Unfortunately I still have white flies, but thanks to anonymous, I may have a cure. I just ordered diatomaceous earth. The white flies eat it and the sharp edges of the shells, cut them up and dry them out. Sounds horrible, doesn't it? Survival of the fittest. Meanwhile, the good bugs live.
While I am waiting for the diatomaceous earth to arrive, I force sprayed the heck out of the tomato plants with water. So many white flies in the air!
New project--teaching people about sustainable agriculture. Just finished helping Melissa set up her first organic herb garden. We bought established plants-basil, sage, rosemary, lavendar, parsley and repotted them all in organic potting soil. Fed them with Super Thrive ( a vitamin booster, makes the plants grow like crazy) She placed them on her balcony. Good luck Melissa!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hibiscus,avocados,gardenias are all host plants for white fly. Check your whole yard scape for pests. Moist compost and corn meal are both deterrents for white fly and aphids. The gases given off by the compost/cornmeal are unpleasant for the insects. Dry dusting with DE is preferable to wet spraying as the DE will need to dry again on the plants in order to be effective. However both have the same result, you'll just see the flys dropping dead quicker using dry dusting. Over fertilization with nitrogen and rapid new growth, they go together,
ReplyDeleteare also attractants for white fly and aphids alike.
Correction: the insects don't eat the DE ... it kills them through micro cuts on thier exoskelaton. DE kills all insects ... even the good insects. DE also kills the tiny microbial life that larger insects eat ... in other words DE interrupts the food chain. I learned how fabulous DE is after spending a thousand dollars fighting, and losing, a bedbug battle. DE also kills ants, cockroaches and silverfish.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: the insects don't eat the DE ... it kills them through micro cuts on thier exoskelaton. DE kills all insects ... even the good insects. DE also kills the tiny microbial life that larger insects eat ... in other words DE interrupts the food chain. I learned how fabulous DE is after spending a thousand dollars fighting, and losing, a bedbug battle. DE also kills ants, cockroaches and silverfish.
ReplyDelete