How to get rid of whiteflies on strawberries: spring, summer, autumn

It is quite difficult to fight the whitefly on strawberries, as well as on other crops, since this pest has an increased level of survivability. And to cope with the problem, you need to apply comprehensive measures to destroy the insect. Otherwise, the bushes will not be able to fully develop, produce crops and freeze in winter. Therefore, every gardener should know how to deal with this pest throughout the season, depending on the stage of strawberry development.

The whitefly belongs to the Aleirodidae family.

What does a whitefly look like

The whitefly is a flying insect that looks like a moth, but is much smaller in size. The length of her body is 3 mm. A distinctive feature is the white color of adults, for which the insect got its name. The pest has four wings, which are covered with a light dust-like coating.

Insect eggs are light green in color. Their length is 0,2-0,25 mm. After 7-13 days, transparent larvae of the first generation appear from the eggs. They are quite active, move and are characterized by increased voracity. After two weeks, the flattened body of the larvae thickens, and they turn into motionless nymphs. And after another 16 days, adults appear from them, which are already independently capable of breeding.

The whitefly creates entire colonies. Therefore, if measures are not taken in a timely manner to destroy it at the initial stage of appearance, then in a month these insects will be able to spread to the entire garden with strawberries and neighboring crops. In this case, you can forget about a good harvest.

Signs of a pest

Whiteflies on strawberries lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves, as seen in the photo, where they can be found if you look closely. After the larvae appear, they begin to intensively feed on strawberry cell sap. This negatively affects the appearance of the bushes. Plants significantly slow down the growth rate, the surface of their plates loses its natural luster, the edges of the leaves begin to curl down, the general appearance becomes oppressed.

You can determine that whiteflies have appeared on strawberries if you just touch the bush. As a result, a whole swarm of these insects flies up.

Also, in the course of life, pests on the leaves and shoots of strawberries leave a sticky shiny coating – honeydew. Over time, it turns into black spots, as it is a favorable environment for the development of soot fungus. All this in combination disrupts the metabolic processes in the tissues of the leaves, interferes with photosynthesis and leads to yellowing, wilting of the plates.

The female whitefly lays up to 130 eggs during her lifetime.

What causes whitefly on strawberries

The pest appears when a combination of high humidity and air temperature from +25 ° C. These are the optimal conditions for its reproduction. Therefore, most often the insect attacks strawberries in a greenhouse.

Reducing the regime to +10 °C has a detrimental effect on adults and larvae, but does not harm eggs that can overwinter in plant debris. Therefore, in order to destroy the whitefly on strawberries, it is necessary to apply complex methods of control in spring, summer and autumn.

How to deal with whiteflies on strawberries

When the first signs of a pest appear, urgent measures must be taken. The sooner the fight is started, the less harm the whitefly will cause to the bushes. To do this, you can use chemicals, as well as biological and folk remedies. Moreover, you need to use different methods of dealing with the whitefly on strawberries, since toxic agents cannot be used during flowering and fruiting.

Preparations for whiteflies on strawberries

The use of chemicals is justified during the period of active vegetation of the bushes and during the mass reproduction of the pest. In this case, you need to act quickly to drastically reduce the number of insects and their larvae.

Fitoverm from whiteflies on strawberries

Processing strawberries from whiteflies can be done with Fitoverm. It belongs to the category of insectoacaricidal biologics of intestinal-contact action. The active component blocks the transmission of nerve impulses from the brain to the limbs, which causes paralysis of adults and larvae, and then death. Spraying the bushes should be repeated after five days, since the drug is not able to penetrate the protective shell of the eggs.

For processing, it is necessary to dissolve 2 ml of the drug in 1 liter of water. Spraying should be done in the evening or in the morning in dry calm weather.

The protective effect of Fitoverm lasts up to two weeks

Actara from the whitefly

Aktara also helps to fight the strawberry pest whitefly. This Swiss drug has a systemic complex effect, causing paralysis and death of adults and larvae of the pest. To prepare the working fluid, it is necessary to dissolve 1,4 g of the product in 5 liters of water. Such an increased concentration has a detrimental effect on pests, but does not harm plants.

