Pest on Lettuce & Tomatoes Small White Bugs

GardenRN · Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:57 pm

I noticed that a few of my black seeded simpson lettuce plant in one of my beds had wilted and fallen over. After taking a closer look I noticed a lot of ants....which made me look for aphids, and sure enough, there they were. I have never had an aphid problem before but they definitely found me this year!! I started looking up organic remedies and found one for tomato leaf spray.

I headed out to my largest tomato plant figuring a few leaves from that would would be the least damaging....and to my surprise, they were there too. Surely a tomato leaf spray won't bother these aphid if they are eating my tomato leaves. So I found a garlic spray recipe...and I'll be trying that.

Ok, enough background, on to the question. When I was turning over tomato leaves I noticed what I think are small white bugs along with the aphids. They almost just look like a tiny piece of fuzz....but I'm all but sure they are bugs. Any idea what these are and if the garlic spray will work on them also??

Thanks for any help....

GardenRN · Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:10 pm

ok....after the panic subsided a bit I looked in a book I have and I think they are greenhouse white flies.
GRRRRR!

Mixin up my garlic spray and putting a hex on it for extra measure.

kimbledawn · Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:57 pm

Get'em Jeff!! Those little buggers can wreck havok on a garden. Them and cucumber beetles, and sluggs, and cutworms, and squashbugs....oooooo I'm getting md just thinking about them

GardenRN · Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:01 pm

As I went out to spray today with my garlic/soap spray, I noticed about 5 asian ladybeetles. Sigh.....I know they will eat the aphids, but will it be fast enough to save my lettuce and tomatoes? I tried just kinda spraying around them. Hopefully they will just avoid the areas with the spray because it is my understanding that it will kill them as well.

Fingers crossed

applestar · Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:18 pm

the white fuzz -- could be white flies -- their wings are pretty discernible, and they fly up when disturbed. I'm also thinkingyou might be seeing molted shells of aphids.

Sow some cilantro, radish, and dill around the plants. cilantro and radish will grow quickly and almost immediately bolt and flower. Dill will grow and flower later in the summer. The flowers will attract beneficial insects like hover/syrphid flies, robber flies, aphid mummy maker wasps, etc.