Hello all ...
Just a quick question regarding an outside ficus tree. It seems that I cannot get rid of a white fly infestation. I have two little boys under the age of five and a year old weimaraner pup that play near it, so the use of deadly chemicals is really not an option. Any suggestions to ridding this pesky pest??

 

Hello Rusty Can

Here is a link about White Flies

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/garde...te_flies.shtml

Hope it helps a bit...

Howie

 

I once heard someone saying that a mild insecticide can be prepare by just mixing dish washing liquid with water. To be honest with you I never tried it out but for sure I don't think it will do any harm to your plant and especially to your kids. :-)

 

Hi Rusty Can,

I agree with Robert. I've used 1 TBS. of a mild dishwashing liquid (like Ivory) to 1 gallon of water for a few years and have had great results with it. It will even kill black flies. I keep some mixed up all the time in one of those little spray bottles. It comes in handy for those fungus gnats that fly around house plants or cuttings also.

Here are some other sites with natural sprays -

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/m...22/organic.htm
http://www.nor.com.au/community/orga...t/homespry.htm
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/p...epellents.html (pepper spray)
http://wz.com/homegarden/NaturesNaturalPesticides.html
http://www.soapstore.com/stories/gtips.htm (using a bar Ivory)
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...pesticides.htm

Gami

 

thanks for the information ... I'll give it a try this weekend!

 

I TRIED ALL THE SPRAYS YOU CAN IMAGINE AND NOT UNTIL I BOUGHT A PRODUCT CALLED MERIT DID I STOP THE DEVILS. YOU MIX IT ABOUT 1/4 TSP TO ONE GALLON OF WATER AND POUR ON YOUR PLANTS. IT IS SYSTEMIC. YOU APPLY JUST WHEN THE PLANTS BEGIN TO PUT OUT FOR THE SPRING AND AGAIN ABOUT MID SUMMER. NO MORE WHITE FLIES. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE TO HAVE MY PEST CONTROL PERSON PURCHASE IT FOR ME AS IT IS CONTROLLED, BUT THERE ARE ALSO OTHER PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET WHICH CONTAIN MERIT.

 

Intresting ... however if it is a controlled chemical I don't think that I would be able to use it around my children or pup. However, thanks for the insight!

 

AS YOU POUR IT DIRECTLY INTO THE GROUND, THERE SHOULD BE NO EFFECT ON YOUR KIDS OR PUPPY. HASN'T HURT MY CATS OR BIRDS, NOR GRANDS, BUT ASK YOUR LOCAL GARDEN CENTER.

 

I'll ask around ... thanks again!

 

merit is a very safe product and is available over the counter(at least here in ct.)
many grub control products contain merit and just recently they have come out with a liquid form available at garden centers for tree and shrub use. it is called 'bayer advanced systemic tree insect control' or something very similar to that,it comes in a dark blue plastic bottle with a yellow label,the active ingredient is called imidicloprid.
and as stated above it is a soil drench which is translocated through the tree controlling any insects that feed on that tree. being a drench and not a spray you don't have to worry about drift into undesireable areas and the insecticide stays inside the tree. merit is a very effective insecticide and will probably become quite popular with time.
I would certainly reccomend it.
good luck,
CT Arborist Ron R.

 

Hi Lynnw and ct. arborist,

I'd like to know more about Merit. Can you supply a website?

Thanks, sure do appreciate it. I've never heard of it before, but I'm willing to learn. That's what we're all here for.

Gami

 

Hi everyone

I don't mean to butt in, Lynn & Ron, but since I'm here looking, here's a link for Merit

http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/mark...D=26&Product=1

Gami - I noticed the contact address at the top of the page (if you need any further info)

Howie

 

Thank you all for the info on Merit. Fancy that, Howie, it's made in Kansas City!

I'm going to definitely keep my eyes open for it.

I notice it's good for sawfly larvae. We had a long discussion on that last year and the great damage they can cause in a short amount of time.

Gami

 

imidicloprid.


Keep this stuff away away from veggies,


It is not approved in many states for the homegardener..


a few samples
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/sec18/pdf/01-28.htm

http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/PESP/str...00/usdod00.htm

Uses cancelled by December 31, 2001. General Use Pesticide
Niches. ... Merit/Marathon, (Grubs – Professional Use). ...
http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomolog...pdate_2002.htm - 101k - Cached - Similar pages


It is registered for trees is some states

 

Sorry for double message post, I got hung up somehow..

Whiteflies,

Be aware of the fact that these suckers reproduce at the rate of 200 per female per 2 weeks.

They can fly 120 ft on a windless day.

If is believed by UFla that a whitefly carrying a tomato disease
called TCLYV was brought to the Carribean via hurricane winds from Africa. The another storm from Carribean to US.
Tomato Curly Leaf Yellow Virus.