The resulting solution should be poured over strawberries from the whitefly. In this case, the active component initially penetrates the roots, and then spreads to all parts of the plant. As a result, together with the cell sap, it enters the gastrointestinal tract of the insect and causes its death. The treatment should be repeated three times with a break of seven days.

The waiting period after the application of Aktara is three weeks

Biological methods of struggle

This method of struggle is based on the destruction of the whitefly by its natural enemies. To do this, you need to add encarsia pupae to the greenhouse, which can be purchased at a specialized store. The peculiarity of this insect is that the female lays eggs directly on the body of the whitefly. Subsequently, the larvae penetrate the body of the pest, thereby causing its death.

However, the disadvantage of the biological method is that it can only be used in a greenhouse. Encarasia do not survive in open ground conditions.

Among the enthophages that are able to cope with this pest, they also include a ladybug, a lacewing fly, a rider beetle, and a macrolofus bug.

How to deal with whiteflies on strawberries with folk remedies

You can cope with the whitefly on strawberries during flowering and fruiting with folk remedies. However, they have a short-term effect and are washed away by rain. Therefore, processing should be carried out regularly to prevent mass reproduction.

Ammonia for whiteflies on strawberries

This component has a deterrent effect on the whitefly. To spray strawberry bushes, dissolve 35 ml of ammonia in a bucket of water and mix thoroughly. Processing is carried out in the morning or in the evening. You need to repeat it every three days until the signs of the pest completely disappear.

Tobacco dust from whiteflies on strawberries

To cope with the whitefly on strawberries with berries, you can use tobacco dust. This component thins out an unpleasant odor for the pest and scares away from the garden with a fruit-bearing crop.

To prepare a working infusion, pour 100 g of tobacco dust into 1 liter of warm water and infuse the product for five days. After the waiting period, the solution must be filtered and used as directed. Treatment of whitefly on strawberries is desirable to do every three days.

Tobacco dust can be alternated with ammonia

How to process strawberries from whiteflies in spring

During the period of active vegetation in the spring, it is recommended to spray the bushes with chemicals, which will prevent the mass reproduction of the whitefly. Therefore, you can apply Fitoverm and Aktara before the appearance of buds. It is recommended to process the bushes every week so that the larvae that emerge from the eggs cannot harm the strawberries.

How to get rid of whiteflies on strawberries in summer, in August

Among the permissible measures to combat the whitefly on strawberries during flowering are only folk remedies. At this time, it is highly undesirable to treat the bushes with chemicals. Therefore, you can spray strawberries from whiteflies with ammonia or tobacco dust. This method of control should be applied before harvest.

How to process strawberries from whiteflies in the fall, after fruiting

After fruiting, it is necessary to fight the pest with chemicals. They will help reduce the number of adults and larvae. You need to spray the bushes every seven days until the signs of pests completely disappear. The lack of control measures in the fall leads to the fact that weakened bushes do not have time to recover before the onset of frost and freeze out in winter.

When treating bushes with toxic agents, precautions must be taken

Prevention and protection measures

The pest is able to attack plants that have weakened immunity. This may be due to a lack of nutrition. Therefore, as a prevention of strawberry infection, it is recommended to regularly feed the bushes, depending on their stage of development. To do this, at the beginning of the active growing season, fertilizers with a high nitrogen content should be used, and during flowering and fruiting – with potassium and phosphorus.

Other preventive measures:

• avoid crowded landings;
• timely remove weeds, loosen the soil between rows;
• sprinkle the soil at the base of the bushes with tobacco dust;
• treat plants with acaricides in autumn and spring;
• before winter, collect all plant debris and burn them;
• when growing strawberries in a greenhouse, regularly ventilate the room and lay mulch.

Conclusion

Knowing how to properly deal with the whitefly on strawberries, you can count on a good harvest. However, it should be understood that chemicals cannot be used during the flowering and fruiting period of the crop, so as not to harm your health. Therefore, control measures should correspond to the stage of development of the bushes.