White Fly

[Florence Fennel]

There are zillions of white fly on my sprout plants. Do I have to get rid of them (and how) before I harvest the sprouts please?

[rustylady]

I have zillions of the little bu@@ers too Flo. Not growing sprouts, but they are all over my kale, my PSB, and my spring cabbage. I cut some kale yesterday for dinner and just shook the leaves well, put them in a placcy bag and when I got them home submerged them in a bowl of salty water to kill the passengers. There is a link here for you, but they are notoriously difficult to get rid of (even survive hard frost) Cabbage whitefly / Royal Horticultural Society

[Florence Fennel]

Thanks RL, I do remember Arpoet harvesting cabbage in the ice and snow and the white fly survived. My black kale was so infested my daughter wouldn't have anything to do with it (wuss).

[northepaul]

You could try squishing them between your fingers? (gloved or not)

[arpoet]

I tend not to worry about them. They were still active when i dug sprouts out of last winters perafrost.
any critter that can still live at -18c deserves to live.
roger

[Florence Fennel]

You could try squishing them between your fingers? (gloved or not)

Too many for that Thea, when I said zillions I really meant it

I tend not to worry about them. They were still active when i dug sprouts out of last winters perafrost.
any critter that can still live at -18c deserves to live.
roger

Ok then, I'll leave them to it and prepare the sprouts myself before I give them to my wuss of a daughter!

[Jono]

My kale is covered in them too. Have just been washing them off - I'm still alive.

[morverngirl]

Just had srouts for dinner tonight, to get them i had to crawl under netting,hold my breath and pull sprouts off, place covered in white fly and me included. Gave them a good wash and they were great, oh there was also a black sticky stuff.

[Florence Fennel]

Black sticky stuff?

[Lotsaveg]

You need to make sure you collect up and destroy all the leaves that have fallen off the plants as these will keep the whitefly alive through the winter.

I use SB Plant Invigorator to kill off the adults and remove the black mould that they cause, but you do need to give it a good strong blast though!

[WillyNelson]

How about garlic soap, will that help keep the critters off? I've got them all over my winter veg in great clouds.

[Two_Sheds]

^ try it, and report back to us

[Lotsaveg]

Don't waste your garlic... I've tried this and it didn't do a thing against the whitefly and the black sooty mould remained.

[cptncrackoff]

I had a look at work, we sell a product that is essentially just rapeseed oil, used to control whitefly.
Someone told me they breathe through their skin !?
The oil blocks it - they die.
Any thoughts!?

[Two_Sheds]

How would you get the oil onto the whitefly? It'd block a sprayer would it? What could work is painting the oil onto a piece of yellow (?) card then holding it over the plants as you shake the flies off: they'll fly up and stick to it. edit: just tried it, I caught all of six

I blasted mine with garlic water y'day, it's had no effect whatsoever