Yes the reproduction rate stating with 1 female, and aboulutly no controls, in 70 weeks whiteflies could exceed the number of atoms on this planet.

For Organic growers, dishsoap, tobacco tea and Neem (a tree oil) work to have some control. When applying, you need to apply to everything that grows.

The use of low nitrogen fertilizers also helps reduce populations, of whitefly, aphids, hornworm and cinch bugs to name a few.



Byron

 

Also, for additional information the product is manufacturered by Bayer and on their web site.

 

WHITE FLIES is my middle name. I've been fighting those suckers for three years straight. If I showed you pictures of my 75 ft long and 50 ft high hedge of myroporum that have been slowly but surely killed by them devil flies it would break your heart as it has mine.

First year I sprayed with a light insect repellant. They laughed at the stuff. Second year I went to an arborist who charged me $425 to spray the hedge, more like trees 4 times a year. Had little to no effect. by the end of the season 75% of the leaves were gone.

I tried Merit via the Bayer brand but the only form I could find was that blue bottle spoken of earlier. My myraporum was too plentiful and too high for me to spray. The only leaves I could get to to spray was no higher than 6 ft so in effect what I did was chase them to higher branches. I spent well over a few hundred dollars on Bayer spray with little effect.

Lastly I hired a profession arborist that deep fed the entire hedge with merit and I crossed my fingers. They said if the white flies return this year they will inject the ground again and won't charge me.

In the last few weeks the temperature has been in the 50's so I suspected I wouldn't have to be concerned with the white flies until the weather warmed up. It did as of last week and today while examining the myraporum I noticed one section was already covered with white flies and much of the leaves already have fallen.

If anyone is thinking of spraying, unless you are dealing with a small plant, I'd say you are chasing the wind. Any spray, be it insectacidal soap, Merit or what have you has to be sprayed on the UNDERSIDE of the leaves to have any effect. And you must drench the leaf to sufficate the adults as well as what they have left in their nest which is very noticable...a white like filmmy web with little black and white dots on the leaf.

My question: Can someone tell me where I can purchase Merit in liquid form so I can pour it on the ground where my myaraporum are trying to survive? I'm in Southern California.

Thanks all and God bless us in this econimy and our ever lasting fight agaist the white fly

 

A second thought on white flies. The alternate approach to eliminating them (good luck!) is to encourage a population of Ladybuys and a few PrayingMantises.

I, of course, tried that route as well. Now before i tell you about that expereince I will caustion you, you have to choose by what method you will attack the white flies...chemically or natuarally. You can't do it both ways for obvious reasons.

Since i had a seerious white fly problem I ordered 5 boxes of Ladybugs. I beleive there are 2000 in each box. Cost was well over $200. The directions said to put box in the refrig for a few hours. This is to slow them down. Then lightly spray your plant with water and release the ladybugs soon after the sun goes down. Sounds simple enough.

The next moring I examined my plants, in my case large hedge or trees, and the only Ladybugs i saw were 50 to 60 dead ones one the ground and a few, very few that were crawling on the plant. It looked to me like 90% moved to my neighbors yard or beyond.

My question: How to you get Ladybugs and PrayingMantises to want to stay in your garden?

 

Hi Roger,

Sorry to read you've spent so much on this hedge. I'm wondering if you mean you have Myoporum. Is this your plant?
http://www.cal-ipc.org/landscaping/d...ate&type=Trees

If so, it's listed as an invasive in California and maybe the money could be better spent on planting something more environmentally friendly that won't be so pest prone.

Newt

 

The answer is you don't. And, as you mentioned, using chemicals on or near your plants will kill them.

Newt

 

I always control white fly populations with lady bugs, as stated before, poisons are out of the question when using lady bugs. to get them to stay, make sure to have a layer of mulch under the plant for them to breed and hide in, moisten it before adding the lady bugs to get them to linger in the area applied to.

 

For those of you that have been following my saga with white flies I am here today to raise my red flag. I admit they have won the war.

Lady bugs, chemicals including Merit, deep Merit and insecticide soaps as well as Ivory have left them even healthier and sexually active than in the past.

I am having my beloved myoporum trees dug out and replaced with too many Italian Cypress and hope they grow faster than predicted.

My myoporum are 15 ft tall and against a block wall so getting to the underside of the leaves I find difficulkt to immpossible.

Thus my battle has been lost. I hope others are more successful

 

i sprayed mine with a solution of Murpheys Oil Soap and water using a hose end spray bottle. sprayed every three days for about two weeks, no more flies. so far this year i haven't seen any.

 

Thats curious as my mypporum are infested to the point we ar considering taking them out and replacing with Italian cyprees. My neighbor whose wall adjoins mine has 4 ficus trees and the white flies don't seem to effect them. You sure you are dealing with white flies?