HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM
Whitefly are tiny white insects that are about 3mm long which hang out in large groups. They spend their time and lay their eggs under the leaves of vegetables and will take off like a white cloud over the vegetable patch if they are disturbed.
THE DAMAGE THEY CAUSE
Whitefly are sap sucking insects and although they like lots of plants like citrus and fruit trees, they really love leafy vegetables. Their sucking can cause the leaves of plants to turn a silvery-bronze colour which can kill them or make them inedible. The honeydew that they excrete onto the leaves also cause sooty mould to grow.
HOW TO CONTROL THEM
Since white fly like the colour yellow, using yellow sticky traps in the garden will help to control their numbers. Yellow sticky paper can be bought at hardware stores and garden centres but you can also make them at home. To do this, find yellow plastic pots or paint pieces of cardboard yellow and then smother them with something greasy such as Vaseline. Hang several in the trees or on tall sticks in the garden. The whitefly get attracted to the yellow but then get stuck to the Vaseline.