Whitefly

Tiny white moth-like insects that fly up in a cloud when the plant is brushed. Use traps to monitor and Encarsia wasps before numbers get heavy.

Symptoms

• Tiny white winged insects that fly up when you touch the plant.
• Eggs and flat, scale-like young on leaf undersides.
• Sticky honeydew, sooty mould and yellowing leaves.

Quick checks

• Brush the canopy and watch for a cloud of white insects.
• Look under leaves for eggs and scales.
• Check yellow sticky traps weekly.

How to fix it

1. 1
   Prevention

   Keep other plants out

   Keep houseplants and bedding plants out of the tent and fit intake mesh.

2. 2
   Physical

   Monitor with traps

   Hang yellow sticky traps to monitor and catch adults. Traps alone won't control a population, and they catch beneficial wasps too, so lift them when you release Encarsia.

3. 3
   Biological

   Encarsia before numbers get heavy

   Release the parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa early, as it needs time to build up. It works best with daytime temperatures of at least about 21 °C and good light; blackened scales show it's working. The predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii and the predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus are other options.

4. 4
   Safe treatment

   Safe sprays in the growth stage only

   An insecticidal soap or plant-oil spray approved for amateur use in the UK, applied to the leaf undersides in the growth stage. Repeat as the label says.

5. 5
   Support

   Help the plant recover

   Keep Stress in the feed, and use Monkey Mist in growth and early flower to help the plant bounce back from pest pressure.

Likely causes

• Arrival on houseplants or bedding plants brought near the tent.
• Warm, still conditions.
• Unscreened intakes.

What to avoid

• Don't spray flowers in mid to late flower.
• Don't spray insecticides while Encarsia is working.
• Don't wait until there's a cloud of whitefly before ordering predators.

Prevention

• No houseplants or bedding plants in or near the tent.
• Yellow traps as an early warning.
• Intake mesh.

Monkey products that can help

Stress

Can help strengthen cell walls and support the plant's resistance to pests. Support only.

2 ml per 10 L every week. Always add it to the water first and mix thoroughly before adding anything else.

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Monkey Mist

Monkey say it helps plants bounce back from pest pressure. It is a foliar feed, not a pest control.

Ready to use, no mixing. Mist evenly over the tops of the leaves in propagation, growth and early flower only. Safe with the lights on. Never spray maturing flowers.

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Products support a healthy plant. They don't replace fixing the cause.

When to get help

If numbers are still climbing three weeks after releasing Encarsia, contact your supplier, or email info@monkeynutrients.co.uk with photos.

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