The little buggers are holding back our brassicas.
If I tap or rattle our Brussels sprouts, swede, winter cabbage in fact any
brassica, a cloud of whitefly emerge from them.

The only thing good to come of this is that hoverfly are thriving.

They have all been sprayed with a solution of liquid soap and water all
over including where they hide underneath the leaves.

The swede is espescially looking poorly.

Can anyone help? even advice to avoid them next year will be welcome.

Thanks
Sandra and Micky

Is it that nobody knows how to get rid?

Some of these were going to be our winter veg. crop to keep us going till
spring.

Looks like the louse has won!(this year only).

Sandra and Micky

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:36:36 GMT, Escargo wrote:

The little buggers are holding back our brassicas.
If I tap or rattle our Brussels sprouts, swede, winter cabbage in fact any
brassica, a cloud of whitefly emerge from them.

The only thing good to come of this is that hoverfly are thriving.

They have all been sprayed with a solution of liquid soap and water all
over including where they hide underneath the leaves.

The swede is espescially looking poorly.

Can anyone help? even advice to avoid them next year will be welcome.

Thanks
Sandra and Micky

Is it that nobody knows how to get rid?

Some of these were going to be our winter veg. crop to keep us going till
spring.

Looks like the louse has won!(this year only).

Sandra and Micky

Did you follow the suggestion of vacuuming them off?
Tap the plant and suck up the cloud. Do it daily as they multiply
rapidly but you should reduce them. A little hand-held vac is good
for this.

Pam in Bristol

"Escargo" wrote ...
The little buggers are holding back our brassicas.
If I tap or rattle our Brussels sprouts, swede, winter cabbage in fact any
brassica, a cloud of whitefly emerge from them.

The only thing good to come of this is that hoverfly are thriving.

They have all been sprayed with a solution of liquid soap and water all
over including where they hide underneath the leaves.

The swede is espescially looking poorly.

Can anyone help? even advice to avoid them next year will be welcome.

We get them every year but not as bad as you describe, the plants don't seem
to suffer at all. The only time we had a serious problem was due to a
neighbouring allotment gardener not bothering to take up his old unused
brassicas and letting the whitefly overwinter on his plants, then just after
we planted our next season crop he pulled up his old plants and clouds of
them made their way to our plants.
He was one of those gardeners that used a weeks spring holiday to get his
plot up straight and planted then never did another thing all year, no
weeding, no watering, no feeding, not anything except cropping (not much of
that either!).

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

Pam Moore wrote in
:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:36:36 GMT, Escargo wrote:

The little buggers are holding back our brassicas.
If I tap or rattle our Brussels sprouts, swede, winter cabbage in fact
any brassica, a cloud of whitefly emerge from them.

The only thing good to come of this is that hoverfly are thriving.

They have all been sprayed with a solution of liquid soap and water
all over including where they hide underneath the leaves.

The swede is espescially looking poorly.

Can anyone help? even advice to avoid them next year will be welcome.

Thanks
Sandra and Micky

Is it that nobody knows how to get rid?

Some of these were going to be our winter veg. crop to keep us going
till spring.

Looks like the louse has won!(this year only).

Sandra and Micky

Did you follow the suggestion of vacuuming them off?
Tap the plant and suck up the cloud. Do it daily as they multiply
rapidly but you should reduce them. A little hand-held vac is good
for this.

Pam in Bristol

Thanks Pam for this suggestion(didn't see the origional), been out this
morning with the carvac and it seems to work well and am gonna stay on top
'till end of season.
The downside is that I am sucking up some of the hoverfly, but its better
than spraying with insecticide.
Damn good idea!

Sandra and Micky

"Bob Hobden" wrote in
:



"Escargo" wrote ...
The little buggers are holding back our brassicas.
If I tap or rattle our Brussels sprouts, swede, winter cabbage in
fact any brassica, a cloud of whitefly emerge from them.

The only thing good to come of this is that hoverfly are thriving.

They have all been sprayed with a solution of liquid soap and water
all over including where they hide underneath the leaves.

The swede is espescially looking poorly.

Can anyone help? even advice to avoid them next year will be welcome.

We get them every year but not as bad as you describe, the plants
don't seem to suffer at all. The only time we had a serious problem
was due to a neighbouring allotment gardener not bothering to take up
his old unused brassicas and letting the whitefly overwinter on his
plants, then just after we planted our next season crop he pulled up
his old plants and clouds of them made their way to our plants.
He was one of those gardeners that used a weeks spring holiday to get
his plot up straight and planted then never did another thing all
year, no weeding, no watering, no feeding, not anything except
cropping (not much of that either!).


A neighbour from hell!

It was suggested to vacuum the clouds of whitefly with a portable vac.
cleaner and it seems to be working for us.

Sandra and Micky