Preparations for whitefly: 11 ways to protect yourself from the pest
Whiteflies are small white-winged flies that feed on plant sap and cause damage to various crops. They can be found in open beds, in greenhouses and even inside the house on indoor flowers. At first, they may not seem particularly dangerous, but experienced gardeners and summer residents know firsthand the true face of this insect.
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Signs of whitefly damage
Whitefly on a plant.
The pest that settled on the leaves of the plant does not immediately give itself away, but in the process of population growth, characteristic features:
- the affected plant lags behind in growth;
- leaves dry up and fall off;
- many translucent larvae and insect eggs can be seen on the underside of the leaves.
Insect control methods
The insects that have appeared are able to multiply very quickly, and it is already much more difficult to deal with an increased colony of whiteflies. There are a huge number of methods and means for pest control. Among them, you can easily find one that is perfect for each specific case.
It is better to first accurately determine whether it is accurate on the site whitefly?
Mechanical methods
The most effective in the fight against whiteflies are two main mechanical methods of control: with water or using glue traps.
Washing insects with water
Irrigation with water will help drive adult whiteflies off the plant surface. 
It will not work to get rid of eggs, larvae and honeydew, so they will have to be removed manually by wiping the leaves with soapy water.
This method is laborious and therefore effective only with a small number of insects and a small radius of damage.
Adhesive traps
These traps also only help to catch adults. To fight whiteflies, you can use both ordinary sticky fly tapes and special traps, for example:
- Pheromone;
- A.R.G.U.S.;
- Bona Forte;
Similar traps can be made independently. To do this, you need small pieces of cardboard, blue or yellow. They must be covered with a layer of honey, rosin, petroleum jelly or castor oil and hung near the affected plants.
Chemicals
If the whitefly population is large enough, then only special chemicals can cope with it. All of them can be divided into several categories.
They contain potent toxic substances that cause paralysis and sudden death in pests. These include Karbofos, Kemifos and BI58. Due to the high toxicity of these drugs, greens, berries and vegetables cannot be processed.
The toxicity of such substances is much lower, but because of this, their effectiveness also decreases. Pyrethroids include drugs "Iskra", "Cypermitrin" and "Intavir". These chemicals can be used to treat strawberries, vegetables, and seedlings.
Substances in the composition of these drugs paralyze the pest and eventually lead to its death. At the same time, these substances are safe for plants and earthworms. The most effective drugs from this group are Akarin, Fitoverm and Agravertin.
These drugs show high efficiency in the fight against whiteflies. At the same time, the content of toxic substances in them is quite low. This group of chemicals includes Commander, Aktara, Prestige and Confidelin.
Traditional recipes
For opponents of the use of chemicals, there are many proven folk remedies. They are less effective than specialized preparations and can be easily prepared from improvised means at home.
| Soap solution | For cooking, use crushed tar or laundry soap. It is dissolved in water in a ratio of 1:6. The resulting solution can be sprayed on the affected plants or whipped into foam and applied with a sponge to the leaves. |
| Infusion of garlic | Garlic tincture showed good efficiency. To prepare it, you need to pour 2 crushed garlic cloves with 1 liter of water and insist in a dark place for 24 hours. The resulting infusion is filtered, diluted with a bucket of water and used to spray the affected plants. |
| Infusion of tobacco | To prepare this tool, you need tobacco from the simplest cigarettes, for example, the Prima brand. Everything that can be squeezed out of one pack must be poured with 1 liter of hot water. The resulting mixture must be left in a dark place for 5-7 days. The finished infusion should be filtered and sprayed twice a week on the affected plants. |
| Yarrow infusion | To prepare the infusion, use 90 grams of fresh yarrow and 1 liter of water. The ingredients are mixed and infused for 2 days. After the infusion is filtered and sprayed over the infected beds. |
Use of fumigators
Fumigators.
Usually fumigators are used to control mosquitoes and flies, but they are also effective against whiteflies. This method of struggle is only suitable for enclosed spaces with the ability to connect the device to the mains.
Before turning on the device, it is necessary to close all doors, vents and windows in the room. In order for the whiteflies to be destroyed, 2-3 hours of continuous operation of the fumigator is enough.
For safety reasons, animals and people should not be in the room during the operation of the device.
Prevention of the appearance of whiteflies
It is much easier to prevent the appearance of pests on plants than to deal with colonies that have settled on plants, therefore it is very important regularly take preventive measures. These should include:
- periodic inspection of the underside of the leaves;
- timely feeding and watering;
- maintaining the required level of humidity and temperature in greenhouses;
- cleaning of weeds, last year's tops and fallen leaves;
- checking new plants for signs of damage before planting.
Conclusion
When any potential pest appears in the garden, you should immediately take up the defense of the crop. This undoubtedly applies to whiteflies, because it will most likely be possible to drive away a small population with the help of folk recipes and without the use of chemicals. If you start the situation and allow the insects to breed, then you will not be able to cope with them without the use of insecticides.
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