Step 1
The most stirred ficus is the pop ornamental Ficus Benjamina or weeping figure . In southerly Florida , this variety is heavily used for landscape gardening and hedge . Other motley commonly impress : Ficus altissima ( banyan tree ) , Ficus aurea ( strangler fig ) , Ficus microcarpa ( Cuban laurel ) , Ficus lyrata ( fiddle - leafage figure ) and Ficus maclellandii ( banana - leaf fig ) .
Step 2
First Signs
nurseryman look for infestation before it becomes critical . Initial signs are streaks of whitish or yellow discolouration underneath genus Ficus leave of absence , before the leaves sour yellow . There may also be small pieces of white junk moving or stable among the leaves , which are the flies themselves , approximately ¼ inch in size . silvern - snowy spots underneath leaves are honest-to-goodness skins of unripened fly .
Treatment
Treat plants at the early point and when they are n’t drouth stress . It ’s too recent when leaves are yellow or dropping . Either expend a systemic - drench approach in the soil , or wait for fresh growth . Treat modest plants with insecticidal soap atomiser or fuddle leaves in horticultural oil every seven to 10 day . The atomiser and rock oil are found in garden heart and prevent flies from breathing , causing death . When using a spray or oil , insure all underside leaf surfaces are covered .
Use a small emptiness to remove flies , freezing removed contents before disposition . yellow-bellied sticky traps are effective ; hang close to the top of plant life facing away from the sunshine , also near greenhouse launching points . Never stand infected plants near healthy flora .
Sprays take neem or pyrethrum give efficaciousness , but see " Insecticide Cautions . " Applications must be repeated as on the ingroup . Spray recently in the day , avoiding leaf tan . Do not take debris from premises as it encourage spreads to other sphere . Removed leaves make splendid mulch .
Treat big area including hedges with products such as imidacloprid or commercially available soil - applied treatments like dinotefuran or thiamethoxam .
Insecticide Cautions
In using insect powder , specially pyrethrins and imidacloprid , natural predators are adversely touch on . Only utilise powerful insect powder where there really is no natural alternative .
Natural Predators
One grade of management is the introduction of innate predators to the genus Ficus plant . Exochomus childreni ( the ladybird beetle ) is a suitable instinctive predator . Encarsia formosa , a small white Anglo-Saxon Protestant , parasitizes up to 100 immature glasshouse whiteflies each . Encarsia populations prefer temperature above 70 degrees F for development . The best time to use Encarsia is between mid - March and mid - September . Delphastus pusillus , a small sinister ladybird beetle , controls both glasshouse and silverleaf whitefly . The larva will consume up to 1,000 whitefly egg in its life-time , but will also feed on nymphs . Like Encarsia , the beetles perform well at temperature between above 65 F. Local university prolongation service may counsel on natural vulture and put up specimens .
References
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