Whitefly control is killing my plants?

[Absolute Chaos]

I've just finally worked out that the reason the basil leaves have white spots on them is because there are whitefly underneath. So, I loaded up a sprayer with a litre of water and a squirt of washing up liquid and gave the leaves a good drenching. Now the white bits have gone brown and don't look too clever. I'm concerned the basil is dying.

Can washing up liquid actually kill your plants? Or is the brown patch supposed to occur after spraying?

[Two_Sheds]

personally, I've never liked the washing up liquid way of dealing with aphids. It seems to do as much damage as the aphids.

Just wash the leaves, and squish the bugs with your fingers. Works a treat. You'll have to repeat as required, but it will keep populations under control if you catch them early

[Paulottie]

Firstly, are they whitefly or aphids?

For aphids just a drop (literally) of washing up liquid in a litre sprayer, and rub them off.

For whitefly grow French marigolds along side. They hate the smell. If the greenhouse is really infested you might try encarsia formosa ...a small wasp that parisitises the eggs....easy to find from any bio control company....if your stuck I used to work for one.

[Two_Sheds]

From RHS:
Hang sticky yellow sheets (Agralan Yellow Sticky Traps, Bayer Greenhouse Fly Catcher, Growing Success Greenhouse Whitefly Traps) above or among the plants to trap adult whitefly.
Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Glasshouse Whitefly

[jackie j]

I sqished some greenfly on one of my roses the other day and sqished too hard and pulled the rosebud off grrrrrr.