Re:Whiteflies
Ben Levin (benjinsl@astro.ocis.temple.edu)
Fri, 9 Feb 1996 12:49:00 -0500 (EST)
In response to the recent discussion of whiteflies I have some input.
For as long as I can remember we have had a problem of WF infestation in
our University (indoor) greenhouse. I tried the sprays (Safer's) and
bombing with pesticides to no avail; the WFs always come back.
So now I intend to try a different approach: parasitic wasps and
beetles. Apparently there is an Asiatic wasp (Encarsia formosa) which is
specifically parasitic on WF larva and a beetle (Delphastus pussila)
which eats the WF eggs. I found out about these insects from a
hydroponics company which stocks them. The smallest quantity they supply
is 1000/pack; I forget what square footage this is supposed to cover,
but it's about 1-10 wasps/square foot. I would only recommend this
course of action for someone with both a large growing area and a really
serious infestation. I don't know how well it works, but I'll keep
y'all informed.
Ben
benjinsl@astro.ocis.temple.edu