Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jul 21, 2008, at 10:25 PM, bob ford wrote:

> The biggest problem in the fall , here, is whiteflies.  They will  
> take out 30% to 70% of the fall crop.  They are a horrid  
> pestilence.  I've tried every trick to combat them: spraying oil and  
> water, dishsoap and water (on the underside of the leaves)Yellow  
> sticky traps, etc..  But they resist detachment.  They just sit  
> there on the underside of the leaves, by the thousands, and suck the  
> life out of the plants.  I've talked, even, to a certified master  
> gardener.  I even asked my stupid dog what to do.  There's just not  
> a lot a person can do except to hope that they are not so bad in a  
> particular year...

I have the worst crop ever of basil this year due to whiteflies. The  
one thing that helped was an alcohol:water mix, with one-quarter  
rubbing alcohol. Needs daily application. Only now am I getting decent  
new growth.