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Re: Whitefly?

At 09:55 AM 11/4/97 -0500, you wrote:

>Since white flies turn into scale, can one use WD-40 as a spray?  I
>posted a question re scale on my grapefruit tree (approx 20 years old,
>grown from seed of a regular grapefruit) and it worked beautifully.
>
>Linda
>
Linda:

Contrary to what was posted previously, whiteflies do not turn into scale.
They are two different beasties.

The whiteflies are tiny white moths which lay eggs on the undersides of the
leaves.  These hatch out into little wormlike nymphs which suck out the
plant juices, then pupate and emerge as more whiteflies.

WD-40 or any of the other soap or oil sprays are good controls as they tend
to smother the eggs as well as the nymphs.  However,you have to keep after
them because the adult moths will fly to, and hide in other plants when you
start to spray and then return to lay more eggs as soon as you leave.

Hope this helps

Ruth Zavitz
rzavitz@execulink.com
freelance writer and gardening consultant
Ruth Zavitz                                     
rzavitz@execulink.com                            
Freelance Writer & Gardening Consultant, zone 6 Southern Ontario
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