Carol, I've had a terrible time with white flies this year, worst than I've had in several years. Along the lines you are mentioning, I found the best way to keep them under control is with strong bursts of water on the underside leaves of the plant. I almost lost some lantana to white flies, but by Spraying the undersides of the leaves withs strong jets of water, 3 or 4 times a week, I was able to rescue them and bring them back to good health. ----- Alan Chandler, Arizona Sunset Zone: 13 http://www.gizmoaz.com Over 200 Roses and 122 Different varieties! Never a dull moment!! Check out the Garden Cams on Saturday and Sunday!! -- Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot "Carol J. Bova" wrote: > > Hi Folks... > I missed the start of this, so I hope it applies. Our local L.A. county ag > office told me the only way to get rid of the giant white flies attacking > about 50 of the cemetery's 40 year old hibiscus was to get rid of the > hibiscus. There is absolutely no chemical control for it they said. We > decided to try to hold onto them as long as possible, since the giant white > flies didn't attack anything else, so we cut back the worst of the infested > areas, gathering up every leaf and twig, then washed the remainder with > soap and water. (Boy, did the grounds crew love that job....not!) About a > month later, we handpicked as many additionally infested leaves as > possible. Then hit the leaves with a low level on our pressure washer with > water only. Result: two years later... only lost 2 plants, and impact on > the balance is negligible (as of a couple of months ago... haven't been out > to look at them since then!). > > FWIW, > Carol > Sunland, CA > > At 11:04 PM 10/19/2001 -0400, you wrote: > >Ron, the chief entomologist of the State of California (I believe I > >have given him his proper title) is named Baldo Villegas. It just > >so happens that he is a fine friend, and we are currently in conversation > >on the subject of how to rid a California garden of white flies. > > > >Baldo's answer is: get rid of the hibiscus. > > > >There are apparently a number of varieties of white flies, and each > >one would require a different chemical or you would be wasting > >your time. This entails bringing a leafy sample complete with > >tell-tale white flies in to your Cooperative Extension for identification > >(generally not free of charge), and from there they could try to > >suggest what to use, no promises. > > > >You will have to weigh your desire to keep the hibiscus against your > >despair of the white flies. > > > >Penny, NY