Brace yourself, this is gross- White fly- SON OF A GU!!!!

[DirtyCoconuts]

so i garden a lot at night. as a result i wear a headlamp and have a very narrow scope of vision as i move about.

last couple of days i notice that the leaves of some of my Catesteums were dirty. i rubbed them gently and they got a bit cleaner and i figured the roof was really dirty and i should maybe pressure wash it. I went last night to peek at the roof and, lets just say i found the problem before i got on the roof.

White fly!!!

Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr


this is the palm tree above them. UGH.


so the need to go and the plants need to be cleaned...any tips


i was going to make a sprayer of ISO and a bit of Palmolive and use that for the flies....plain soapy water for the leaves?

here are the dirty plants...it is gross, not for the squeamish

Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr

[estación seca]

Soap for the palms... are you SURE the Catasetums don't have spider mites? That's exactly what they look like with spider mites.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I have never heard of a spider mite in my humidity


What else do I look for?

---------- Post added at 03:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------

not spider mites.

i just checked after a quick google search, no bugs, no webs, no damage...the leaves are just covered in the black fungus that comes from the white fly honeydew (vomit) i sprayed the whole tree with doc bronners in a gallon of rain water and tthen scrubbed a bit at the Ctsm. leaf and it cleaned up but not easily....

fun new challenge


base of one of the black leafed plant

Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr


the dirty leaves...
Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr


the under side of that same leaf on the left where it is NOT dripped on..
Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr


and here you can see where i rubbed a bit off and the leaf is otherwise unscathed.
Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr


my fear is hat this is the same as growing them in a LOT less light bc this must interfere with photosynthesis and probably respiration too

[SouthPark]

oh geeez. Looks like I won't be having dinner tonight.

Some fumigation of the out-of-control white flies needed. Some systematic treatment maybe.

[DirtyCoconuts]

that's interesting SP...i did not know white fly COULD be treated systemically...and how does one ensure uptake in a TREE?

googling away...….thanks!

[SouthPark]

DC ----- I think that imidacloprid can be quite effective against white fly, but unfortunately ultra nasty for bees and maybe other animals too. I think spraying enough if it on leaves can do the trick too. But bad for bees! Carbaryl could probably work too against white fly - or at least really control their population on those leaves.

[Ray]

Is that white flies or mealie bugs?

[Leafmite]

If the palm tree doesn't produce anything that needs pollinated, you can use a systemic. If it does, I would use Malathion (a contact pesticide). Just follow the safety instructions and do not spray anything that is being pollinated by bees. Neem oil would take care of the problem after a few applications and it is quite safe.

[DirtyCoconuts]

i was thinking neem- i hate the smell and id have to move the orchids under it but its safe...

it is a coconut but immature...i will avoid systemic

---------- Post added at 05:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:26 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

Is that white flies or mealie bugs?

white fly...when i sprayed them with a hose there is a cloud of flying disgusting that resettles back in the same places...not mealy behavior

[Leafmite]

Good luck. I was lucky last fall that I caught Whitefly early and the Neem oil took care of it.