OMG!  I found a small infestation of whiteflies on the tomato seedling I won at GYC’s chilifest.  This happened just as the tomato seeds I planted four or five  days ago are beginning to sprout. I’m wracking my brain to figure out where the heck these pests came from.  The prime suspect is the soil mixture that came with  my Amaryllis.  I found some tiny black creatures swarming around it when the first stalk set out its blossoms.  I crushed them with RAID. When I tried the RAID on the whitefly and they didn’t even stop flying.

Another suspect is the pale yellow Poinsettia I rescued from the club. It’s on the list because it too is covered with whiteflies and the honeydew they exude. So both Poinsettia and Amaryllis have been moved out outside into the cold and I built a system to deal with white flies that might still be around.  First, all of the house plants in the craft room have been moved out.  Then I constructed some yellow strips covered with vaseline to put in each plant near the original outbreak and finally I firmly but gently crushed all the critters on the original tomato plant. The plan is that the whiteflies will be attracted to the bright yellow color and fly up to the strip and stick in the gloppy vaseline.

materials gathered

 

two coats of yellow paint

glossy layer

tomato plant with whitefly deterrent