How to fight whitefly? Modern means of combat

The whitefly is a small butterfly, one and a half to three millimeters long. It is white in color, its wings and body are sprinkled with pollen. The butterfly and its larvae feed on plant sap, so the affected flower stops blooming, withers and may even die. But despite this, the whitefly is not so difficult to destroy if detected in time.

What can be the fight against whitefly? It can be eliminated using folk remedies or modern chemicals.

Description and life cycle of the pest

Whitefly is a dangerous and common pest. Externally, this insect looks like a white moth. The adult has a flat oval, yellow-red, greenish or white body, 2–3 mm long. Two pairs of narrow wings are covered with a white waxy coating. The insect has a good reaction; when shaking the leaves, many midges quickly fly up.

The pest family includes more than 1,500 species. The biggest problem for gardeners in greenhouses and at home is the greenhouse whitefly. This is a polyphagous species native to South America, omnivorous and voracious, like a locust. The insect loves a warm and humid microclimate. In such conditions, the whitefly reproduces all year round.

Strawberry, cabbage, and honeysuckle whiteflies are found in the garden . These species are less dangerous, since they are not as prolific as the greenhouse species and do not massively damage different crops. In the southern regions, tobacco and citrus whiteflies .

In open ground, the pest is active only in the summer. The insect overwinters in the form of larvae and eggs , managing to lay them in secluded places: in unheated greenhouses, in the soil, under the bark of trees.

The peak of rapid reproduction occurs in summer. Females lay 20 to 280 gray ring-shaped eggs . Of these, after 1.5 weeks, translucent larvae , no more than 1 mm in size. They are the ones that harm plants the most.

At the next stage, the larvae turn into nymphs , from which adults (imago) . The full cycle from the larval stage to the formation of an adult lasts 3–4 weeks . 80–90% of larvae survive to butterfly status.

The next generation also produces offspring. During the summer the breeding cycle is repeated several times. On one plant, the pest can be present in all stages. On average, at an air temperature of 18–24°C, the whitefly lives 17–24 days. When this indicator increases to 30°C, life expectancy decreases to 4 days.

Time factor

Why did it happen? Because there is an exposure (holding) time for the infusion - two days, and you also need to add a little to prepare the working solution, and wait until the evening so that the plants in the greenhouse do not feel bad on a sunny day. As a result, it turns out that three days are lost. So they played a fatal role for my neighbor’s tomatoes, which were destroying hordes of pests.

Whiteflies reproduce very quickly. Photo from agroflora.ru

After all, all these days the whitefly hatched from previously laid eggs, multiplied, and laid eggs again (it produces up to 10 generations in the greenhouse season, under good weather conditions). I didn’t know that I should sit quietly and wait for the tobacco potion to be prepared.

Signs and Symptoms of Plant Infestation

At the beginning of infection, the pest can be detected by examining the underside of the leaves. There is a noticeable accumulation of adult insects and their late instar larvae in the form of white tubercles . You can also find numerous translucent scales - the faces of the pest, which are not easy to wash off even with a stream of water.

Larvae and adults feed on plant sap, leaving sticky secretions in the form of whitish and yellow spots - honeydew . It is an ideal environment for fungi . Sugary traces are always covered with a sooty coating.

Fungi clog the pores on the leaves, they begin to turn yellow and curl, and the ovaries and flowers fall off prematurely. Shoots may become deformed. Plants are stunted and look depressed. They become an easy target for viral infections - curl, mosaic, as well as fungal diseases - powdery mildew, gray rot.

Reasons for the appearance and reproduction of whiteflies

Ideal conditions for the pest are warm and humid summers. At air temperatures below 10°C, the life activity of the whitefly stops, but the insect eggs are well preserved and overwinter.

The pest often appears in dense plantings with poor ventilation. It primarily affects weakened plants.

In summer, the whitefly is carried to the site by the wind and enters the house and greenhouses through open windows and doors.

The insect is brought into the house with bouquets, new potted plants and contaminated soil.

At risk are garden plots next to which there are large greenhouse farms.

Using smoke bombs

Fumigation with sulfur dioxide is a radical and effective method in pest control. Poisonous gas gets into all hard-to-reach places, deep into the ground. This way the insects are destroyed. Smoke bombs made from tobacco also have a detrimental effect.

