Homemade Spray for White Flies (safe and effective)

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Horticulturalist, over 45 years in the business. The EarthBox Hero Member, kathy. This user is located in the mountains of PA Zone 5, almost 4.This was originally posted on July 21, 2008.

It seems like the Cobb Cooker will fit in with my other two addictions, nicely. The addictions being EB gardening and eating.

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, mjb8743. This user is located in Zone 7, South NJ, Garden State. This was originally posted on July 20, 2008.

This thread got complicated and sidetracked, so Im repeating the original formula here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

USDA researchers have come up with a home remedy specifically for use against whiteflies. It works by smothering the larvae and eggs, and kills the whiteflies. The whitefly hangs out on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves, so its very important to spray there. Just doing the leaf tops wont help. It might be effective on some other insects as well, so it seems worth passing along. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH YOUR MEASUREMENTS.

MASTER SOLUTION:
1 Tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap (the regular kind; NOT one of those anti-microbial types)
1 Cup of vegetable oil (peanut, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower or safflower)
Shake well
DONT USE THIS AS YOUR SPRAY; IT MUST BE DILUTED! DO NOT USE IN A HOSE-END SPRAYER

TO USE IN A SMALL HAND SPRAYER:
1+1/2 teaspoons MASTER SOLUTION (see above)
1 Cup Water
Shake well

or  FROM SCRATCH, READY TO USE:
1/4 teaspoon liquid dish soap   (see above)
2+3/4 teaspoons oil (see above)
2 Cups water


TO MIX FROM SCRATCH FOR A ONE GALLON PUMP SPRAYER:
1+1/2 teaspoons liquid dish soap
5+1/2 Tablespoons oil
3 Quarts (12 cups) water

Note: to keep measurements somewhat even for ease of measuring, there is some very slight rounding off in calculations.

Or, you can get an insecticidal soap from Gardens Alive. When applying, make sure the temperature is below 85 degrees F and that plants are not drought- or heat-stressed.

Mickie

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, chrisbk. This user is located in Northern CA, Zone 8. This was originally posted on July 28, 2008.

Thanks for repeating this recipe Mickie.  You have made it nice and simple. 

I would add that, in my humble experience, with very hot California temps, on a cement porch or patio, that mixing per these directions for a hand sprayer (I/other EBers use a plastic spray bottle) may/will cause scorched leaves.  The oil that remains on the leaves during the hottest part of the day causes anything from the outside leaf edge to turn brown all the way to the entire leaf dying.  If you have hot, dry temps, I would suggest
1) Add the 2 TB of Master Solution to up to 8 cups of water
2) Spray the undersides of the leaves BEFORE 8am to allow the water to evap as much as possible
3) JUST spray the undersides of the leaves as their will be enough drift to adequately cover the upper part of the leaves and will avoid any unnecessary oil on the top of the leaf (where the sun shines and try's to turn your leaves into wilted spinach salad)
I have found using 8 cups of water instead of one cup of water to be adequately effective if the spray is repeated every 7 days.  By the third week, I had no recurring whiteflies or aphids as proven by hanging a yellow sticky trap that remained clean even after shaking the plants.  I was amazed at just how wonderfully this spray worked!
Chris

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, roysmom. This was originally posted on February 28, 2009.

Chris,  I can see why you mixed it in 8 cups as that is an awful lot of oil (ie 2 tablespoons) for one cup of water.  I tried searching the USDA site and could not find the original recipe.    I used to work for an extension office and am familiar with various recipes.    Also as a comparison any bottle of regular hort. oil will tell you to use much less.   

I finally located the basic recipe in Organic Gardening and they said 1  to 1 1/2 TEASPOONS of master mix to one cup of water.    Teaspoons not tablespoons.     Sometimes original info on the internet is accidentally changed and it is the incorrect version that everyone finds much later on.   

http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-2-10-138,00.html

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, mjb8743. This user is located in Zone 7, South NJ, Garden State. This was originally posted on February 28, 2009.

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, roysmom. This was originally posted on February 28, 2009.
   

I finally located the basic recipe in Organic Gardening and they said 1  to 1 1/2 TEASPOONS of master mix to one cup of water.    Teaspoons not tablespoons.     Sometimes original info on the internet is accidentally changed and it is the incorrect version that everyone finds much later on.   

This was the source of the original recipe I posted.
USDA spray.... http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=829

You are absolutely correct that sometimes publishers etal will mis-type something, and Mike McGrath is very well-known in organic gardening circles, thus the wrong info gets passed around without question. I got out my calculator and adjusted the posted recipe downward for the various sprayers.

See  http://forum.earthbox.com/index.php?topic=2201.msg18105#msg18105

Thanks for your help.
Mickie

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, roysmom. This was originally posted on March 2, 2009.

Hi Mickie,    I think what happened was they probably used a small t for teaspoon and someone along the way changed it to tablespoon.  Plus 1 to 2 tablespoons to a gallon of water is common so it was repeated even though it was to be added to only a cup. 

Hope someone contacts GardensAlive so they can change that.   

You might want to revise  your very first post to the correct 1 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoon per cup as many people probably dont read through the whole thread.    You could even link the Organic Gardening page if you wanted to.   

