Whiteflies aren’t actually flies. They’re more closely related to aphids. Whitefly control can be difficult because they’re hard to identify in a garden or greenhouse in the first place. They’re exceptionally tiny – only 1 to 2 mm long making whitefly damage easier because they also hide under leaves rather than on top of them.
You have to specifically look for whiteflies to identify them, and you have to do this quick. Once disturbed, whiteflies will flutter away. Their small size makes them difficult to track in the air. Not only this, but that size also means they can sneak through most mesh screens.
Whitefly Feeding
Whiteflies damage plants initially by feeding on their sap. This alone will begin to kill the plant. It will begin to shrivel up, turn yellow or brown, and sink to the ground. Not only this but if there are enough whiteflies on the plant, they can easily kill it quickly.
Whiteflies & Honeydew
Whiteflies secrete honeydew as they feed. This is colonized by a type of fungus that’s called sooty mold. Sooty mold makes your plants look black and diseased. It can also block sunlight in large enough quantities. Combined with whitefly damage caused by their feeding habits, whiteflies can destroy a garden you’ve worked hard to grow very quickly. This doesn’t just count for flowers and ornamental plants – they’ll also go after vegetables.
Whiteflies & Disease
Whiteflies are harmless to humans, but they carry a number of diseases that can infect plants. Just like mosquitoes or ticks can carry a disease from one person to the next, whiteflies can carry a disease from one plant to the next. When you combine this with their feeding and mold propagation, whiteflies become deadly to a garden or vegetable patch.
Whitefly Prevention
Whiteflies are usually present because there has been some disruption in the natural world. They do have many natural predators, such as ladybugs, so if your garden is lacking natural predators it may also be missing other vital nutrients that attract them.
As a result, a management program is multifaceted. You can’t simply spray your garden with chemicals and hope that it kills whiteflies. The chemicals you can get at your local garden center don’t always prove fatal to these problem pests. Moreover, you could be killing far more than the whiteflies.
When it’s time to protect your garden from pests like these, it’s time to contact Slug-A-Bug for a customized solution that works to control predators and protect your plants!
Contact a service that specializes in outdoor pest control like ours to begin protecting your garden from whiteflies.