Nitrogen Fertilizer As much as your plants like nitrogen-rich fertilizers, whiteflies like your nitrogen-rich plants and excessive nitrogen can cause frequent infestations! While nitrogen can boost the vitality of your plants, over-fertilizing your garden can attract whiteflies, leading to more frequent infestations.

A homemade mixture from the Old Farmers’ Almanac to control and deter whiteflies: In a 32-ounce spray bottle mix 2 parts rubbing alcohol, 5 parts water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Spray the mixture on the foliage of garden plants that are susceptible to these pests.

Imidacloprid. Imidacloprid is one of the most effective systemic whitefly insecticides. When applied as a soil drench, it can drastically reduce the insect and larvae population within a matter of weeks.

A mixture that contains no more than 1 to 2 percent mild dish washing detergent or hand soap will generally control whiteflies and other pests sufficiently. Blend the liquid soap and water together at a rate of 2 to 5 tablespoons of soap per 1 gallon of water.

Hydrogen peroxide can eliminate whiteflies, but it can also damage your plants, especially in higher doses. To prevent and get rid of whiteflies, you should inspect your plans before taking them inside, wash them regularly, invite natural predators into the garden, or use an insecticidal soap.

Eco Oil is certified organic and can be used to control a range of insect pests including whitefly. For best results, use it at the first sign of infestation. Eco Oil has an enhanced formulation which helps to attract beneficial insects into the garden.

LESS-TOXIC CONTROLS

1. Syringe undersides of leaves on sturdy plants with water to wash off whiteflies and honeydew.
2. Vacuum whiteflies in the early morning when they are cold and slow moving.
3. Prune away severely infested portions of the plant.
4. Purchase Beneficial insects.

A: Unlike the irritating black flies (sometimes called horseflies) that bite, whiteflies are harmless to people. They’re just not attracted to humans or our pets or livestock. Whitefly damage is found on plants only!

Fall infestations of these beetles is more a sign of winter’s approach. As the temperatures begin to cool, these bugs love when a sunny day beckons to them to come out and soak up the rays. If it’s a warm autumn day, you may see tons of ladybugs on the sunniest side of your house.

Most ladybugs will eat aphids. These tiny insects are pests to gardeners because they eat through plant leaves, destroying foliage.

Ladybugs should be released a few at a time twice a week during the season when leaves are young, tender and attractive to pest insects. Apply one (1) tablespoon on each shrub and a handful on each tree to keep them free from pest damage. For heavy infestation, release all the Ladybugs in the bag at one time.

Pour white vinegar into an empty spray bottle. The white vinegar kills the ladybugs on contact and also removes the pheromones that they release. Ladybugs release pheromones that attract other ladybugs. By removing the pheromones, this reduces the number of ladybugs that are drawn into your home.

Cold and rainy days cause them to hunker down in red drifts on fence posts, tree trunks and under leaves. Here’s a short documentary about our local ladybugs in Redwood Regional Park, Oakland. One surprising fact about ladybugs is that they can’t fly when the temperature drops below 55 degrees F.

A ladybug beats its wings about 5100 times a minute or about 85 beats a second when it flies. Scientists believed that anything over 2 meters (7 feet) was a long-distance flight for a ladybug – but the new data shows they can actually travel up to 120 kilometers (74 miles) in a single flight.

There is little to distinguish male from female ladybugs. When you see a pair, the male ladybug is smaller than the female. During mating, the male grips the hard wings of the female, remaining on top of her for up to two hours. Under a microscope, the male ladybug’s attributes become visible.