Whiteflies rapidly grow in population when they find a good garden. They can suck the life out of a plants leaves leaving the plant stressed and disease prone. They spread viruses and disease and cause havoc in food production which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
You can stop them from landing on your plant by misting the underside of the leaves of the plant several times a day.
But who has the time to do that?
You can see the whitefly attached to my yellow card in less than 5 minutes.
They rapidly grow resistance to chemical pesticides. Obviously these chemicals will detour good insects that you want in your garden.
They are too small to squash or swat. However whitefly is very attracted to the colour yellow.
You can make your own yellow trap with some Vaseline on yellow card, or purchase a set.
If you bought one, remove the backing paper so the sticky yellow card is reviled.
Hang in a spot near where the whitefly are, but so it won't stick to anything. Either suspended above the area or level with the infected plant. I like to hang it out of the rain if possible.
Place the cards approximately 2 metres apart from each other.
Shake the plant every so often so the whitefly will fly. You will be amazed at how they fly directly to the yellow card.
The card will last about 6-8 weeks when the temperature is below 28 degrees Celsius. You may need to replace more often if it is hotter or they are full.
Any leaves that have been eaten by whitefly should be removed and sealed so re-infestation doesn't happen.
Another method is to grow plants that help reduce whitefly. Nasturtiums are thought to detour whitefly. Zinnias attract predictors that enjoy eating whitefly.
Whitefly can cause great damage to your vegetables and garden plants such as hollyhocks. But at least they don't bite you.
