Google "whitefly". Sounds like what you've got.

Sorry to say this but if you are constantly spraying with chemicals you are just making the situation worse. The only real protection against whitefly are the tiny little parasitic wasps that prey on them and your spraying is killing them. Getting your garden back in balance will not be easy and will take several growing seasons. It sounds counter intuitive but start by letting weeds grow undisturbed in an area close to your garden and never spray or cut those weeds. That will give your predators a place to get re-established. If you continue to spray or dust poisons around you will only be enriching chemical comapnies and never have a decent garden.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but those are the facts.

Sounds good to me. I never have problems with bugs and I never spray. I also have weeds around the area. I have all kinds of wild stuff around the area.

The only bugs I attack are the tomato horn worms with a pair of scissors. hehe. I cut them in half. gross.

Plant some buckweat. Wow bugs love the flowers. That will bring the good guys into the garden. I also over winter lady bugs under the clap boards of the house. the clapboards are loose a bit and they crawl under the board for the winter.

hoodat,

Perhaps your version of the facts. I don't recommend using Sevin but Neem Oil and Safer Soap will kill whiteflies as well as aphids while not harming plants or fruit. It will not harm the beneficials either.

Mike

Hi Mike,
I sometimes use insecticidal soap in combo with Neem myself. Not against whiteflies, though, I've not had problems with them in many years, since I managed to kill the lemon verbena plant (a whitefly magnet!).

But for purposes of accuracy, I just wanted to point out that insecticidal soap is not safe for *all* beneficials. It's very toxic to Phytoseiulus predatory mites and mildly toxic to Amblyseius cucumeris (depending on rate of application). I've also heard concern expressed about its effect on lacewing larvae, but I've not seen research on this so don't know the details.

I'm not suggesting this is a reason *not* to use things like Safer soap, but it's important to make choices in the light of as much info as possible. The great thing for beneficials about insecticidal soap is that it has no residual effect, so if they don't get squirted or wander onto recently sprayed leaves then they won't be harmed.

For any newer gardeners, spraying soaps or oils (eg Neem) when it's hot can damage the plant.

Neem oil can be useful at times but should only be used to treat trouble spots and never sprayed over the entire garden.
Neem oil is a broad spectrum insecticide that will kill the majority of insects it comes in contact with. I'm not at all convinced that any insecticide can tell the difference between a beneficial and harmful insect. How could we expect it to kill a bean beetle and spare the ladybug on the same leaf?
It is however one of the safest sprays you can use from the standpoint of harming humans or warm blooded animals. It has been used in most Asian countries for thousands of years as both an internal and external medicine with no ill effects.

You need to do a little bit of research about Neem oil, hoodat. It really does NOT kill the majority of insects it comes into contact with.

I already told hoodat dat but he/she don't listen. I'm growing wherry of the spread of that false info.

Neem Oil works in two ways: to make the plants undesirable to eat, in which case the bad guys leave or starve to death, or by coating their body, thus suffocating them. There are those stupid insects that may eat what tastes bad to them - then the Neem will kill them directly

Spraying late of an evening, when the benficials are getting ready for bed is highly recommended. Of course, whiteflys, aphids, etc., stay overnight so to speak and thus can be smothered.

I use Neem and Safer Soap when I need to, not just to have something to do, though!

Mike

Wordwiz, it sounds as though you are using it properly. ANY insecticide must be used with caution and only when and where needed.

I only spray at sunset when pests are present which is hardly ever since I have lots of beneficials and use chemicals responsibly. It gives the active ingredient longer to work since sunlight renders most, if not all of them useless.

Please allow me to make one last post to clarify my position and I'll get off this subject. Remember that practically all of the information on Neem to be found online comes from people trying to sell you Neem. I never base a decision on what car to buy on what the salesman says.
My experience with insects has always been that the LESS you do in a garden the better off you are. Give nature a chance to do her thing. Sometimes you have to step in to save a crop but do it only when and where it is necessary. Neem is an excellent product when used this way but not when sprayed willy-nilly over the entire garden. Even killing every last pest insect can be harmful and reduce your beneficial insects. Killing all the rabbits will starve off the wolves. Then the rabbits will come back faster than the wolves will.
Neem interferes with the growth cycle of the larval stage of ALL insects and keeps them from developing into adults. At first that sounds good till we consider that beneficials also go through a larval stage.
You are certainly free to your own opinion. That is mine.
As promised, last post on Neem.

An easy safe solution for whitefly is yellow sticky traps - or you can make your own by coating yellow poster paper with Tanglefoot.

oldroser,

Not so sure how easy it is if one has 100 tomato plants in a garden!

Mike

Sticky traps work well in greenhouses but they are a lot less effective in the open garden.