White flies on my beds?

Emma_whitnash

Can anyone tell me what the little white flies are (I think they're flies), mostly around my calibrese. They really are annoying!!

Chunks

Hi - they are probably these:

http://www.gardenforumhorticulture.co.uk/pestwatch/whitefly.htm

Pretty common pest, which in my case I ignore. In sufficient numbers, you probably need to zap them but it doesn't appear to be a easy job.... especially if you are organic.

good luck,

Chunks

macma

whitefly is a pain but unless you're "infested" it's not a problem.I read somewhere to use a portable vac to hoover em up :rotfl:'did try it once but got some funny looks on the lottie.
When I bring home any affected produce I just throw in bowl with cold water and sprinkle with half handful of salt (this works on greenfly and slugs)leave 10mins and the nasties decamp rinse well and cook.:)

newsgroup_monkey

so if you ARE organic and you have a whitefly infestation (define?), any ideas how to get rid?

I've got whitefly on just about all my brassicas. I'm trying to ignore them, but they're irritating.

Chunks

I found this additional link that may help.

http://www.greenharvest.com.au/pestcontrol/whitefly_info.html

I am no expert so others might be better placed…… In my case I have whitefly in and around the garden but the plants seem very happy so not a problem for me. An infestation is possibly defined by the condition of your plants. If they look OK they probably are. However, I agree that it is annoying to get a face full of bugs when you are checking on the state of play in the patch. Personally I like the idea of taking a handheld vacuum to the little darlings and maybe away from the veg patch using a pesticide spray to deal with them (not organic I fully accept).

Good luck

Chunks

Farway

One big trouble with whitefly on leaf veg is eventually you get honeydew, then black sooty mould

Probably not a problem on calebrese, but would be on curly kale for instance

rabidbun

I had these in huge numbers on my mint (annoyingly just after finding a good recipe to use the mint...); I have sprayed with soft soap though and it seems to have drastically cut the numbers down.

[Deleted User]

gardenorganic have an insecticidal soap

lizzyb1812

Off topic - but am SO glad this thread title was on a gardening thread :rotfl:At first glance thought it was on Old Style :eek:

"White flies on my beds"

Vamps

rabidbun wrote: »

I had these in huge numbers on my mint (annoyingly just after finding a good recipe to use the mint...); I have sprayed with soft soap though and it seems to have drastically cut the numbers down.

Sorry to be a bit thick, only been growing veg a couple of years, what's soft soap? Is it organic, as I get whitefly on my cabbage and lettuce.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

Chunks

Morning,

Believe it is soap in liquid form as opposed to detergent (washing-up liquid) which may not be as effective - the breathing holes of the offending bugs are blocked by the soap it seems. There's quite a lot of info on the interweb about usage etc. I tried to make my own out of bar soap which I grated down and added to water. Went all scummy but seemed to give the greenfly the heave-ho. My french bean plants had an attractive perfume aroma too after treatment (which was nice).

I am sure organic gardeners will express a view but my understanding (may be wrong) is that 'soap' control = organic control.

Clearly there's an added bonus here - your hands become soft and they and your veg smell nice after spraying......

cheers

Chunks