How to disinfect a greenhouse from whiteflies. How to treat a greenhouse from a whitefly: we are fighting a harmful insect. Preventive work against whitefly

Various garden crops are grown in greenhouses in order to get early harvests. Greenhouses are convenient because they can artificially maintain favorable conditions for plant growth and crop maturation. Unfortunately, in such comfortable conditions, various harmful insects, such as whiteflies, breed. The whitefly is a moth, up to 2 mm in size. Despite such a small size, the pest is able to destroy all plants in a short time.

At the first sign of the appearance of this pest, it is necessary to take measures to destroy it, otherwise you can forget about the harvest. In this case, it is very important to choose the right control strategy so as not to harm greenhouse plants. At the same time, it is important to know that it is better to take care of the plants in advance in order to protect them from the invasion of various pests, including whiteflies.

In our area, this pest appeared in the 19th century, starting to destroy plantings of cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, parsley, etc. An adult has a pale yellow body, ranging in size from 1.5 to 2 mm. The pest lays eggs on the back of the leaves, where the sun's rays do not fall. The number of eggs is large and can reach hundreds. Newly laid eggs have a yellowish tint, and after about a week they turn black and increase in size. After that, the larvae begin to appear. They develop in 4 stages. At first they are very small and almost transparent, about 0.3 mm in size, and at the end of development they reach a size of 0.75 mm.

The larvae on the leaves resemble a shiny flattened scale. The larvae suck useful substances out of the plant, after which the plant loses its vitality. At the stage of the nymph, the larva is distinguished by a greenish tint and is covered with a waxy coating. Eyes begin to appear on her body. If at this moment the whitefly is not destroyed, and it has time to pupate, then it will be very difficult to deal with it. An adult also has a similar coating, so insecticides are not terrible for her. Waste products contain sugar, which is a comfortable environment for the development of pathogens.

Signs of a whitefly

If you make some effort, then the whitefly, or rather the colony of larvae, is not at all difficult to find. First of all, you should pay attention to the appeared small spots on the leaves, a light shade. After that, you need to look for the pests themselves. Considering their tiny size, it is better to arm yourself with a magnifying glass. You should look for them on the back of the leaves. Affected leaves eventually turn yellow and disappear.

At the same time, you can notice small moths flying by, which resemble moths in flight. They can also be detected by lightly shaking off the leaves.

The main signs of the appearance of pests:

  • On the reverse side of the leaves, transparent scales are visible in large quantities.
  • Honeydew appears on the leaves - a sticky shiny coating.
  • Soot fungus also appears on the leaves, which leads to the appearance of black spots.
  • Leaves turn yellow and curl.
  • The plant lags behind in development.
  • There is fruit necrosis.

Reasons for the appearance

This pest is attracted to high humidity and high temperatures. For this reason, the whitefly is a frequent guest of greenhouses. In the greenhouse, the whitefly feels comfortable at any time of the year. At a temperature of -10 degrees, this pest dies, but the eggs do not die and can be in this state for a long time, waiting for comfortable conditions.

Insects thrive in greenhouses where there is poor ventilation and where plants are close to each other. Improper planting of plants leads to stagnation of moisture and active reproduction of the pest.

How to get rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse

There are a number of ways that can help get rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse. As a rule, they use a mechanical method, a chemical method, and folk methods are used.

This is an environmentally friendly way, thanks to which you can safely fight these insects.

It includes:

  • Collection of moths from plants by hand.
  • Pressurized water is used to knock insects off the leaves.
  • Treatment of leaves and stems with soapy water.

As practice shows, mechanical destruction is a temporary measure, since it is impossible to catch all the moths by hand. The larvae and adults knocked down by a jet of water reappear on the plants after some time. The best option is to use glue traps. By applying traps, you can determine how serious the problem is.

The glue trap is easy to make with your own hands. To do this, you need to take rosin and melt it in a water bath, after which castor oil, honey and petroleum jelly are added to it, in a ratio of 1: 1: 1. After cooling, the agent is applied to cardboard and placed in a greenhouse.

Every insect has natural natural enemies. They are planted with whiteflies, after which they destroy harmful insects.

Although modern insecticides are fast and effective, and also belong to the 4th degree of toxicity, it is better to be careful with them. You need to try hard to get rid of pests and not harm your health and plants.

You can fight the whitefly:

  • The chemical preparation Aktara". This is a complex action substance that can protect plants for 3-5 weeks. Plants are watered with a poisonous substance under the root, after which the active substance penetrates into the juice, which feeds the plant and pests. As a result, they all die. To cope with the whitefly in a greenhouse, it is enough to take 1.4 g of a toxic substance and dissolve it in a bucket of water.
  • Confidor. The active substance of the drug is imidacloprid, which has a contact effect. An hour and a half after treatment, whiteflies begin to die. This drug is sold under such names as "Confidor", "Commander", "Provado", "Admir".
  • Biotlicom, a systemic drug that acts on pests literally instantly.
  • Akarikom, a preparation of contact-intestinal action. It is used to destroy both whiteflies and other types of pests. Plants are sprayed with a toxic substance, or rather leaves in the affected areas.
  • With the help of the drug Spark”, which is available in the form of tablets, powder or liquid in ampoules. Plants are also watered with this drug, after which the active substance penetrates into the tissues. The substance is valid for 25 days. As a rule, one treatment is enough to destroy the entire population of whiteflies in the greenhouse.