To carry out cleansing in this way, you need to seal all the cracks. Place the checkers on stands made of non-flammable material and set them on fire. Quickly leave the premises and close the doors tightly.

Enter the greenhouse no earlier than after 3 days.

To increase the effect, it is recommended to pre-humidify the room.

What plants does the pest attack?

The insect damages more than 300 plant species. Tomatoes are the most susceptible to whitefly among vegetables . From them she can switch to cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and eggplants . Loves cabbage, strawberries, beans, salad .

It does not ignore fruit and berry crops: pear, plum, apple tree, raspberry, currant, gooseberry, honeysuckle .

Indoor flowers need to be protected from pests all year round: begonia, pelargonium, fuchsia, balsam, myrtle, poinsettia, gerbera, cacti, orchids, cyclamen, calla lilies, primroses . Damages garden flowers: aster, gladioli, tobacco, zinnia .

Different types of whiteflies cannot reproduce on the same plant, since their secretions repel each other.

How to get rid of whiteflies on indoor plants

Knowing how to get rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse will help you get rid of them on flowers grown in pots at home. Need to:

isolate the affected plant;
disinfect flower trays, window sills, racks and windows with a soap-alcohol solution;
cut off and burn all affected parts of plants;
remove the top layer of humus in flower pots.

Next, we get rid of eggs and larvae of the pest on indoor flowers at home by wiping the leaves with a mixture of ammonia and water (1:9) or tar soap dissolved in water. But indoor crops such as geranium, pelargonium, violet and other flowers with pubescent leaves are best sprayed to get rid of whiteflies. To destroy sexually mature individuals, we use mosquito traps and fumigators.

You can get rid of whiteflies on indoor flowers using both folk and chemical means. The most effective insecticidal preparations are recognized:

Akarin;
Vertimek;
Fitoverm;
Aktara;
Tanrek.

Experienced flower growers advise alternating medications that help get rid of whiteflies on myrtle, spathiphyllum and other flowers, as they quickly become addictive in insects.

Means of struggle

Chemical and biological drugs

With a one-time use of chemicals, the pest will not completely die - the adults and some of the larvae. After 6–7 days, the plants need to be sprayed again. The solution should fall on the lower part of the leaves, since this is where the main concentration of insects is.

Before treating with any preparation, the soil is moistened, severely damaged leaves are removed. To avoid addiction, chemicals are not used more than 2 times in a row.

Aktara

Pesticide in the form of odorless granules. For greater effect, it is recommended to treat the leaves and soil with the drug 3 times with a break of 7–10 days. Dosage for spraying leaves – 1 g per 1.5 l of water, for watering the soil around indoor plants and ornamental crops with tender leaves – 1 g per 10 l of water, for plants with hard leaves and semi-lignified shoots – 1 g per 2.5– 3 liters of water.

Aktellik

2 ml of the product are diluted in 2 liters of water. If there are a lot of pests, then the solution is prepared more concentrated - 2 ml per 0.7 liters of water. The solution is not stored, but used immediately, evenly spraying the leaves.

Reapply after 5–7 days. The product is not used in closed residential areas due to toxicity.

Inta-vir

1 tablet is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Use no more than 3 times per season, excluding flowering time.

Spark

The composition of the drug, in addition to the active substances against the pest, includes potassium fertilizer as a filler.

To prepare the solution, add 1 tablet to 10 liters of water and spray 2-3 times with an interval of 5-7 days.

Karbofos

For whiteflies, plants are treated with karbofos 1-2 times - 5 ml of the drug is added to

2 ml water.

Aktofit

The product destroys all stages of the pest as much as possible in greenhouses and in open ground. For spraying, prepare a working solution with a concentration of 0.6% (6 ml of the drug per 1 liter of water). Taking into account the development cycle of the insect, 7–10 days after the first treatment, the plants are sprayed again.

Fitoverm

To destroy the pest, 6 ml of the biological product is diluted in 1.5 liters of water. The first results are noticeable within 3 days. Apply the product 4 times with a break of 7–10 days.

Traditional methods

During the ripening of the crop, chemical preparations are replaced with herbal solutions.

Wormwood repels pests with its scent. 300 g of dry grass is poured into 5 liters of cold water. Leave the solution for a day, then bring to a boil. Before use, it is filtered, but not diluted. The leaves are sprayed on both sides 2 times with a break of 7–10 days.
200 g of chopped garlic cloves are poured into 1 liter of warm water. The glassware is covered and placed in a dark place. The concentrate aged for 5 days is ready for use. For spraying, 6 g of infusion is diluted in 1 liter of water. For better adhesion, laundry soap is added to it.
A solution of 90–100 g of yarrow leaves and 1 liter of water is infused for 2 days. Strain and spray the crops 2 times every 7 days.
Moth tablets get rid of whiteflies. She especially can't stand the smell of lavender. If there are animals at home and flea shampoo is used for them, then the plants can be sprayed with this soap solution.
Mechanical means of fighting are popular. Whiteflies are color-sensitive and respond to yellow and orange. Taking this into account, you can prepare adhesive yellow tapes or squares. They are cut from cardboard, greased with Vaseline, glue, grease and hung over the tops of plants.
The pest can be removed from indoor plants using a vacuum cleaner. The stems are shaken off and the flying whiteflies are collected with a vacuum cleaner, like dust. This procedure is carried out carefully so as not to break the plants.
You can get rid of adults and partially of larvae by washing them off with water. First, use a jet to knock the butterflies off the leaves, then use a sponge and soap solution to remove the sticky coating along with the larvae and egg-laying eggs. The soil on which insects fell after a shower is loosened to a depth of 1.5–2 cm. Water procedures are carried out 6–7 times every 4–5 days.
Whitefly butterflies in a greenhouse can be destroyed within 24 hours using a fumigator. But this method will not work on eggs and larvae. You will have to repeat the procedure every other day for a month so that all hatched butterflies die. The fumigator is turned on at night, closing the doors tightly, and turned off in the morning.

Treatment of the greenhouse after aphids. What needed to be done in the greenhouse in the fall?

Treatment of the greenhouse in the fall should begin after harvesting. In fact, the structure is being prepared not for winter, but for next spring, because with the onset of the new season there is usually simply no time to do this. Ignoring some stages of preparing a greenhouse in the fall can lead to unnecessary financial costs, since you will have to buy equipment that has not survived the winter and is out of order.

Treating a greenhouse in the fall is primarily about caring for future plantings. If you do not prepare it for the new season in the hope that the frost will disinfect everything inside, already at the beginning of summer the plants planted in it will be affected by pests and diseases: tomatoes - spotting, aphids, whiteflies and late blight, cucumbers and peppers - mites, aphids, downy mildew, bacteriosis, root rot and the same whitefly.

After harvesting, pests and weeds remain in the greenhouse, and the soil in it is depleted. In order to get a good harvest in the future, these factors must be eliminated.

Proper conservation of a greenhouse in the fall involves the following measures:

If the building has light, there is an electric heating system, temperature and air humidity sensors are installed, before winter sets in, all this must be de-energized, removed and stored in a dry, heated place. If this is not done, adverse weather conditions will damage the equipment.
Rinse and dry the irrigation system, otherwise the water frozen inside the hoses and pipes will burst them. They must be purged, cleaned and disinfected with a solution of orthophosphoric acid or Pekacid.
Empty and disinfect water containers, if any, in the greenhouse.
Drip irrigation systems and bed limiters should be stored indoors.
Remove all plant debris that could serve as a source of infection and dig up the soil, removing all the roots remaining in it. It is recommended to burn green biomass rather than throw it into a compost bin. Many pests remaining in it tolerate low temperatures, and with the arrival of spring they actively begin to reproduce, so only burning will help protect future plantings from parasites.

Prevention

Constant inspection of the leaves will help to detect the insect in time. New plants in the house are quarantined.
Since whitefly is most often found in protected soil, thorough cleaning and disinfection of greenhouses and greenhouses after harvesting is important. Plant residues and weeds are collected and destroyed, or sent to a compost heap. The soil is dug up, its surface is not leveled until spring.
Greenhouses are washed and disinfected, paying attention to cracks and joints. After the weather gets colder, it is better to leave the windows and doors of the structure open so that the pests that have settled in for the winter will die. At temperatures from -12°C and below, it is enough to freeze the greenhouse for a week.
In the summer, nets are installed on doors and windows to prevent insects from entering the room.

Despite the fact that whiteflies multiply quickly, they can and should be fought against. Only systematic measures will get rid of it. Once you start fighting it, you can’t stop!

You will learn more about methods of combating whiteflies from the video.

Time factor

Whiteflies reproduce very quickly. Photo from agroflora.ru