White Fly
The casings of the Aphid often look like another, much smaller, sap sucking pest - White Fly.
These really are tiny, but the trouble is there are normally hordes of them.
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They can cause the same problems as Aphids - curling leaves, sooty mould and all sorts of other fungi.
Having a tremendous breeding rate, from egg to adult in three weeks, even if you did try and control with sprays - which only effect adults - you would be at it continuously.
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Thank you Amy Hengst for this photo
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| Plus a few would always escape to start all over again. Nice and comfy in your nice warm and cosy greenhouse. |
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But we have another cunning plan ! |
| The Encarsia wasp, or to address it formally, Encarsia formosa |
| These are even smaller than the whitefly, and their tiny larvae feed on their slightly bigger larvae.
Don’t ask the details please !(However, these are tropical wasps so not suitable for outdoor cabbage white fly.)
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They will take about 4 weeks to start having a significant effect, but the effects will rapidly increase, particularly as new generations of the wasps come along. ( Although you may like to top up your wasp pupae after two weeks to ensure they are continuously on the job ).
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A 1000 Encarsia pupae, supplied on leaf pieces, just needs the pieces to be put on the plants. But full instructions are included.
£14.80
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