Other drugs are also used, such as:

  • Fitoverm.
  • Actellik.
  • Furanon.
  • Alatar.
  • Rovikurt.

When it is difficult to deal with pests, then after harvesting the greenhouse and the soil in the greenhouse must be treated with special chemicals. In this case, you will have to remove the upper ball of soil and use sulfur checkers.

Need to know! Chemical control agents act on larvae and adults. If the larva managed to pupate, then the chemicals are no longer afraid of it.

Folk remedies and recipes

The means that are used by many owners are safe, in relation to both humans and plants. They are called folk remedies. Moths are often difficult to fight, even with "chemistry", as they fly from one place to another.

The tools tested include:

  • Garlic. A head of garlic is taken, crushed and poured with 1 liter of water, after which it is infused in a dark place for 24 hours. Plants are sprayed with this agent, every 7 days, at least 3 times.
  • Orange or lemon peels. 80 g of raw materials are taken and poured with cold water. The product should be infused for a day, after which 2 tablespoons of liquid soap are added to it. The course of treatment is 5 days. The tool can be stored for no more than 3 days, so for a full course of treatment, the tool will have to be prepared 2 times.
  • yarrow. To prepare an active solution, you need to take 80 g of raw materials and pour 1 liter of water. The remedy is infused for a couple of days and filtered. Crops in the greenhouse are sprayed 3 times, every 7 days.
  • Dandelion leaves and root. 40 g of roots and 40 g of dandelion leaves are taken and infused in 1 liter of water for 3 days. The infusion is filtered before treatment, after which the plants are processed (sprayed) 2 times, within 2 weeks.
  • The smell of tansy repels many pests, including whiteflies.

A greenhouse on the site is a guarantee of an abundance of healthy vegetables, herbs, berries on your table. But growing crops indoors is fraught with some difficulties, a favorable microclimate for plants is also comfortable for the occurrence and reproduction of infections, diseases, and insects. One of the most destructive and tenacious misfortunes is the whitefly, which is capable of destroying the entire crop in the bud.

Next, we will tell you in detail why the whitefly appears in the greenhouse, how to get rid of the insect, what preventive measures should be taken, how and with what preparations to treat surfaces and soil so that the infection does not start in the greenhouse.

How to recognize a whitefly in a greenhouse

Whitefly - a small moth, 1-1.5 mm in size, with a yellowish body and white wings, is very dangerous for plants and prolific. The danger to plants in a greenhouse is not only the whitefly moth itself (it is an active carrier of infections), but also its metabolic products. Eating foliage, the whitefly releases a special substance that is a favorable nutrient medium for the emergence and reproduction of the fungus.

Females lay slightly yellowish, small eggs from the bottom of the leaf, there may be several hundred of them from one individual. After 9 days, the eggs increase in size and turn black, larvae appear from them. At the initial stage of development of the whitefly larva, it has legs and antennae, with which it sticks to the leaf surface. The legs fall off and the insect becomes like a shiny plaque-scale. A few days later, the nymph stage begins, on the leaf it looks like a transparent greenish droplet, but if you look closely, you can distinguish red eyes.

If you do not detect the source of the insect in time and do not take measures for disinfection, then it will multiply in a short time to a great number.

How to get rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse in autumn

To secure the next year's harvest, it is necessary to thoroughly disinfect the greenhouse before winter. Before treating the greenhouse in the fall from the whitefly, a general cleaning is done using household chemicals. Then the surfaces are treated with bleach, copper sulphate, polycarbonate structures are washed with a manganese solution.

When cleaning the greenhouse in the fall, be sure to brush all the nodes and mates with a brush

The fight against whiteflies in the greenhouse in the fall will be more effective if you fumigate the room with a sulfuric smoke bomb. But such a measure will harm the greenhouse on a galvanized metal frame, so it should be treated with copper sulfate 2 times.

The soil must be poured with boiling water, covered with a dense film for steaming, the procedure is repeated 2-3 times. After that, the soil is sprinkled with quicklime, dug up, spilled with a solution of copper dioxide.

If we raise the question of where the whitefly winters in the greenhouse, it becomes clear why experts recommend removing the soil layer, taking it outside for freezing in winter. It turns out that the eggs and larvae of insects settle in the upper layer of the earth, where they calmly endure a slight frost. Therefore, even if there were no infections during the season, it is better to freeze the soil.

Watch the video, which demonstrates the thorough processing of the greenhouse from the whitefly in the fall, the video will tell you how to properly steam the soil.

How to get the whitefly out of the greenhouse

From the stage of the larva to the adult, the insect causes serious harm to plants, weakens them, creates a favorable environment for other infections, so the question of how to deal with the whitefly in the greenhouse is relevant and paramount.

