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pics Whiteflies taking over in Florida. Pics inside.

Kwest13

Kwest13

Hey all.
 
This is the second year in a row at around the same time that whiteflies (I think) are wrecking havoc on almost all of my plants. I'm almost certain this is some type of whitefly infestation in south Florida. I'm trying to identify which type of whitefly species this is and what I can do to counter it. They won't touch my Basil plants and barely touch my morugas. But they are destroying my bhut plants and anything below in heat level.
 
First, small white patches under the leaves. Then complete white infestation and jumping little flies (I can smack the plant and a bunch of tiny white locust looking things start flying around) . And finally darkening of the top of the leaves (honeydew maybe?)  and complete growth stunt, wilting, and leaf drop. Going out regularly and brushing off anything white on each leaf seems to help but it's annoying to do every other day.
 
Anyone have an infestation on this scale before?
 
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Houston's right, natria neem oil's a good way to kill these, and I had a similar level of infestation, which neem oil took care of. Had to do carpet bombing level of spraying, but it did the trick for my TS Morugas
 
I live in Fort Lauderdale and have been fighting these little s$@&s for 5 years....I have given up with my ficus hedge, it's an awesome twigs and 3 leaf barrier at the moment..stunning! They've attacked my palms, my avocado, and Dave's peppers. Neem oil has worked on the peppers, we previously treated the hedge and palm with neem oil and the blue stuff from home depot but every year it seems to get worse......wow that was quite a rant (sorry)
 
Plant dandruff! Seriously though, it is the worst. They destroyed our squash, our oregano, even the basil and flowers. You couldn't even touch the plants without hundreds of the things flying out. Ended up geting diatomaceous earth powder and powdered everything with it. Seems to have made a difference in combination with some stuff called fertilome triple action my girlfriend had laying around. No matter what I do, though, the aphids always come back in force. Gonna have to try this neem oil stuff.
 
Apparently neem oil is the thing to try then. 
 
I can post more pictures or videos if needed. The way this thing spreads is incredible. I've noticed a monstrous increase in spiders and lady bugs all over the garden. Apparently they like to feed on the white flies.
 
I've got something like this, I'll be trying a pyrethrin spray if my next batch of AACT doesn't help. Hope neem works for you, I'm sure it'd be effective.
 
I had it all last year. If you search you would prob find my post. I would just wind up washing the leaves once a week with a pump pressure sprayer and that was a major pain. Finally they just stopped but now I'm starting to see them again with what little crop I have left.
 
miguelovic said:
 
Biobest has a fairly decent compatibility chart for interactions of sprays and beneficials.
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That's a good thing, but something else to keep in mind - when the "nasties" are gone, the beneficials will move away to find more nasties to eat. Ideally you want the beneficials to make your garden and immediate area their home - you want them to stick around, mate, and lay eggs in your part of the world. 
 
geeme said:
That's a good thing, but something else to keep in mind - when the "nasties" are gone, the beneficials will move away to find more nasties to eat. Ideally you want the beneficials to make your garden and immediate area their home - you want them to stick around, mate, and lay eggs in your part of the world. 
Click to expand...
 
True enough. Growing peppers does have the advantage of producing pollen, which a large number of mite/thrip beneficials can alternatively feed on to maintain populations. Some biocontrol companies sell dried and buffered pollen (NIC), as well as other forms of beneficial insect food, moth/shrimp eggs and such.
 
I keep meaning to look for a pollen-factory of a houseplant, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
Agave nectar mixed with water is also an option. Still, I've found the ladybugs get tired of that after a while. Seems they prefer aphids - go figure!
 
miguelovic said:
True enough. Growing peppers does have the advantage of producing pollen, which a large number of mite/thrip beneficials can alternatively feed on to maintain populations. Some biocontrol companies sell dried and buffered pollen (NIC), as well as other forms of beneficial insect food, moth/shrimp eggs and such.
 
I keep meaning to look for a pollen-factory of a houseplant, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Click to expand...
Annual poppies ( specifically the opium poppy [ Papaver somniferum ] ), produce lots of pollen when raised under 16-24 hours of light, exhibit dwarfism, and die in 2-3 months under these conditions. I suspect this is not what you want. Male hemp plants might do even better -- but i wouuld recommend seed hemp strains ( 'Suomi', a commercial variety from scandinavian hempseed farms, available from vancouverseedbank.com is one ), grown under short day/long night cycles.
Obviously, legal issues abound. Also, i don't know if it can be cloned.

An actual houseplant - ?? I'm stumped. Hope this helps... i understand foliage-dwelling insect preying mites are raised on dust mites, as it's hard NOT growing them domestically.

Hope this isn't too far off this thread's topic.
 
Off-topic be damned, it's interesting.
 
Poppies eh... it just so happens.. XD
 
Hemp/cannabis pollen is quite a productive producer, but would cause much heartache and is a direct conflict of interest.
 
I've pretty much settled on ordering pollen, probably of a tree fruit. A few studies I've read link a number of fruit tree pollens as suitable, with high oviposition rates and overall population health.
 
Some beneficial bug suppliers offer a food source at a very cheap price, especially compared to Biobest at 250/lb (cat tail pollen, available from pollen suppliers at 60/lb), but I am starting to think they're vending a sprinkle of pollen buffered with an inert (non-food) ingredient and powdered sugar supplement. Commercially available fruit tree pollen is pricier, in line with Biobest, but gives proven results.
 
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