Topic: Tiny white powdery flying things?

[oliveoyl_25]

All of my brasiccas are infested with some tiny white powdery bugs... they're only about 1mm in size, but there's thousands of them! They seem to prefer the undersides of the leaves, they don't look like aphids, and they all fly around in a cloud when the plants are knocked or watered... what are they?

[Duke Ellington]

For you to read :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/advice/pests_and_diseases/nonflash_index.shtml?whiteflies

Duke

[oliveoyl_25]

Thank you  ;D   Allotments 4 All is way better than google!

[Digeroo]

Are they particularly common this year?  I have not come across them much before.  They seem to be particularly going for the sprouts.

[shirlton]

Ours were ok a couple of weeks ago but now they are leaving a sooty deposit on the sprouts

[caroline7758]

Yep, my sprouts are black! :(

[Borlotti]

My sprouts, cauliflowers and PSB are covered with white fly, keep kicking them but they all fly back.  Must get some spray, there are netted but it makes no difference, perhaps if the weather it cold and we have a frost they will not survive.

[oliveoyl_25]

I put a few drops of Ecover washing up liquid in a bottle, topped up with water, squirted 'til I got hand ache... and the next day there was a marked improvement (same with the aphids that were feasting on the growing tips). Will keep an eye on them and see how they go.

[alotalot]

I just blast them with a hosepipe now and again.

[cornykev]

The first thing I noticed when I first got my lottie was these white flies on my next plot neighbour Sids Brussels. Every time I walked down the path brushing these plants the buggers would be everywhere, I said to myself I won't ever be growing these.
Anyway four seasons later and I'm growing sprouts on my plot and the white fly are the worst I ever seen, the lottie holders here agree in saying they've never seen them this bad, even when you pull up a weed or dig over the soil the buggers just appear out of the soil. Heavy rain, cold nights it just doesn't get rid of them, some of the old boys reckon they are in their cars 2 or 3 days later.
Mine have the sooty black appearence about them, the best way I heard of getting rid of them was to spread grease or vaseline on a thick piece of cardboard or wood and place it above the sods and give the plant a shake, I don't know how many times I would have to do this to get rid of a million of the buggers.
I did notice quite a lot of ladybirds on the plants in the week, although they didn't look like the normal colourings of a ladybird. :( :( :(

[Digeroo]

They seem to particularly like the Redbor kale >:( :( :(  Caked in them.

[Borlotti]

Thanks for reminding me to take my spray to the allotment, going to the bank first, hope I don't get arrested.  :( :( :(  My PSB is about the only thing I have growing at the moment and will be very cross if it gets eaten, have netted it.

[Susiebelle]

I picked up a remedy from one of the magazines this year and seems to have helped a lot.
Fill bucket up with rhubarb leaves cover with water leave for a couple of weeks (stand well back from the stench)
Then dilute with more water  - I did 50:50, add a bit of soft soap and spray i
This has certainly helped on our site a few others are now using it.