Alan, The white fly that I see the most is on all the little bitty oak babies that come up all over my yard. I have 3 large oaks in the back yard and 3 more in the front, so I have a never ending supply of acorns. The acorns that germinate seem to be covered with white fly. My lantana and hibiscus show no signs at all of any infestation. But a good spray of water does seem to do the trick when there isn't time to go out and pull every last little tree. Anne in FL zone 9b, sunset 26 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Zelhart" <rpcs30@email.sps.mot.com> To: <gardeners@globalgarden.com> Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 11:10 AM Subject: Re: [gardeners] Our beautiful October garden > You know what else I was realizing....they have not seemed to bother my > hibiscus at all. I wonder if they are more drawn to the lantana, and > leave the hibiscus alone? > ----- > 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 > > Alan Zelhart wrote: > > > > 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 >