I have been dealing with what appears to be a major whitefly issue in both my garden and greenhouse. I've tried various insecticides (not my first choice) such as Sevin, however the issue persists. The flies are on my tomato plants, cucumbers, broccoli, etc. In the past, I've tried ladybugs in my greenhouse.
Is it possible to take the plants out of the greenhouse for a few hours? If so then I would remove them and spray the entire greenhouse with permethrin spray. It doesn`t take much, I usually use 2to3 tbsp. per gallon of water and add a squirt of dishsoap. Then spray the plants that they are on. Let it stay on the plants about an hour then you can hose them off if you wish before putting them back inside. That should take care of them for now but you may find a few more later. Just spot treat them. Make sure you spray under the leaves too.
Doesn't permethrin come in various strengths? I have a raised bed in the greenhouse and in the winter the plants are not in containers. What to do with the whiteflies that are infecting my outdoor garden.
The permethrin that is available at your farm store is usually 10%. This is the same stuff that I use for fly spray for my horses and my dogs flea spray. It is the active ingredient in most flea shampoo`s for dogs. In a pinch I have sprayed myself if I am out of mosquito repellent. You can use it on most all farm/dairy animals. You can spray everything with it if you want and it doesn`t have to be rinsed as its life is only a couple of days or less. I spray my tomatoes and all garden plants with it. I rinse mine simply to get the bugs off my plants leaves. It is the only thing I have found to control a few of the critters on my garden successfully. I am not sure about the life cycle of white flies but I would watch for another hatching and spray again in about a week or whenever you see new ones on your plants. And you can spray the outside plants as well !! Just an added note,,Make sure you are not allergic to this or any chemical insecticide before using them.