You can determine the presence of a whitefly in a greenhouse by white dots on the sheets, chlorosis - a yellow mosaic, a brilliant coating, black spots also indicate the settlement of an uninvited, harmful guest. The leaves are deformed, dry, the ovaries die.

If you do not start the destruction of the pest, then the entire crop will die. The first symptoms of the appearance of the whitefly in the greenhouse should be a signal for immediate control and prevention measures.

Prevention measures

The whitefly in the greenhouse cannot appear from anywhere, most often it is brought in by the owners themselves with seedlings or soil. Therefore, in order to avoid the question of how to destroy the whitefly in the greenhouse, it is necessary to take preventive measures:

  • The new soil must be frozen, sprinkled with bleach, mixed, spilled with copper sulphate.
  • After thoroughly cleaning and decontaminating the greenhouse in the fall, close the doors so that the insect larvae are not swept away by gusts of wind and find a warm place to spend the winter.
  • Even if the polycarbonate greenhouse was treated in the fall from the whitefly, then in the spring the disinfection procedure should be repeated, the soil and surfaces should be additionally treated with pesticides.
  • Carefully inspect the seedlings, at the slightest sign of plant disease, refuse to plant them.
  • In the process of development and growth of plants, try to maintain the correct microclimate in the greenhouse, ventilate the room in time to get rid of dampness.

These simple preventive measures will help to avoid the appearance of whitefly and other dangerous diseases in the greenhouse.

Before planting in closed ground, plants are recommended to be treated with biological products so as not to cause infection.

Whitefly in a greenhouse - chemical and biological control methods

The most effective method of dealing with whitefly in a greenhouse today is the treatment with chemicals and biological preparations.

Good to know: If after the initial treatment it was not possible to remove the whitefly from the greenhouse, it is necessary to carry out secondary disinfection, but change the preparations, since the insect quickly adapts to the active substances.

Inta-Vir, Fufanol, Iskra, Aktellik are considered the most popular substances for the fight against whitefly in the greenhouse. The preparations are applied under the root, or dissolved in water and sprayed on plants and surfaces. In order not to harm with your own hands, any purchased whitefly remedy in a greenhouse must be used strictly according to the instructions on the package.

  • Confidor is diluted in water 0.1 ml of the drug per 1 liter. It is recommended to use once per season.
  • Mospilan per 1 liter of water add 0.05 g, used once.
  • Fufanol requires 1.5 ml per 1 liter of pure water, used once.
  • 2 ml of Pegasus substance per 1 liter of water, spraying solution is used 2 times per season, at intervals of a week.
  • Aktellik is a very effective tool for the destruction of not only adult insects, but also eggs, larvae, whitefly nymphs in the greenhouse. For spraying, 1 ampoule is dissolved in a liter of water, which is enough for 5 m2 of the treated surface. It is allowed to use the product 4 times per season.
  • Verticillin is similar in its action to Pegasus, but much more substance is required for processing, approximately 25 ml per liter.

Watch a video that will tell you how to treat a greenhouse from a whitefly and how to properly dilute the preparations.

Whitefly in a greenhouse - how to get rid of folk remedies

If for some reason you are forced to abandon the use of biological and chemical substances, there are effective folk methods in the fight against the whitefly in the greenhouse:

  • Hang glue traps, you can buy at the store or do it yourself from a bright tape, smearing it with rosin.
  • Plant a ghoul, dill between plants, which attract other insects that are dangerous for the whitefly moth. Insects attracted by dill lay their larvae in moth larvae, destroying them.
  • Fumigating a greenhouse with smoke bombs is considered the most effective way to kill an insect.
Good to know: The use of sulfur checkers is recommended for disinfecting greenhouses in autumn or spring, before planting. Tobacco checkers are harmless to plants, so they can be used at any time.
  • An infusion of garlic helps a lot in the fight against whiteflies, crush 5 large cloves and dissolve in a liter of water, pour into a spray bottle, carefully spray plants and surfaces.

Bright traps attract insects and kill them

We have tried to make a complete overview of the measures on how to get rid of the whitefly in the greenhouse. But we emphasize once again that in the absence of proper prevention, all methods of struggle are temporary.

The benefit of greenhouses is that due to the better climatic conditions in them, the yield of plants increases. But in greenhouses there are also favorable conditions for the life of various insects that can cause irreparable harm. When signs of infection of plants appear, it is necessary to establish the cause and eliminate it until the entire crop is destroyed.

A common pest is the whitefly, which is a white moth only 2 mm in size with a yellowish body. When it is found, you should quickly choose a way to get rid of the whitefly in the greenhouse and not harm the plants.

What is dangerous whitefly

The homeland of the pest is South America, so the humid and warm climate of the greenhouse is ideal for this insect. The whitefly prefers to settle on tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and parsley. These plants provide it with the necessary nutrition and allow it to reproduce. Whitefly in a greenhouse on cucumbers can be found on the inside of the leaves, where she lays her eggs. Their number varies from a few dozen to hundreds. In just one year, one adult insect can leave 15 generations. At the same time, it quietly winters in the remains of crops and the upper layer of the earth.

