Its Usual Target In My Collection : Ficus Religiosa (Peepal tree)
This winged adult insect & its wingless younger self (nymph) sucks juices from the leaves, causing them to turn yellow and prematurely drop off. They also spread diseases. The adult lays eggs on the underside of the leaves which become adults flies in just 2 weeks.
My Solution : Squish the whiteflies with fingers. If you approach slowly, they don't fly away. The younger wingless nymphs are more difficult to get rid of. I scrape them off from the leaf undersides with a knife, in good lighting. Yes, it takes crazy amount of time & patience per plant. After cleaning, isolate individual plant in another room, check leaf undersides daily for 3-4 days and repeat the process. This is to kill tiny nymphs which you might have missed earlier but are now big to spot easily.
Repeat all this for other plants of the same species, if you have more. I now check the leaves almost everyday while watering and squish the adult fly, if any. If you spot any eggs, wipe it clean with a wet tissue and discard in trash. Easier to kill a few flies than hundreds of nymphs !
Having lost leaves due to diluted dish wash liquid, detergent etc. I am not ready to experiment anymore right now and believe physical elimination is best.
very informative. thanks
ReplyDeleteWelcome ! Glad to know that :-)
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