is running rampant with white flies. Under each and every leaf, they fornicate and feed on the souls of my poor and precious plants like the little white death sentences they are. I have tried using diomateceous earth to ward them off but this has done nothing. Using neem seemed to keep them off for a day or so, but they immediately returned after a few days. By now they have spread to all of my plants and I am desperate to get rid of them. Any and all advice on how to deal with these sickly swine would be more than appreciated. Any advice which is successful in eradicating this white menace will earn you karma points galore (and whatever seeds I have in my collection which you desire). I have been dealing with this plague for months and am getting desperate. It seems like anything I do seems to make them stronger and grow back in force. Help is desperately needed.

Thank you,
-Mangrove

[nobody]

Try adding a small amount of coffee and a couple drops of liquid soap to the neem.


nobody

[Mangrove]

Would syrian rue tea or concentrated black tea work in place of coffee?

[nobody]

Im not sure.


nobody

[sdspark]

White flys have been a problem in my garden in late summer the past two years.  You know it's bad when you have regular flys like crazy feeding on the stuff the white flys crap out.

After getting my ass kicked by them last year, this year I've been more proactive. They prefer the brassicas (broccoli, kale, cauliflower), so I treat them like I do aphids.  Meaning, they're impossible to get rid of entirely, so the best idea is to manage them by 1) being very aggressive on young/vulnerable plants and 2) just trying to keep the numbers down enough that a strong healthy plant will outgrow the infestation.

My preferred weapon is a spray bottle with dr. Bronners peppermint soap diluted in water. I don't have a precise ratio I just kinda squirt some soap in and fill the bottle with water. Put the sprayer on mist and sneak up on them and spray the undersides of the leaves quickly as they'll fly away fast as soon as the leaves are disturbed.  You can also spray the soil around the plant to get the ones that bail and land on the ground.  This has to be repeated every other day for at least a week to make a serious dent, but it really doesn't take much time. Just do it in the evening so the soapy water doesn't burn the leaves.

I also found a hose attachment thing that lets you spray high pressured water on the undersides of leaves really easily. It works well against white flys and aphids, but I cant remember the brand name.

I've also tried sticky paper traps but they only caught a tiny fraction.

[Athena]

You can try seaweed spray, or make a spray from concentrated tea made from eucalyptus or rue, or mix eucalyptus oil with water and a few drops of liquid soap.

A friend swears by a mix of 1 part vodka (though I think its supposed to be surgical spirits/rubbing alcohol), four parts water and a few drops of liquid soap, though I've never tried this one myself.

1 Like FewTrueSeed likes this.

[FewTrueSeed]

Fly garlic (aminita muscara) mashed up in a bowl of water. Or spray bottle with rubbing alcohol, drop of soap, and a bit of horsetail (Equisetum) tea. It works well fir mites.

1 Like LIBERTYNY likes this.

[Mangrove]

Many thanks to all who contributed advice to me about this problem! I have some neem oil on the way and am planning on making a combative cocktail consisting of neem oil, dish soap, dr. bronner's peppermint soap, tapwater, syrian rue tea, and a couple drops of saliva from your's truly. I plan to apply this cocktail once or twice a day to the plants until the flies are running for the hills. I hope to update after a week or two with progress.

[BubbleCat]

Witches kitchen ? 

I really dont know, I never heard Amanita Muscaria has any desirable properties when combating pests :/ also rubbing alcohol spray will definitely help you but I guess it wont need the drop of soap or tea anymore ... the only side effect: Your plant dies too.

I recently got rid of a spidermites & white fly attack with neem oil spray and watering. But my Hovenia Dulcis wont grow anymore since then.

My advive would be: Use plain neem oil (Bayer makes a fine product) and use not more than 3ml / L as a spray. Spray until  leaves upper and especially undersides are visibly treated but dont make them wet or even dripping. Spray after sun is low, never before or in full sun. Also try on one part of the plant first if youre not sure.

My 0.02$

1 Like Mangrove likes this.

[plantlight]

My advive would be: Use plain neem oil (Bayer makes a fine product) and use not more than 3ml / L as a spray. Spray until  leaves upper and especially undersides are visibly treated but dont make them wet or even dripping. Spray after sun is low, never before or in full sun. Also try on one part of the plant first if youre not sure.

If you don't mind, what effects would it have on the plant of incorrectly applying neem oil?  Would it burn the plant?

[BubbleCat]

I cant tell where this comes from, but: I think too high of a concentration and too much applied would lead to cloging up of the plants pores. It cant breathe anymore then.

Keep in mind the bugs must not be directly affected, the plants distribute the neem and the bugs that feed on it will have a really bad day

1 Like plantlight likes this.

[kykeion]

Yellow sticky traps help, but like sdspark said they will not catch everything.

BubbleCat - in regard to the Amanita Muscaria, folklore claims that you can add chopped up pieces of the cap to a dish of milk to trap/kill house flies.  I don't know how effective it actually is, and I doubt it use could be modified into a spray.  This use is supposedly why they are referred to as Fly agaric.  I have no idea if this trap would work for other insects.
I would assume that the milk attracts the flies, and when they feed upon it the compounds from the mushroom poison them, or stupefy them so they then drown in the milk.

1 Like Athena likes this.

[BubbleCat]

I feel like the explanation of Amanita effects on flies is ... missing at least one leg. Dont forget even a human can probably not feed itself to death on Amanita. Insects and human organism really are way different, so to make an educated guess one would have to check the action of Amanita poisoning amd see if a fly is more, less or any vulnerable to it.

Still: If humans will fail committing suicide by taking in the pure source I can hardly imagine insects dying of a dilution.

Oh and stupefying a fly ... ? ... really ?

[Athena]

That's pretty interesting kykeion, would be cool to see if it works. Flies get drunk on alcohol and end up drowning in it, so why not. I guess stranger things happen all the time   

[BubbleCat]

I can confirm milk makes sense tho, as in cuisine Amanita Muscaria is often treated with milk to reduce or eradicate its toxicity. So the nasties seem to be soluble in milk.