Take care......

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, potatohead. This user is located in 9A Desert Southwest. This was originally posted on July 10, 2012.

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, mjb8743. This user is located in Zone 7, South NJ, Garden State. This was originally posted on July 20, 2008.

This thread got complicated and sidetracked, so Im repeating the original formula here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

USDA researchers have come up with a home remedy specifically for use against whiteflies. It works by smothering the larvae and eggs, and kills the whiteflies. The whitefly hangs out on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves, so its very important to spray there. Just doing the leaf tops wont help. It might be effective on some other insects as well, so it seems worth passing along. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH YOUR MEASUREMENTS.

MASTER SOLUTION:
1 Tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap (the regular kind; NOT one of those anti-microbial types)
1 Cup of vegetable oil (peanut, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower or safflower)
Shake well
DONT USE THIS AS YOUR SPRAY; IT MUST BE DILUTED! DO NOT USE IN A HOSE-END SPRAYER

TO USE IN A SMALL HAND SPRAYER:
1+1/2 teaspoons MASTER SOLUTION (see above)
1 Cup Water
Shake well

or  FROM SCRATCH, READY TO USE:
1/4 teaspoon liquid dish soap   (see above)
2+3/4 teaspoons oil (see above)
2 Cups water


TO MIX FROM SCRATCH FOR A ONE GALLON PUMP SPRAYER:
1+1/2 teaspoons liquid dish soap
5+1/2 Tablespoons oil
3 Quarts (12 cups) water

Note: to keep measurements somewhat even for ease of measuring, there is some very slight rounding off in calculations.

Or, you can get an insecticidal soap from Gardens Alive. When applying, make sure the temperature is below 85 degrees F and that plants are not drought- or heat-stressed.

Mickie

Old thread, I know.

I am wondering why this cant be used in a hose end sprayer. I am using a tank sprayer and my family is bugging me to just use a hose end sprayer. They think it would be easier. I tell them no, it is not allowed, but cant tell them why. What can I tell them?

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, mjb8743. This user is located in Zone 7 - South Nj, Garden State. This was originally posted on July 10, 2012.

I am wondering why this cant be used in a hose end sprayer. I am using a tank sprayer and my family is bugging me to just use a hose end sprayer. They think it would be easier. I tell them no, it is not allowed, but cant tell them why. What can I tell them?

How good is your math? If you can do the calculations for the proper concentration, you can try with a hose-end sprayer. Worst case #1... you burn your plants, Worst case #2... nothing happens at all (no dead bugs).

Mickie

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, potatohead. This user is located in 9A Desert Southwest. This was originally posted on July 10, 2012.

Ok, so its not a clogging issue or anything like that. Its a concentration issue. My math? LOL. I guess I can tell my family that the right setting has not been determined, and the risks involved.

Personally, I would rather not drag a hose all around. I like my tank sprayer but some members of the family think the hose thing looks really cool, but they are not the ones doing it or willing to take the time. So if they want to take over the garden duties they can play with the hose. I will stick with the sprayer. Thanks, Mickie.

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Horticulturalist, over 45 years in the business. The EarthBox Hero Member, kathy. This user is located in the mountains of PA Zone 5, almost 4.This was originally posted on July 11, 2012.

My guess on why you cant use the hose on sprayer is because they are not sure the dilution rates would be accurate. With prepared sprays the oils and active ingredients are emulsified (not sure if this is the proper term, but essentially well blended) and you would get the correct proportions. With this mix/concoction, you will always get a separation of the water and the oil, therefore you would not be spraying a "true mix".

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, John. This user is located in EarthBox - Northeast PA Zone 5. This was originally posted on July 12, 2012.

Most dish soaps are detergents.  It is the most common mistake when people are mixing their homemade solutions.  Detergents destroy the cuticle which protects the epidermis of the leaf.  Have been mixing 1tea - 1tbs of Murphys Oil Soap to 1 gallon of water for white flies (depending how bad the problem is).  Also works great for aphids or any soft-bodied pest.

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, potatohead. This user is located in 9A Desert Southwest. This was originally posted on July 13, 2012.

Thanks for the soap tip. Even Ivory, I believe is detergent and not soap anymore. I read the label in the store, and it looks like detergent to me. I am using M-Pede insecticidal soap which is the potassium salts of fatty acids and meant for plants.

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, John. This user is located in EarthBox - Northeast PA Zone 5. This was originally posted on July 13, 2012.

Years ago, I read every dish soap label in the grocery store.  I believe ivory was the only one that was not a detergent. Thanks for the update. Murphys IS a true soap, it contains fatty acids from animal fats which are responsible for killing the small soft-bodied insects.

[EarthBoxAdmin]

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, potatohead. This user is located in 9A Desert Southwest. This was originally posted on July 13, 2012.

I have read that you can use the dish detergents (Dawn, etc.) but they are more likely to damage the plant, and can not be sprayed as frequently as a true soap. The Murphys idea is a good one.

What are the downsides to using vegetable oils from the grocery store as opposed to the refined horticultural oils sold by the garden centers? Are the horticultural oils really better or is it just hype/marketing? Is there really that much difference?