The butterfly feels best in those greenhouses where many plants grow close to each other. In such conditions, the effect of ventilation is minimal, and humidity and temperature are usually always high. Such an atmosphere is most preferable for the pest and contributes to its reproduction and rapid development. A favorable temperature for the whitefly is +22 degrees and above.

If you miss the moment and do not start removing the pest on time, then the death of plants and crops is guaranteed. Adult whiteflies instantly eat the leaves of the plant. The larvae feed on the sap of the plant, extracting amino acids from it. Which significantly weakens it. The whitefly in the greenhouse also brings other harm: it is a carrier of various viruses.

What to do if a whitefly appears? You need to start fighting it right away. If you miss the moment and wait until the larva becomes a cocoon, then it will become almost impossible to get rid of the pest. At this stage of development, the insect acquires a natural armor that protects it even from exposure to chemicals.

Whitefly Growth Stages

It takes 25-40 days for an adult pest to develop from the egg stage. The time interval depends on humidity and temperature. The higher they are, the less time it takes to turn an egg into an adult insect. From the moment of laying eggs, the whitefly goes through stages of development. In each of them, the white fly has different harm to the culture on which it lives.

  • Vagrant larvae. They hatch from eggs after 11-12 days. Their size is about 0.3 mm, and they are already able to spread through the leaves in search of a better place to live and feed.
  • Nymph larvae. They are securely fixed to the inside of the leaves and pierce them to obtain nutritious juices. This happens about 5 days after the completion of the first stage. However, they are absolutely immobile. Such whitefly larvae are difficult to see, as they are green in color and look like thin scales. At this stage of development, the butterfly develops a waxy armor that makes it resistant to insecticides.
  • Pupa. This stage completes the formation of the pest and takes 7-30 days. At this stage, all methods of getting rid of the whitefly are ineffective.
  • Formation of an imago. Adult insects are ready to independently eat leaves and further reproduction.

How to recognize a whitefly lesion

The fight against the whitefly in the greenhouse on tomatoes and cucumbers begins with its recognition. It looks like an aphid, so not all gardeners are able to correctly determine the way to get rid of the pest. In order not to confuse these two insects, you need to pay attention to whether ants have appeared nearby. Since they always accompany aphids. Their absence indicates that the insect is a whitefly.

There are other ways to recognize a pest. One of the signs that something is wrong with the plant is wilting leaves. In addition, they are twisted and have a deformed shape. Affected leaves may have yellow spots without clearly defined borders. You should feel the leaf plates, if they are with a sticky coating, then you can suspect that it was the whitefly that settled on the tomatoes in the greenhouse. In addition, you need to pay attention to the fruits themselves. If traces of necrosis are visible on them and they grow more slowly than expected, this indicates that the pest has wound up.

To get one more confirmation of your fears, it is recommended to shake the bush. If many small white butterflies take off from the leaves of the plant and fly to another plant, this is an additional sign of the appearance of a whitefly in the greenhouse.

Without any action to eliminate tomato pests in the greenhouse, they will destroy the bushes themselves and the crop in a few days. If not only sticky secretions of midges are observed on the leaf plate, but also black plaque in this area, this is a sign of infection with a soot fungus. Such bushes can no longer be saved, they will need to be destroyed. Otherwise, it will quickly spread to neighboring plantings.

How to deal with whitefly in a greenhouse

There are several ways to destroy the pest. In order to be more effective, several methods of dealing with whiteflies should be used at once. The best of these is prevention. But what to do if a whitefly has already appeared on tomatoes in a greenhouse, how to get rid of it? For this use:

  • Mechanical means.
  • biological agents.
  • Folk ways.
  • Traps.
  • Chemical means.

A number of experts believe that the whitefly cannot get into the greenhouse on its own. It is usually brought in by gardeners themselves, planting infected plants. In order not to have to use various pest control measures, planting material should be carefully examined. If any plants are suspicious, you should get rid of them. It's easier and cheaper than thinking about how to get rid of whiteflies in a greenhouse later.

As a preventive measure, compost should not be placed directly in the greenhouse. It is home to many pests. To prevent the butterfly from overwintering and harming the new crop, it is important to thoroughly rinse the greenhouse and disinfect the soil.

After harvesting, it is important to remove and burn all plant remains. They are one of the places where the whitefly winters in the greenhouse.

The whitefly loves heat and high humidity. Cooling down to 10 degrees and below becomes fatal for her. It is believed that at this temperature it dies and the life process in the colony stops completely. But the eggs can easily hibernate, waiting for an increase in ambient temperature sufficient for development. Then the insects will again begin to develop and multiply.

In addition, the winter is not quite severe in all regions, in some places quite high temperatures persist even in the autumn-winter period. Therefore, it is important that no whiteflies remain in the greenhouse in autumn. For disinfection, fumigation of the greenhouse with smoke bombs should be used.

The task of cultivating plants in the garden is to grow vegetables that are as healthy as possible. Therefore, summer residents tend to use various chemicals less. Therefore, such an option as removing the whitefly from the greenhouse using insecticidal agents should be used only as a last resort.

