White Fly experiment

[JC's Garden]

I've read about reflective mulch, tinfoil strips and such to confuse white flies. Last year and the year before, I tried tinfoil strips in a few locations and got limited results. This year I'm trying something different. I'm using strips of white plastic, cut up grocery bags, to try and control white flies. I'm also using those strips to support my plants. So far, good results all around. My Mother lives only a few miles away and is covered up with white flies. (Now you know I did something about it. Got to take care of Mama. )
Anyway, if I remain in control of white flies this year, I'll bump this post and let you know.

[kcopper]

Great, sounds a good idea.
I currently use very fine mesh netting myself. Get it from here https://www.qvsshop.co.uk/ultimate-insec ... 237-p.asp- can't seem to find it anywhere else at a cheaper price!

Would be great if you could let me know how this goes, may save some money in the future.

Best of luck!

[JC's Garden]

FYI, I am using Bt as a general spray (once a week, depending on weather) to prevent leaf eating critters. I spot treat with neem oil to take care of any other significant pest infestation that my garden patrol isn't able to handle. I do not try to eliminate pest, I only try to control.

[kcopper]

OK , I see. Thanks for letting me know. Any update on the foil? Seems to be working?

[imafan26]

Sticky traps will help too, although not eliminate them. The best defense I have against white flies are the purple ladybugs. I attract them to my yard and they keep the white flies at bay.

[JC's Garden]

I have a lot of flowers to attract beneficials but my Mother has way more flowers and plenty of beneficials. The problem here in South Georgia is that whiteflies are present in such large numbers that trying to control them with sticky traps and beneficials is like trying to empty the ocean, one bucket at a time. So far I have been either, very lucky, or in control with my white plastic strips. I don't know which.

[JC's Garden]

My white fly experiment continues to be a success. I'm still fighting white flies at my Mother's place. I did get her aphids under control. I think it's time to expand my experiment to a portion of my Mother's garden. If I can reduce the number of white flies in one section, I might be on to something. I have to find out if it's luck or if it works. Wish me luck.

[JC's Garden]

I lost all the tomatoes in my raised bed area to disease so I cleaned out the plants and white plastic support ties. A few days ago I found white flies on a lemon tree in that area. I tied white strips to the tree branches. Checked on it today, no white flies. We did have a severe thunder storm last night so I'm still not ready to scream success but it looks the plastic strips might be helping.

[applestar]

This is great information. Thanks for keeping us updated with your progress and observations.

[imafan26]

Interesting. Are the strips coated or just plain strips tied to the tree?

I have a few white flies on the hibiscus, but they are actually decreasing as the purple ladybugs take care of them. I just use water. But since the hibiscus is a white fly magnet I might try tying some plastic strips and see if it helps.

[JC's Garden]

Just white plastic grocery bags cut into strips. I like the ones with a little red on them for my tomatoes, hoping to confuse the birds. The ones with a little green for other plants, hoping to confuse bugs in general.
Try it out. If it works for you, we may be on to something.
Be aware, I may just be lucky so far. Hope it works for you.

[JC's Garden]

End of season update.
I remained free of white flies until the end of the season. Tie strips were coming down and my marigolds were getting some age on them. I still have very few compared to other gardens I've visited. I've replanted marigolds and have young ones getting ready to flower.
I think my success in this battle can be attributed to three main factors.
White tie strips.
Marigolds.
Neem oil (used for septoria control).
We'll try it again next year.

[rainbowgardener]

Looking back through this thread, I saw this: " I am using Bt as a general spray (once a week, depending on weather) to prevent leaf eating critters. "

Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) is live bacteria (once hydrated), which attack various caterpillars and insect larvae, like mosquitos. There are different varieties of Bt, which are specific to different critters:

The most commonly used strain of Bt (kurstaki strain) will kill only leaf- and needle-feeding caterpillars. In the past decade, Bt strains have been developed that control certain types of fly larvae (israelensis strain, or Bti). These are widely used against larvae of mosquitoes, black flies and fungus gnats.

More recently, strains have been developed with activity against some leaf beetles, such as the Colorado potato beetle and elm leaf beetle (san diego strain, tenebrionis strain). Among the various Bt strains, insecticidal activity is specific. That is, Bt strains developed for mosquito larvae do not affect caterpillars
https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05556.html

therefore you need to know at least generally what kind of critter you are trying to deal with and what strain of Bt you have.

But also: Sunlight degrades Bt after a few hours, so it is best applied late in the day so it can be consumed during the nightly feeding. Keep in mind that your objective is to place the substance where the caterpillars will eat it. In the case of corn earworms, this means squirting the Bt solution into the tips of young ears of corn. Read more: https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic- ... z3EtuYQudU

So just generally spraying your garden with Bt may not be effective. And it is not recommended, since for the insects that might be affected by it, frequent large scale sprayings are conducive to development of resistance, which insects are very good at:

Although most pest populations remained susceptible, reduced efficacy of Bt crops caused by field-evolved resistance has been reported now for some populations of 5 of 13 major pest species examined, compared with resistant populations of only one pest species in 2005 https://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v31/n ... .2597.html published 2013.

You are best to spot spray areas where trouble is when you see problems. And remember that you are never trying to eliminate all of any pest, just keep them from becoming major infestation and keep the damage within reasonable limits. You want some individuals to remain, to keep feeding and attracting their beneficial insect predators and to keep a non-resistant population alive, so that even if some individuals develop resistance, the population doesn't.

[imafan26]

You used neem too. That probably helped with the white flies. I cut back my hibiscus and tied the plastic bag to the remnants and I sprayed with neem and right now the white flies do look to be under control.