djd@scgrp.UUCP (David Dmytryshyn) (03/18/90)
I have five Herb plants (marjoram, parsely, chives, oregano, basil
and rosemary) growing under a growth lamp inside the house which
have become moderately infested with little white-winged insects
which reside on the underside of the leaves of all but the chives
( no underside! :) ) Anyone know what I can do to get rid of
these (other than throw the plants out). They don't seem to be
eating the plants, they just sit there, and haven't spread to
any other parts of the house...
I've really come to enjoy having herbs year round, so I'd like
not to have to throw them out... Like the chives especially,
they're a nice lighter substitute for onions...
David..
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David Dmytryshyn Email: djd@scgrp.uucp
SC Group, Toronto, Canada. ncrcan!aimed!scgrp!djdrowe@pender.ee.upenn.edu (Mickey Rowe) (03/20/90)
In article <BmL8F1w160w@scgrp.UUCP> djd%scgrp@aimed.UUCP writes: >I have five Herb plants (marjoram, parsely, chives, oregano, basil >and rosemary) growing under a growth lamp inside the house which >have become moderately infested with little white-winged insects >which reside on the underside of the leaves of all but the chives >( no underside! :) ) Anyone know what I can do to get rid of >these... >----- >David Dmytryshyn Email: djd@scgrp.uucp >SC Group, Toronto, Canada. ncrcan!aimed!scgrp!djd I can think of one solution that should work and save you from harming yourself with any nasty chemicals. Get yourself a pet newt, and let it walk around the plants. You'd have to decide if you feel better about eating a plant that was licked by a newt versus a plant that just had bugs crawling on it. If you can handle amphibians though... I'm actually serious about this. Though I don't have any plants, and thus haven't tried it myself, I have heard that newts really love plant lice, and the descriptions I've heard of those seem to match what you describe. I do have newts, and I can vouch for the fact that they're not very discriminating about what kind of bugs they eat. I've had the greatest success with Japanese fire-bellied newts (_Cynops pyrrhogaster_), but I don't recommend these for you since their mucus contains a toxin. Eastern red-spotted newts (_Notophthalmus viridescens_) and western newts (_Taricha tarosa_) are fairly common in pet stores (at least in the united states), and should enjoy feasting on your plants symbionts. Hope this doesn't sound too off the wall. Mickey Rowe (rowe@pender.ee.upenn.edu)
dtinker@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (David Tinker) (03/20/90)
In article <BmL8F1w160w@scgrp.UUCP>, djd%scgrp@aimed.UUCP (David Dmytryshyn) writes: >I have five Herb plants (marjoram, parsely, chives, oregano, basil >and rosemary) growing under a growth lamp inside the house which >have become moderately infested with little white-winged insects >which reside on the underside of the leaves of all but the chives >........ You have undoubtedly acquired a population of 'White Moth' or 'Whitefly' as it is called in Britain - one of the major greenhouse pests. "The adults are like miniature moths with white wings, and the larvae are small scale- like creatures, generally greenish in colour, which feed without movement on the undersides of the leaves." (source, would you believe it, 'Pears Cyclopaedia, 84th edition' - couldn't locate a reference in any of my garden books). Control recommended in Pears is lindane or malathion spray. My recommendation would be to burn the plants (or give them to someone you dislike). U. of T. Botany department's greenhouse superintendent might be able to offer advice. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ! David O. Tinker ! ^ ^ ! UUCP: dtinker@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca ! ! Department of Biochemistry !< O O >! BITNET: dtinker@vm.utcs.utoronto.ca ! ! University of Toronto ! ^ ! BIX: dtinker !