To make the climate in the greenhouse less suitable for the whitefly, it is necessary to plant crops at a sufficient distance from each other. Thin out plants if they are heavily overgrown. And also regularly ventilate the greenhouse. In a less favorable climate, the butterfly develops more slowly, which means that all measures to combat it will be more effective.

Greenhouse greenhouse processing

To protect the next year's crop, it is effective to treat the greenhouse from whiteflies in the fall. To deprive the butterfly of the opportunity to overwinter in the remains of plants, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the greenhouse from all plantings and weeds. Then you need to rinse the greenhouse from the inside using household chemicals. After that, all surfaces should be treated with bleach and copper sulfate.

How to process a greenhouse in the fall if it is made of polycarbonate? In this case, it is more expedient to use a solution of potassium permanganate.

Another good way to clear the greenhouse of butterfly larvae is to fumigate with a sulfuric smoke bomb. This method cannot be used if the greenhouse body is made of galvanized metal. This material should be washed twice with copper sulphate.

It is not enough just to treat the greenhouse in the autumn from the whitefly, as it can overwinter in the ground. Therefore, the soil must be carefully dug up. In this case, the hidden individuals and larvae will be on the surface and with a high degree of probability they will freeze.

Do whiteflies always die in winter? No, but this requires good freezing of the ground. Therefore, the entire cover of the greenhouse should be removed in winter, or at least the roof should be dismantled. If this cannot be done, then you need to carefully remove the top layer of the earth and take it out of the greenhouse. This will increase the likelihood of freezing the pest.

How else to cultivate the land in a greenhouse? It is recommended to shed the soil well with boiling water and cover with a film. The procedure is carried out 2-3 times. Then the earth wakes up with quicklime, carefully dug up and spilled with a solution of copper dioxide. Such autumn disinfection is an excellent prevention against whiteflies for the winter, which minimizes the risk of a pest butterfly appearing in the greenhouse in the new season.

If the preparation for winter has not been carried out with due care, there is nothing left but how to process the greenhouse from the whitefly in the spring. The frame of the greenhouse must be treated with bleach and the coating of the greenhouse must be thoroughly disinfected. Before planting new plants, the soil must be shed with a solution of copper sulfate. This preparation is a good defense against the whitefly.

Some experts believe that winter treatment of a greenhouse does not always provide complete protection against a pest. It can get in with the wind before the plants are planted, especially if the greenhouse is left open. Therefore, they recommend treating the greenhouse twice: in autumn and spring.

Mechanical methods are considered the safest, but require a lot of time and are characterized by a short period of action. These include collecting moths by hand. And you can also wash plants with a hose, knocking down butterflies. Washing of stems and leaves with a solution of laundry soap is often used.

Complex treatment of plants will be more effective. First, rinse them thoroughly with water from a hose to knock off all butterflies and larvae. Then treat each leaf with soapy water.

If a large number of flying individuals are observed in the greenhouse, then you can use a household vacuum cleaner. It will help to quickly collect the majority of individuals.

Such whitefly remedies in a greenhouse should be used when there are few plantings and they are minimally affected by the pest. They are able to improve the well-being of plants, but are not very effective. It is practically impossible to manually remove all the butterflies and their larvae, and the remaining ones will return to the leaves of crops in a few days.

You can try to get rid of the pest with folk remedies, which are quite effective and more harmless than chemicals.

  • Dried orange or lemon peel (80 g) pour 1 liter of cold water, leave for 24 hours. Mix the finished infusion with soapy water (2 tablespoons). The finished product must be processed daily for 5 days on the leaves of plants. The shelf life of the finished mixture is 3 days. Therefore, you must not forget to prepare a new one. Processing with this composition will also help remove aphids in a polycarbonate greenhouse.
  • Roots and leaves of dandelion (40 g of each component) grind, pour water (1 l) and leave for 3 days. Strained infusion should be sprayed on all plants. The next time spraying is carried out after 1 week. It is enough to carry out 2 procedures.

After it was possible to destroy the whitefly, measures should be taken to protect the greenhouse from its repeated entry there. It is recommended to plant tansy around the perimeter, the smell of which repels the pest.

Traps

Another mechanical way to destroy the pest is the use of special traps. They look like plates of bright color with an adhesive coating. You can buy ready-made ones, for example, ARGUS, which help get rid of aphids, flies and whiteflies.

You can also make your own traps. As a basis, thick cardboard, plywood or hardboard should be used. It needs to be painted in bright yellow or blue - the most attractive to pests, so it is as effective as possible. Then a sticky mixture is prepared in a metal container:

  • Melt the rosin in a water bath.
  • Stir in petroleum jelly, castor oil, honey. All components are taken in the same amount.
  • When the mass becomes homogeneous, it must be cooled.

The resulting composition is applied in a uniform layer to the base.
To defeat a butterfly, you will need several traps, placed at the rate of 1 piece for every 10 square meters. m. of greenhouse area. Very quickly a large number of pests stick to it.

It is economically profitable to make traps from plexiglass and plywood. These materials are easy to clean with soapy water and can be reused several times.

