Cole, I have had a whitefly problem each growing season on my plants. I used many things trying to control them and the only thing I found that worked is the homemade neem oil mix. It's cheap to make and you don't have the problems of chemicals on your skin other than some vegetable oil and a small bit of dishwashing liquid as well as water. I liked using it because it took care of the whitefly very well.
Here is the recipe for ready to use.
1/4 teaspoon liquid dish soap
2+3/4 teaspoons oil (peanut, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower or safflower oils).
2 Cups water
Shake Well and use in a hand sprayer not a hose end sprayer.
Use only Ivory or cheap pink dishsoap, not the dawns of the world today, those kinds will strip the leaves and don't use antimicrobial either.
Spray the undersides of the leaves and the tops when it is less than 85 degrees outside, the sun is down and the plants are not drought or heat stressed.
I used this solution once a week for a couple of weeks and my horrid whitefly infestation went away.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt
~Margaret Atwood~
Last edited by Rockporter; September 15, 2012 at 02:50 AM.
Reason: clarified the type of oil used in recipe
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