They’re awfully small, and at a glance, you might not even notice they’re on your plants at all, but the reality is that whiteflies can mean serious problems for the plants in your yard, and missing them on that first glance could spell disaster later in the season. What’s the key to preventing whiteflies in your yard?
Why They’ve Come
The first step toward whitefly control is understanding what they actually want. Whiteflies thrive on plant juices. They insert a short, needle-like beak into the leaves of your plant, then they suck out the juices. The liquid and excess sugar go through their bodies, and they excrete it in the form of honeydew, a shiny substance that is quite sticky. Once that’s deposited on the leaves of your plants, you might find black mold taking hold of the plant too. In short, the whiteflies have come to eat the sap out of your plants, and lay their eggs there.
Whitefly Prevention
Naturally, the best way to deal with whiteflies is to prevent them from arriving initially. That begins with a careful check of every new plant you purchase. If you bring any plants home from someone else’s garden or even a nursery, make sure they’re not already infested with whiteflies. You should also do what you can to keep beneficial insects near your plants like ladybugs and spiders. Hummingbirds, too, are a natural predator of whiteflies. Using an aluminum reflective mulch on tomatoes and peppers may prove useful too, as it makes it harder for whiteflies to find the plants they want.
Whitefly Pest Control
If they’ve already arrived, it might be time to contact a whitefly exterminator. We can help. Don’t even bother with the off-the-shelf solutions you see in the hardware store. They just don’t work. Instead, you’ll spend hundreds of dollars waiting to kill whiteflies that will just continue to destroy your plants. Contact us today to learn more about our methods and how we can help you save your plants.