Whitefly Dilemma
 

I got back on Tuesday from a trip up to New York to find an enormous whitefly outbreak. The air is thick with them, and they're all over the herbs, vegetables, and ornamentals.

I've put this thread in the organic forum deliberately, as the dilemma is how do I treat for the whitefly and not hurt my lovely tree frogs? I had a bumper crop of squirrel tree frogs last year, and I adore my little frogs! They're everywhere, they even live in the PVC pipes I use to support some of the tomatoes. And I'm seeing a second type of tree frog this year, small gray one, but I haven't gotten close enough to id it.

Anyway, I've put out yellow sticky traps around all the gardens, but that's just a drop in the bucket. I'm going to order some green lace wings, but they'll take a week or so to get here.

An aside: I do so miss having a good organic garden center here. It hasn't been the same since Sterling's closed.

So, any other suggestions for something I could try that wouldn't hurt my beloved frogs?

Reading about control and integrated pest management, I found an interesting fact. Let me back up a bit. When I first moved here in 2001, there were whiteflies like nobodies business. I'd never seen anything like it. They would make shadows on the screens at night, and you had to keep your mouth shut and eyes squinted to walk through the yard when they were flying. So, I ordered lots of lady bugs and green lace wings and talked to the neighbors about not spraying pesticides so much. We got the problem under control in about two seasons.

Flash forward to a couple of years ago when I realized I had an Argentine ant infestation, they had formed a mega-colony in my neighborhood. I joke around a lot about the Argentine ants around here because there's not anything I can do about it, and they really do keep the fire ants and termites under control. However, one of the articles I read mentioned that ants can be a problem in integrated pest management of whitefly because they eat the lacewing eggs and larva. Ah Ha!

*whiny voice* but why can't they eat the whitefly eggs!

Anyway, I'm thinking I'll have to plan to order green lace wings every spring to keep the whitefly under control, but that still doesn't help right now.

So, does anybody have any suggestions on temporary control that won't hurt my beloved froggies?

I was just reading something about this the other day and I'll see if I can find it later but anyway...
The article said that seaweed fertilizer (foliar feeding) acts as a deterent to whitefly. Not sure how it would affect your frogs though, might deter them, too, so check it out before using.
Meanwhile I'll see if I can find that article.

That would be great, thanks!

OK I found this:
[URL]http://www.ghorganics.com/whiteflies.html[/URL]
but it's not the same article I remember reading. I'll keep searching though.

I think I remember reading that Nasturtiums deter whiteflies. . .

[QUOTE=mvan;129279]I think I remember reading that Nasturtiums deter whiteflies. . .[/QUOTE]

I appreciate the information, but I think you're underestimating the extent of the infestation. It'd take a whoooooole lotta nasturtiums to cover the yard! They're something to consider for next year, but right now things are out of control.

If you want to go the Organic way, then check this out:

[URL="http://www.ghorganics.com/whiteflies.html"]Dealing With Whiteflies[/URL]

[URL="http://www.ghorganics.com/page9.html"]Natural Insect Control[/URL]

[URL="http://www.ghorganics.com/page14.html"]Organic Insect Treatments[/URL]

I've aways preferred the Garlic Treatment!

~* Robin

I am in NY, Z6. It is my opinion that these whiteflies may become a major problem for many growers.

I Have had the problem only the past two years. I have tried all methods, yellow sticky traps, bottom light reflectors, vacuuming, beer, ladybugs, garlic sprays, soap, fumigation, systemic chemical and all sorts of other powerful non-organic chemicals -------, nothing have done any good. [COLOR=red][B]Don't waste your money.[/B][/COLOR]

With international importing, possibly these may be a different kind of imported variety.

dcarch:x :x :x :no: :no: :no:

[QUOTE=Polar_Lace;129326]If you want to go the Organic way, then check this out:

[URL="http://www.ghorganics.com/whiteflies.html"]Dealing With Whiteflies[/URL]

[URL="http://www.ghorganics.com/page9.html"]Natural Insect Control[/URL]

[URL="http://www.ghorganics.com/page14.html"]Organic Insect Treatments[/URL]

I've aways preferred the Garlic Treatment!

~* Robin[/QUOTE]


Yeah, this was the site Barbee linked me to yesterday. There's a lot of good information there, but the dilemma remains: what will any of these sprays do to my lovely squirrel tree frogs? I'm leaning towards the seaweed spray for the vegetables, I can inspect each plant and move any frogs since the plants are still small. Not sure about the rest of the garden.

dcarch, I disagree. We had gotten the whiteflies under control in this area until we got the Argentine ant infestation. I find green lacewings and Encarsia formosa are better than just ladybugs, but I'll take any ladybugs that wanna drop by.

And speaking of, there was a little ladybug pr0n going on in my yard this morning!

[IMG]http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w221/Peppergeek/LBpron4712.jpg[/IMG]

Yay!

whitefly
 

I don't have tree frogs in my garden just ordinary toads, so if anyone finds a regimen that works on these pests I'll be happy to try it. Some chemical sprays seem to kill in significant numbers but only at concentrations that damage new growth on tomatoes. I have found the best results with alternating sprays of different things like soaps, oils(neem, canola, and dormant), and essential oil of peppermint and clove (a teaspoon to a gallon with soap to emulsify). The only problem is you have to do this every few days and never let up until cold weather arrives. I can wear out a good sprayer in one season.

Whiteflies usually come in waves for me. We had the spring wave, then nothing for a couple of months, and now we're having a second wave. I'm not as worried about it this late in the season, except for the boost it might give the spring population. I've put out yellow sticky traps, but I don't think I'm going to order more lace wings. There are a lot of ladybugs around, and I keep finding their eggs when I examine plant leaves.

whitefly
 

The late Summer and Fall are when I have the worst problems and they do more damage then, because I have new tomato, cucumber, and squash plants going then. They cover all that new tender growth and I'm sure spread the numerous diseases that plague us during wet summers like this one. We've gotten about an inch or two a day for the past two weeks. Man I hate watering but this is more than is needed.

Yeah, y'all are getting hit pretty hard by all this rain. Is there flooding in your area?

flooding
 

We've been lucky with no flooding but the rain has been very heavy and almost daily, fortunately we haven't received those torrential downpours that have plagued some areas near us. We've had numerous stretches of 4 or 5 days with little or no sunshine with rain interspersed with light mists. Makes controlling diseases and whiteflys impossible.