Control White Flies in Your Garden

When white flies attack your plants, it can mean disaster for a garden.

A few years ago we had a white fly infestation in the town I lived in and the ground was covered with what appeared to be snow. Actually it was the bodies of white flies. They were everywhere and there were so many that you had to use your windshield wipers to drive on a sunny day. These little flies and their larva can suck the life from your plants. The town I lived in tried spraying and that knocked quite a few down and left poisons everywhere. It didn’t solve the problem, though. The eventual solution was to turn loose a small breed of wasp that preyed on white flies. Of course the hard winter we had following that worked as well. But there is another method you can use in your garden or greenhouse that is quite easy and will work if you catch your infestation early enough.

White flies are attracted to the color yellow. This makes them very vulnerable. To control your white fly infestation, cut a few cardboard pieces about six to eight inches long by three or four inches wide. Paint both sides with yellow paint. I used sunflower yellow and it worked very well. Tack the cards to a stake and coat them with something sticky like a thin coat of petroleum jelly, motor oil or corn syrup. It has to be something that will remain sticky for some time and not dry out quickly.

Once you have the cards made you can use them in two different ways. In the first method all you do is stake them near the plants that have the infestations. The second method is to hold one of the sticky cards in one hand near your plants while brushing the plants lightly. This will stir up the white flies. They will take to the air and seeing the yellow; they will zoom in on it like iron filings to a magnet.

If the infestation has started to get out of hand, you might try spraying the plants with tobacco tea (made just like regular tea except with tobacco) or a solution of three tablespoons of Murphy’s Wood Oil Soap in a gallon of water. Both of these sprays are good for a number of insects including aphids. You will never get rid of all the bugs in your garden, but you can control them organically.

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