Some gardeners believe that installing a lighting bulb on the trap increases its effectiveness at times.

There is a trap that is advised to use at night. It will help to catch those individuals that were not caught during the day. The basis for it is a box (box) in which an electric light bulb is mounted, painted in bright orange or yellow. Holes are made at the level of the lighting fixture. At the bottom of the box, under the light bulb, a container of water is placed. Insects run towards the light, get into the box, can't get out of it. They fly inside and get burned on the light bulb, then fall into the water. They can't swim, so they can't get out.

In extreme cases, you can hang sticky tapes from flies in the greenhouse. They will be able to catch some of the butterflies, although their effectiveness is lower than that of special traps.

Biological pest control methods are among the safest. In nature, there are insects that destroy the whitefly and do not harm crops and human health. One of the things the whitefly fears are ladybugs. They are predators and destroy butterfly larvae. In addition, the ladybug eliminates other pests, including medium-sized caterpillars and spider mites. Therefore, it provides comprehensive protection of crops from other insects.

You can protect tomatoes from whiteflies with the help of a predatory macrolofus bug. It's safer than chemically treating tomatoes. The female bug during her life destroys more than 2 thousand pest larvae. If the whitefly has already settled in the greenhouse, then you will need 5 ticks per 1 sq. m. For preventive purposes, 1 piece is enough for such an area.

The Venus flytrap can be of great help. It belongs to the predatory plants that eat butterflies. She is unable to cope with the larvae. In order for it to fight pests, you need to plant several plants in the greenhouse.

Biological protection of plants can also be provided by herbal infusions, which are used to process plants. Yarrow is the most effective (100 g of crushed leaves are poured with a liter of water and infused for 2 days), garlic (1 head is crushed, mixed with 0.5 l of water and infused for a week. For spraying, dilute 1 tsp. concentrated infusion in 1 liter of water ). Treatment of plants with infusions should be carried out once every 2 weeks.

Summer residents use several more pest control options:

  • Granulated sugar. To prepare the composition you need 1 tbsp. l. dissolve the component in 1 liter of water. It is used for spraying crops.
  • Alcohol. Mix 50 ml of 96% alcohol in 1 liter of water. The finished mixture must be sprayed on the plants.
  • Birch tar. It can be bought at a pharmacy. In water (1 bucket) thoroughly stir 3 tbsp. l. facilities. The composition is used for spraying.
  • Vinegar essence. In water (10 l) thoroughly stir the essence of 70%. Then process landings.

Insecticidal chemical method for the destruction of whiteflies

Chemicals can help get rid of whiteflies, but insects quickly develop immunity to a particular agent. Therefore, each time you need to use a new drug. In addition, the formed wax armor protects the pupae well from the adverse effects of the drug.

This option can be used only when others are no longer able to eliminate the pest. Poisons cannot be used on herbal plants. They process only vegetable crops. Fruits must be thoroughly washed to wash away chemical residues. It is important to know that only those insecticides that are approved for home use are used. It is also recommended to protect vegetables from poison as much as possible by covering them with polyethylene or other similar material. Some experts advise to completely remove unripe fruits and only then spray them with chemicals.

You can process a greenhouse with vegetable crops with dichlorvos. Spraying should be carried out with an interval of 9-12 days. A total of 3 treatments are required. The advantage of dichlorvos is that in order to obtain vegetables that are safe for health, they must be washed under water with a brush.

The most popular insecticides are:

  • Aktara. Pests die 24 hours after use. Protective actions of Aktar are designed for 28 days. If the drug is applied to the ground, the plant will be protected for up to 2 months. For spraying, it is necessary to use 2 liters of liquid for every 100 square meters. m. area. To spill the earth, you will need 10 liters of liquid per 10 square meters. m. area.
  • Actellik. It is applied once a month before the fruit is removed. A chemical agent, hitting the leaves, paralyzes pests. Protective properties remain for a maximum of 12 days.
  • Inta-Vir. Effective against larvae and adult insects. Does not harm crops. To prepare the composition, it is necessary to dissolve 2 tablets in 10 liters. water. Do not spray more than 3 times for the whole season.
  • Monsoon. Provides protection against insects for up to 3 weeks. Eliminates adults and larvae. It is necessary to carry out a single treatment if a pest has wound up on the plants. Not used as a prophylactic.
  • Confidor. An effective tool that is enough to carry out a single spraying of plants. To obtain a solution, mix about 1 ml of the product in 1 liter of water.
  • Mospilan. Designed for single use. The solution is prepared at the rate of 0.05 g of the drug per 1 liter of water.
  • Fufanola. Processing means is carried out 1 time per season. It is necessary to dilute 1.5 ml of the product in 1 liter of water.
  • Pegasus. To make a solution of the desired concentration, you need to mix 2 ml of the product in 1 liter of water. After spraying once, it should be repeated after a week.

The range of preparations for the fight against whitefly in the greenhouse does not end there. There are hormonal agents that do not affect adult pests in any way, but stop the further growth of the pest population. For example, Admiral When an insect enters the body, it deprives the female of the opportunity to reproduce. This simplifies pest control. To obtain a stable result, it is necessary to carry out a double treatment of plants.

