Topic: Tiny white triangular moth things?

[ZoeElizabeth]

Hi there,

New person here with broccoli issue ! Help would be much appreciated.

On the underside of my leaves, there are tiny blobs and teeny moth things that fly in the air if disturbed. They are as small as seeds.

What are they??

And what do I do to cure (ideally organically but at this point in time, my principles will bend to get some edible crops !!!)

Elizabeth
x

[ZoeElizabeth]

I found a good pest website and they are whitefly. It recommeds permethrin. Any other ideas?
The website is http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_july_1c_tomato.asp

[Rosa_Mundi]

Hi Elizabeth. They're a major nuisance; in a greenhouse you could try sticky fly papers, but that's not very practical outdoors unless you brush some over the leaves.
If you go with permethrin, remember it's a contact insecticide so you have to get it on the insect to work. Whitefly have a very short lifecycle (about five days) so you'll need to spray several times to deal with hatching eggs to bring them under control.
Marigolds are said to deter them as they don't like the smell, although I'm afraid it didn't work for me - and the marigolds were covered in whitefly, too  ::)

[westsussexlottie]

These are cabbage whitefly not regular whitefly - they can be removed by hosing them hard and it disturbs them too much to reproduce...

[Rosa_Mundi]

Perfectly right, WestSussexLottie  ;D

Here's the RHS take:
"Cabbage whitefly is present on its host plants throughout the year and overwinters as adult insects. The adults lay eggs on the lower leaf surface from which hatch the scale-like nymphs. Both adults and nymphs suck sap and excrete a sugary substance (honeydew) that allows the growth of sooty moulds. Brassicas are tolerant of the pest and even heavy infestations have little impact on plant growth, but sooty mould can be a problem, especially on Brussels sprout buttons.

Although similar to glasshouse whitefly, cabbage whitefly is a different species and does not attack plants other than brassicas. Similarly glasshouse whitefly will not infest brassicas."