Whitefly plague

White fly

Surely you have seen in person or heard of the white fly if you have crops. It is one of the most common pests in the agricultural world and in gardens. It attacks both ornamental plants and vegetables. Therefore, it becomes a frequent threat to all those who want to keep their crops in good condition. Some of the plantations that are most affected are tomato, zucchini, pepper, melon and watermelon.

We are going to analyze in depth this annoying pest to show you how you should identify, prevent and get rid of them in the event that the crops are infected. Do you want to know everything about this pest?

How is the whitefly detected?

Whitefly infested leaf

This insect is known by the scientific name Trialeurodes vaporariorum. It can thrive in both temperate and humid climates. Therefore, the time of year when there are more of these insects is in spring and summer. They are miniscule in size (between 1 and 3 millimeters) and among their family we can distinguish different species.

It is a plague that has appeared in a complicated way. Such is its invasiveness that it becomes very difficult to control. Its life cycle is around 10-30 days. In just this period of time it is capable of reproducing itself repeatedly, reaching 80 to 300 eggs at a time. This makes it a very fast proliferating organism.

Ability to attack crops

Identify the whitefly

The whitefly has the ability to attack plants through suction mouthpiece that have. It feeds on the sap of the leaves until they are dry. Its presence can be detected by observing the underside of the leaf. They are placed there precisely because it is the area with the most pores in the plant and they have better access to the sap. They can also be found on the stem.

The damage it can cause is very serious. By feeding on the sap, it leaves the plants weakened and causes a stop in its development and a loss of fruits.

Some of the symptoms that can be seen in the affected whitefly culture is the appearance of spots that are lighter than the normal green color. Dry and yellowish leaves are also observed and molasses appears. If the plant is infested with this pest, it can be the origin of other infections and diseases, such as chlorosis or boldness.

How to prevent whitefly

Whitefly eggs

Whenever diseases and pests are discussed, the best is prevention. Preventing the proliferation of whitefly in any crop allows us not to have to deal with the consequences. If the pest arises in greenhouse crops, it is more dangerous due to its high level of contagion.

Some of the measures that can help control it are:

  • Let the natural predators (ladybugs) act to attack the whitefly.
  • If we water the crops continuously and adequately, we will prevent it from spreading.
  • It is important to stick to the planting schedules that have been established.
  • Develop crop rotation throughout the year.
  • Eliminate weeds and weeds appearing around crops.
  • Control the appearance of ants. Ants protect the whitefly from its natural enemies.

On the other hand, if the whitefly has already appeared in your crops, you will have to resort to specialized products. There are different pesticides that act on the central nervous system of food and block aceylcholine receptors. In this way the transmission of the nerve impulse is interrupted and the insect paralyzes and dies.

There are other insecticides that are used in horticulture and for greenhouse horticultural crops. Its main component is Maltodextrin. It works by suffocating insects and mites, covering them with respiratory spiracles and causing their death. It can also cause death by and sticking of pests to the plant surface. Prevents the mobility of winged insects. Thus we avoid the colonization of other parts of the crop.

Some home remedies

Damaged leaves

In ecological gardening there are several remedies that we can do at home, and that will help us regain the health of our pots or our garden, such as:

  • Garlic: crush about three cloves of garlic and add them to a liter of water to pulverize all parts of the affected plant.
  •  Basil: This precious plant repels whiteflies like no other. Plant several in your garden.
  • Chromatic trap: many insects are attracted to a specific color. In the case of the plague that concerns us, it is yellow. To make a trap, you just have to buy a cardboard or plastic of this color and, to make them stick, we can use honey or oil.

This consists of making our own plant, knowing that many insects have a weakness for the color yellow and are attracted to them. These insects will go for the yellow color without being able to resist it. Well, making use of this knowledge, all we have to do is take advantage of this to be able to catch them so that they cannot escape and harm our crops.

For this, we can use any material that makes them stick together such as glue, honey, etc. We have to bear in mind that if we use the glue that is used for mice we can make a bird get trapped and die. As we do not want this, the above mentioned or oil and soap can be used as glue. In this way, we can place yellow rags impregnated with these materials so that whiteflies are attracted to it and let's manage to weaken the plague making it reach acceptable levels for tomatoes and that they do not produce damage.

This is more than enough since, we must also comment that not only the whitefly will be attracted by the yellow color, but also other insects that are beneficial for the garden.

I hope that with these tips you can get rid of this annoying pest.


6 comments, leave yours

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  1.   Ana said

    Thanks I have learned a lot about plants and their care, I intend to move to a house with a patio that has some fruit trees and I am considering planting others, I hope you continue to publish and inform about the care of plants and therefore of nature, I will continue to visit you.

    1.    Monica Sanchez said

      Thank you very much for your words, Ana 🙂

  2.   cupcake or magda .. said

    ..I was trapped by the generous information, although I must recognize the importance of knowing how to read between the lines ... I mean the links? marked in color in the content of the page…. surprised. if it is fair .. reading about the «chromatic trap» consisting of making our own * take into account ... the possibility that a bird is trapped and dies; tb. the fact that in order to weaken the plague, they may be attracted to the yellow color insects…. beneficial for the sowing… .. thanks for opening .. and keeping us updated .. through the Newsletter

    1.    Monica Sanchez said

      We are glad that it was of interest to you, Magdalena. 🙂

  3.   Mara Elisa Salazar Calderon said

    This weekend he attacked me, I was buying fruit at a market stall where there were pitayas, rambutans and nectarines and there he stood on my arm and stung-bite it. I'd swear it was one of those flies. Is there any history of attacking people? I took antihistamines but my arm is red, swollen and hot right around where it attacked me. Please I need information about it. Thanks in advance.

    1.    Monica Sanchez said

      Hello Maria Elisa.
      The whitefly is a very small insect, less than 1 centimeter wide, and most importantly, it is not carnivorous. I mean, it feeds only on plants.

      It was probably another insect that attacked you.

      A greeting.