If it is not clear how to poison pests correctly, then you should watch the video. It contains a lot of useful information. After viewing, there should be no questions left regarding the appropriateness of using a particular drug and method of processing.

A safer, but no less effective method of pest control is the use of tobacco checkers. A sulfur checker will not help here. It is used only as a disinfectant for whitefly in the greenhouse in the fall, in preparation for winter.

Tobacco checkers have long established themselves on the good side. They can be used to disinfect the greenhouse. In addition, they help to fight the pest even before the crop is harvested. It is necessary to install 4-5 such checkers in the greenhouse, set fire to and tightly close all the windows and doors of the greenhouse for a day. It is not necessary to buy them, as they are easily made by yourself. To do this, you need to purchase 4 packs of cigarettes without a filter, the cheapest ones will do. They will need to be completely gutted and pour tobacco onto plates. Then they need to be placed in a greenhouse and set on fire. Tobacco should not burn, but smolder, so it will need to be extinguished. Also, as in the case of using ready-made checkers, home-made ones are left in a closed greenhouse for a day.

When a pest appears, a set of measures that can clean the greenhouse should be used. As, for example, the use of natural enemies of a butterfly, spraying plants with herbal infusions and chemicals, setting traps.

Why is whitefly so harmful? An adult insect feeds on the juices of plants, including weeds, but prefers tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and cabbage. The appearance of the pest is signaled by black greasy spots on the leaves. If nothing is done, then after a while, tiny white dots will appear on the underside of the leaves. They testify that insects have chosen your greenhouse and are in a hurry to give offspring, which can destroy most of the crop. Soon thousands of larvae will leave their puparia and begin to suck the juices from the plant (Photo). The leaves will be covered with a black coating (excrement of the larvae) in which various fungi will settle. This plaque will block the path of the sun's rays, which means it will stop photosynthesis. It is clear that in such conditions your plants are doomed to death.

Such a scenario was repeated many times, which gives reason to assert: the whitefly in the greenhouse is much worse than phytophthora, powdery mildew or the Colorado potato beetle. Worst of all, today there is no universal remedy that can once and for all put an end to this insect. If you want to save the crop in your greenhouse, you will have to take a whole range of pest control measures. Let's first analyze the measures that should be taken to prevent the appearance of whiteflies in the greenhouse.

Greenhouse prevention

Work to prevent the appearance of insects in your greenhouse should begin in the fall, immediately after harvesting.

  • Remove all plants, dry leaves and stems from the greenhouse - completely empty the greenhouse and cover the soil with plastic wrap;
  • Using chemicals, disinfect all frames, spaces between frames and other parts of the greenhouse. Blow out hard-to-reach places with insecticides, accessible parts can be painted with ordinary paint;
  • After a few days, repeat the chemical treatment of the greenhouse. According to gardeners, Aktara is best suited for these purposes.

After disinfecting the greenhouse itself, it is necessary to destroy the whitefly in the ground:

  • Remove the film and dig up the ground with the introduction of slaked lime or ash. The fact is that the whitefly does not tolerate an alkaline environment;
  • Get some sulfur or tobacco sticks (Pawn-S, Hephaestus) and fumigate the interior (Photo). In this case, the greenhouse room must be well insulated. Only after a few days you can open and ventilate the greenhouse.

Important: the smoke from the bombs kills adults and larvae, but does not harm whitefly eggs in any way. Therefore, soil disinfection is a mandatory procedure.

  • At the first severe frosts, it is necessary to freeze the greenhouse, as the whitefly cannot stand the cold. It should be borne in mind that insects feel comfortable under the snow, so you need to freeze the room before the first snowfalls or remove the snow from the ground;
  • Do not forget to disinfect the garden tools that you use in the greenhouse - they may have whitefly eggs on them;
  • Pay attention to the area around the greenhouse. Remove all weeds, disinfect the soil around the perimeter of the room;
  • Sow dill, celery, parsley at a short distance from the greenhouse. These plants will attract lacewings, ladybugs and some other insects that are the natural enemy of the whitefly and will destroy the pest when it appears;
  • In the spring, hang traps around the greenhouse, you can make them yourself from cardboard or polycarbonate, or you can buy them in specialized stores. Such glue traps as Pheromon, Bona Forte, ARGUS are especially popular;
  • When planting seedlings, make sure that there are no eggs and whitefly larvae on it.

Tobacco smoke bomb for greenhouses

Biological methods in the fight against whiteflies in greenhouses

The whitefly has many natural enemies that feed on it with pleasure:

Encarsia

Folk remedies

If preventive measures have not led to the complete destruction of the harmful insect, you can try to fight it with folk methods. A large number of different recipes are available on the network, you can get acquainted with the most effective and popular remedies right now.

Tar solution. This drug is not used to kill, but to repel whiteflies. The pungent smell makes you leave the greenhouse, while the product itself is environmentally safe and does not pose any threat to humans. There are two recipes for preparing a tar solution.

