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White Flies

15 years ago

My gardenias are infested with whiteflies. I have tried blasting them with water and a few other things. Do the yellow white fly traps work? I have over 15 gardenias in my yard and many are blooming so I wanted to see if anyone has experience before I invest in all those traps. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (3)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
Blast of water won't do much to get rid of whitefly, darn it all. What else have you tried? Many people are reporting good success with Neem oil against whitefly, as a suggestion. Be sure to aim for the underside of the leaves to take advantage of the oil aspect of the product. It also works as an anti-feedant and a growth regulator, once the insects have begun to feed upon it. It has little affect on insects that do not feed on plant juice or tissues.

The traps can be used in conjunction with the Neem and can help you monitor the population of these pests.

I'm not sure that I've EVER seen a gardenia that's not covered with these darned things, lol. I sure do wish you luck.
wiley_gardener
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Rhizo, I have seen Neem oil and will get some today and try to spray the undersurface of the leaves. Will be tough as I have so many.
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This cannot be a new thing. I too have a one year old vine, no fruit, lots of vine and millions of those very, very small flying insects. Shake the plant and these things swam out like some kind of plague -- but try to find them on the underside of the leaves -- they are not impossible to see but if they do not move you can miss them, unless they fly, then they are truly evident. Also, the leaves now have brown blotches all over them and some are skeletal -- not sure these flies or whatever, are the cause but there are so many that they cannot be beneficial. But, no one seems to have and answer, like this is something unusual. Strange, no one seems to have a solid answer?
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bcomplx1
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Simple insecticidal soap is the weapon of choice with whiteflies, and gardenias tolerate it well. Just don't spray in the middle of a hot, sunny day. Do it in the evening, and you'll see a response in 2-3 days. I would repeat after a week.

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