Whiteflies! I'm an organic gardener in zone 7. I've been gardening for many years, but the last dozen or so I've gotten a lot more serious (and had a lot more challenges, and fun.) At the beginning of June this year, I discovered whiteflies (for the first time ever) in three distinct garden areas of our property, each area separated by a good deal of lawn (well, the yard has SOME grass, but it's mostly weeds & clover.) One area was very active with whiteflies, the other two somewhat less so, but it was clear they were dispersed throughout the property. I read and read and read and came up with this protocol, which I hope will help anyone else who runs into the same pest. First, I suspended my weekly spray of a gentle foliar feeding solution (spray n grow & bills perfect fertilizer) to slow down the plant growth that whiteflies find so appealing. Then, every evening for a full week, I sprayed every plant and shrub in my gardens with the following blend: 1 gallon Ivory soap water 1 gallon water 8 tsps take down concentrate 2 cups commercial concentrated deer repellent (primarily garlic/clove/mint/egg centric) (We live in a VERY high deer pressure area so I was already spraying my .66 acres of gardens & shrubs with a rotation of deer repellents every evening, two gallons a night.) For perspective, I used three batches of this whitefly action brew (so six gallons total) every night. The Ivory water wasn't carefully measured. I took a large bar of Ivory soap, left it in a gallon of water overnight, and used that. Then I used the same bar in successive gallons. That one bar lasted the whole time I sprayed. I sprayed the outsides of everything, of course, but also shoved the sprayer nozzle into the middle of each plant/shrub, doing my best to get to the undersides of the leaves & stems, too. Five evenings into my spraying, I noticed no more whitefly activity. Interestingly, the pollinators remained abundant, active, & happy throughout the entire spray period. This may be because it was relatively early in the season. This may also be because I sprayed in the evening, after most of pollinators had gone to sleep. And lastly, this may be because I used the mildest but still effective takedown solution -- just 1%. (And maybe all the clover in the yard helped too, by giving them a consistent alternative food source.) After the week of whitefly brew spraying ended, I did nothing (other than my nightly rotation of deer repellent spraying) for about 10 days. I still saw no evidence of whiteflies. Then I released beneficial insects: Ladybugs, which start eating right away; Lacewing eggs, which take a few days to a week to hatch & start eating; And, praying mantis eggs, which take weeks to hatch & start eating. I purchased enough beneficials to populate our entire yard and followed the directions for timing, conditions, etc for their release. A couple of notes: I opted not to use neem oil on the property because I had previously used it and it does not like begonias, bleeding hearts, fuscia and other somewhat delicate plants, all of which were liberally interspersed amidst my perennial beds and containers. I was VERY reluctant about using the takedown given my love of pollinators but I realized I had to make a tough call and decided the best course was to save my garden for the pollinators who would come by later in the season. I truly didn't expect so little impact on them during my spray period. I was very relieved to see them thriving the entire time! In addition, everything I read suggested it was best to use multiple beneficial insects so I opted to include praying mantis in the mix, despite the risk to some pollinators, concluding, again, that saving my garden overall was the better course. I also bought a bug blaster nozzle (Amazon has it) and a watering wand. The bug blaster delivers a 360 degree forceful spray of water. I'm not going to use it now, but it's here for next time. I want to see if alternating washing the plants during the day and spraying the plants in the evening will let me solve the problem using even less takedown. Stopping whiteflies takes real diligence, but it's doable! Good luck!

Hi Everyone. L.G. - Here in Australia I've never seen White fly as a problem with bromeliads, vegetables yes, but not broms. I rarely use insecticides and when I do I never spray; I prefer to dunk the whole plant so that the insecticide only goes on the plant requiring it. I have an insecticide I sometimes use called Clensel, however it's possibly not available in your country. http://www.newapproach.com.au/?wpsc-product=clensel-insect-mite-killer-750ml It's made from natural ingredients with the main one I want to discus being Oil of Citronella which is also a natural insect repellent and the main reason I use this product. What I do, instead of spraying the plants, when ever I re-pot a plant, I paint or use a small hand sprayer to spray some of the mixed up concentrate around the turned over plastic lip of the pot as well as around the base and in this way I use it as a repellent rather than an insecticide and I find it keeps the insects away. With this in mind I have also tried with success, doing the same thing with the Oil of Citronella that is used for burning in insect repellent flares around BBQ's and I daresay you would more easily source this product than the insecticide I speak of. I would recommend you give it a try as it's relative inexpensive and should solve your problem naturally without spraying poisons around. All the best, Nev.

Alchohol and water spray. Wasn't it in the first quarter magazine? (2017)

It's interesting how some Plumerias are left alone by insects and others just get rolled. I think you have a good plan of attack. Be consistent with treatments about every 5 to 7 days for a couple of weeks and you should get good coverage. I am sure you know this but for others which may come along...always be wary of leaf burn when using oils and spray in the early evening or on overcast days. I like to concentrate my efforts on spraying the undersides of the leaves and the new growth more than the tops. Its a pretty plant so lets hope it recovers quickly. Good luck with it.