  • Take 30 milliliters of birch tar and try to dissolve it in water. The fact is that there is a lot of oil in tar, it is poorly soluble in water. Sprinkle this mixture on your plants. It is better not to use a sprayer, as tar forgets the nozzles.
  • It is much easier to prepare a solution based on tar soap, which is sold in pharmacies and specialized stores. A bar of soap must be crushed and dissolved in warm water. The tool is suitable for the prevention and repelling of whiteflies from the greenhouse, it sticks well on plants.

Vinegar solution. It is best to use apple cider vinegar, it will not harm the plants. The tool is prepared very quickly and simply: add a teaspoon of vinegar to one liter of water, respectively, 10 teaspoons of vinegar must be diluted in 10 liters of water. Then add 40-50 grams of liquid soap to increase stickiness. With this tool, repeated processing of greenhouse tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers is carried out.

Ammonia. Regular ammonia will help you get rid of the whitefly in the greenhouse. However, it must be borne in mind that the use of pure ammonia is unacceptable - it is guaranteed to burn the plants. The solution is prepared in the following proportion: one tablespoon of alcohol per 9 liters of water. It is not recommended to treat plants less than a week before the start of mass flowering.

Yarrow infusion. Another fairly effective remedy for combating whiteflies in greenhouses. Take 100 grams of fresh herbs and pour one liter of hot water. It is necessary to infuse this mixture for several days. Strain the infusion thoroughly and treat the plants three times over two weeks.

Infusion of garlic. This remedy is used at the first sign of the appearance of a whitefly, or with a small amount of it. To prepare the infusion, take 2-3 cloves of garlic and chop them on a grater or under pressure. Pour the garlic with a small amount of hot water and insist for 24 - 36 hours. Then bring the volume of liquid to 1 liter and strain thoroughly. The resulting infusion is used for repeated treatment of plants with an interval between sprayings of seven to eight days.

Agrochemicals

The most effective in the fight against whitefly in the greenhouse, and on the open ground, have proven a variety of chemicals. As a rule, they help get rid of the pest, however, when working with insecticides, you should be careful and use personal protective equipment.

Aktara. Perhaps one of the most popular and sought-after insecticides on our market, which is used to combat a wide range of pests. The drug is resistant to changes in weather conditions, can be applied both to plants and to the ground, which is especially important when disinfecting soil in a greenhouse. Aktara belongs to the second class of toxicity, and at the same time it does not cause addiction in insects and does not accumulate in fruits and soil. It should be borne in mind that this chemical is a deadly threat to bees and other beneficial insects, it should not be used if encarsia is in the greenhouse.

Fufanon. This drug is one of the fumigators, that is, when sprayed, it not only destroys the pest on the plant, but also forms a protective cloud around the leaves and stems. For maximum efficiency, the atomizer must be adjusted to evenly atomize very small particles. Fufanon does not leave behind an unpleasant odor, subject to the instructions for use, it is not dangerous to humans. In the greenhouse, two treatments of plants per season are allowed (tomatoes - 3, cucumbers - 1), the last spraying should be done no later than 10 days before eating the fruits.

Fufanon
Aktara Fitoverm

Rovikurt. Systemic contact insecticide will reliably protect your greenhouse from whitefly invasion. The advantages of the chemical include its low cost, ease of use, efficiency and moderate toxicity to humans and warm-blooded animals. However, you should know that Rovikurt is deadly for bees - consider this circumstance if you protect your greenhouse from whiteflies with the help of encarasia. After treatment of plants with Rovikurt, fruits should not be eaten for the next 20 days. In protected ground, no more than four sprays per season are allowed.

Fitoverm. Another insecticide for whitefly control in the greenhouse. The drug does not contain substances harmful to humans, it can be used even in houses and apartments. In addition to protective properties, the tool also has stimulating functions. The first results come eight hours after using Fitoverm - insects stop eating and die in the following days. The disadvantages of the drug include a sharp, unpleasant odor, as well as the fact that it becomes a mortal danger to bees and other beneficial insects.

Upload. A universal remedy for combating whitefly and other harmful insects in greenhouse conditions. The undoubted advantages of this insecticide include the following qualities:

  • When sprayed in a greenhouse, forms a vapor cloud around the plants;
  • Does not have a negative effect on encarsia, which is a natural enemy of the whitefly;
  • It has a prolonged (up to 25 days) protective effect;
  • Effectively destroys both adult insects and their larvae.

Advantages and disadvantages of insecticides

Advantages:

  • A large selection of drugs on the market at different prices and different mechanisms of action on pests;
  • Most chemicals effectively destroy both adult pests and their offspring;
  • Some preparations have the properties of a fumigator, that is, they form a protective cloud around the plant.

Disadvantages:

  • Some chemicals can cause serious harm to the natural enemies of the whitefly;
  • When using agrochemicals, it is necessary to follow safety regulations and wear a mask, goggles and gloves;
  • Some insecticides are quite expensive.

Whitefly control in the greenhouse: video review

How to destroy the whitefly in the greenhouse in the fall - professional advice:

We fight the whitefly in the greenhouse with folk methods: