Whitefly - methods of control on various types of plants
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We hope this article will help you deal with such harmful insects as the whitefly. When a whitefly appears in the garden, seasoned summer residents sound the alarm, because these insects can cause great damage to the future harvest. In addition, they multiply very quickly. Whiteflies feed on plant sap, thereby destroying their growth and development, up to complete destruction.
Whitefly pest
The whitefly has a very telling name, it really has white small, oblong wings, outwardly it looks like a moth or a small butterfly measuring 1-2 millimeters in size. If you see such flying insects in your garden, you should immediately inspect the plants and bushes.
To begin with, you need to gently shake the plants, whether a flock of pests has lurked there. Then we examine the plant itself, whether there are any dried stems of leaves, whether it is lagging behind in development. It may be possible to find the larvae of moths, these are such neoplasms on the outside of the leaves. Pay attention, perhaps a so-called honeydew has appeared on the leaves, the liquid that these insects secrete.
Due to their extremely small size, at first, gardeners do not notice them, especially the elderly. Meanwhile, whiteflies give about 15 generations per season. And most often the fight against the pest begins very late, only when a huge flock has appeared and it is already difficult to miss them.
Whitefly damages about 200 plant species. Their favorite place is greenhouses and hotbeds. They love moisture and warmth. They can also appear and breed in remote nooks and crannies of your garden, where you are least of all. Moths feed on agricultural plants such as potatoes, pumpkins, eggplants, cucumbers, and legumes. They also like to “feast on” violets, geraniums, orchids.
Harm from white-winged moths
1. Lack of harvest. Feeding on the sap of plants, they slow down normal growth and development, as a result, the fruits do not form, the plant becomes completely unusable.
2. These parasites are surprisingly gluttonous, they can eat much more than they need, while multiplying very quickly, which leads to the complete loss of dozens of shrubs.
3. Along with this, they are also carriers of various diseases, such as verticillary wilting, powdery mildew, cladosporia, bacterial rot.
4. Whitefly larvae, which they lay on the leaves, secrete a sweet liquid, on which the mushrooms then successfully take root and also begin to slow down the photosynthesis of the plant, covering the entire leaf.
Whitefly control methods
It is easy to detect signs of damage to plants by whitefly, you will immediately notice dried leaves, stems, a complete lack of development. The normal supply of nutrients stops, the leaves curl, deform, the stem is likely to wither too. One of the first signs is a violation of pigmentation, that is, from the usual green, the leaves will turn more and more yellow. Numerous larvae spread bacteria, the appearance of fungi generally slows down growth, a mucous membrane disrupts photosynthesis, does not allow new shoots to start, and the sun's rays are poorly received. All these moments inevitably lead to death.
The most important thing in the fight against these pests is timely detection. The sooner you start killing procedures, the more likely it is to save the crop. Basic rules for wrestling:
- folk methods
- physical destruction
- preparations, including chemical
- creating unfavorable conditions for the reproduction of these moths
- settling the enemies of the whitefly
- traps
Whiteflies reproduce especially actively in closed warm rooms, such as a greenhouse, a greenhouse. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to ventilate the greenhouse, to make a draft, then you definitely need to do this in order to reduce the growth of offspring. Affected plants are best placed in an open, well-ventilated area.
Whitefly on strawberries
It is very easy to notice the affected areas on the leaves of strawberries, if there are yellowed areas, you must immediately start fighting. One of the most effective methods is setting traps. We take colored cardboard, attach it to a stick, drive it into the ground around the strawberry planting. Colored in order to attract the attention of moths. We grease the cardboard boxes with something sticky (honey is suitable), and whiteflies, arriving at the trap, simply cannot peel back.
The next method is spraying with chemicals. We recommend drugs such as Actellik, Aktara, and Fitoverm. We do everything strictly according to the instructions, otherwise you may harm your crop. We do not recommend using this method of struggle a month before harvesting. Chemicals can get on the fruit and become unusable. During this period, you can use folk methods. For example, a tincture of garlic: for 100 grams of garlic, 1 liter of water, infuse for a week, then spray 3-4 times at intervals of seven days.
Whitefly on strawberries
We use the same methods on strawberries as on strawberries. It is important to remember that if strawberries are grown in a greenhouse, it is best to eliminate the chemical treatment method. They are very harmful, especially indoors. It is better to eliminate this problem in advance in the spring with the help of biological products. They are much less harmful to humans.
Eggplant
Here we use the same methods, plus you can use a soapy solution. We take tar soap, rub, mix with water in a ratio of 1: 6. We spray, also with periods of seven days, you can wipe the leaves with a sponge, this method guarantees you that insects will no longer return to your eggplants
On lemon
Many housewives love to grow a lemon tree as a houseplant. A beautiful, bright, miniature tree looks very nice at home, but room temperature contributes to the appearance. whitefly on this plant. In the fight against these pests at home, several methods are used:
- soap solution, rub, dilute with water and gently wipe the leaves, at the same time washing off all the larvae.
- if there is a balcony, you can move it there for a while, ventilate it well.
- You can hang sticky tapes for flies, whiteflies will stick there.
On peppers
In addition to the listed methods, you can also use a vacuum cleaner, just turn on the vacuum cleaner, shake the plant and point it at insects and you can easily destroy a whole flock of pests.
On grapes
It is important to remember that you cannot use chemicals during and before harvesting, only for a month, and it is even better to process the vineyards immediately after harvest in order to completely eliminate the appearance of whiteflies the next year.
On geranium
Many flower growers, unknowingly, having found the affected areas, rush to immediately throw out the houseplant. But if you treat it well with a chemical such as "Akrat" and "Intavir", only indoors, then it is quite possible to save the flower. It is desirable to process neighboring plants as well.
On fuchsias
Fuchsia is a favorite place for whiteflies, so getting rid of them will not be so easy, you need to use several methods at the same time. First, you can hang up sticky flypaper or paper smeared with petroleum jelly. Thus, we will get rid of at least some of the moths. Then we proceed to processing with chemicals.It is important to remember that processing is carried out only indoors, preferably in special clothing, gloves, glasses. After processing, the plant should be left indoors, for example in a bathroom, preferably overnight, if possible. The bathroom or another room will need to be well ventilated and wiped afterwards. Do not use chemicals if there are small children at home and during pregnancy.
On petunia
One of the proven methods on petunias is dichlorvos treatment. The flower is put into a bag, dichlorvos is sprinkled there, tied and taken out into an open, well-ventilated room for the night. This kind of treatment should be carried out if you are not going to spend the night in this room for at least one day, because dichloophos is very harmful to the human body.
On royal pelargonium
This flower is also a favorite delicacy for whiteflies, in this case it is most effective to immediately carry out chemical treatment and it is necessary to immediately protect other plants from the infected one.
On hibiscus
All of the above methods are also suitable for hibiscus. If you bought it in the store, there may be larvae left there, and they will immediately hatch, once in favorable conditions for them.
On an orchid
Orchid leaves can be treated with soapy water, this will be enough. If it still does not work, you can water the soil with "Aktellik". We prepare the solution strictly according to the instructions so as not to ruin the flower.
How to prevent whiteflies
The most effective method is to find and settle in the habitats of pests of their natural enemies.
Their worst enemies are encarsias. They lay their eggs directly inside the larvae and can place about 100 of their young in one larva. These cubs feed on the contents of the larvae from the inside, as a result, the offspring of the whiteflies die.
Another useful creature in the fight against whitefly is the macroflus bug. These small insects eat the larvae of white-winged moths, aphids and ticks. During the season, they can destroy up to 2500 thousand pests.