Your yard is beginning to look absolutely gorgeous this season. The daisy bush offers a spot of color while your leather fern is really beginning to develop and become a serious conversation piece. Then, just as suddenly as things began to look amazing, the worst happens. Your plants weaken, the leaves yellow, and they get sticky and covered with mold. What’s going on? The chances are good that you’re dealing with a whitefly infestation. Read more to find out how to get rid of whiteflies.
What Are Whiteflies?
Whiteflies aren’t really flies at all. They’re more like aphids and mealybugs. The adults are tiny, and they have yellow bodies with white wings. They develop pretty quickly in Florida’s warm weather, and you’re not likely to notice them until it’s too late. Big colonies can hit the underside of leaves and lay their eggs to create real problems for your garden
Understanding the Life Cycle
Adult females lay about three hundred eggs underneath the upper layer of leaves on a plant. Within ten days, the nymphs have hatched, and they start feeding on the leaves. Within 25 days, they have become fully grown adults, and at that stage, they can live up to two months. At their most immature stage, it’s easy to overlook a whitefly because they’re nearly translucent. They blend into the leaves where they’ve attached themselves.
How to Get Rid of Whiteflies
Whether you’ve already noticed them or you’re just worried about a problem in the near future, there are many good ways to get rid of whiteflies. The most important thing you can do, though, is start as early as possible. Any time you’re outside, look at the back of leaves for eggs. If you notice lots of little bugs flying away as you approach the plants, you may have a whitefly problem on your hands. Do what you can to attract natural predators like ladybugs, dragonflies, or hummingbirds.
If you’re completely infested, give us a call. We can give you a whitefly treatment method that will keep them out!