Whitefly (white midges) on cucumbers: how to fight, what to do, what it looks like, reviews

The whitefly on cucumbers can negatively affect the health of plantings and reduce yields. Pest control is carried out in several ways, much attention is also paid to prevention.

Why is the whitefly dangerous for cucumbers

A small white midge on cucumbers does not always lead to direct death of plantings. But its influence remains negative, even if there are relatively few insects on the leaves. In particular, when infected with a pest:

• yellow, dry and fall leaves of cucumbers;
• the growth of bushes slows down;
• productivity decreases;
• photosynthesis processes are disrupted, as a result of which cucumbers wither and fade.

The whitefly leaves a special secret on the leaves – the so-called honeydew. Because of this, cucumbers become attractive to ants and other harmful insects, and are more likely to suffer from viruses and fungal infections.

What does whitefly look like on cucumbers

The whitefly is a small, moth-like insect with a light or yellow body and four milky white wings. The length of the parasite does not exceed 3 mm. It lays eggs on the leaves of cucumbers, from which translucent yellowish larvae subsequently hatch and begin to feed on plant sap.

To see the whitefly, you need to carefully examine the undersurface of the plates. Adult pests look like numerous light midges that come into motion when the stem moves. Whitefly larvae are more like yellow-white scales that cover the inside of the leaf.

With a strong defeat by the whitefly, whitish, yellow and dark spots appear on the leaves of cucumbers.

How to deal with the whitefly on cucumbers in the greenhouse

Most often, the whitefly attacks cucumber bushes in the greenhouse, since high temperature and humidity are optimal conditions for the pest. Several methods are used to get rid of insects.

Manual mode

With a slight defeat of cucumber bushes, you can collect the pest manually. They do this in two ways:

• wash the whitefly from the leaves with plenty of warm water, the pressure should be moderate so that the stems do not break;
• wipe the plates with a sponge dipped in soapy water, from the outside and inside.

The manual method shows good efficiency. But if the conditions in the greenhouse are favorable for the development of the pest, then sooner or later the whitefly attacks the bushes again.

Setting traps

A popular control measure for whiteflies on greenhouse cucumbers is to set up simple traps. It is not necessary to buy them in the store, the fixtures are easy to do with your own hands:

1. Sticky bottle. An empty plastic container is painted orange on the outside, and then glue or a solution prepared from laundry soap and petroleum jelly, taken in equal amounts, is liberally applied to its surface. A bright LED is placed inside the bottle and the trap is hung next to the cucumber bushes. The whitefly in the dark will fly into the light and stick to the surface of the device.
2. Water container. A light bulb painted red or orange is mounted in a small wooden box, and a container of water is placed below. The structure is hung next to the cucumbers. The whitefly, flying into the light, burns itself on the light bulb and falls into the prepared water.

The traps look very simple, but show a good effect against an adult pest. Their use allows you to get rid of about 80% of insects in the greenhouse. But at the same time, the remaining pests will still have to be removed by spraying. Therefore, it is most convenient to set traps for the prevention and tracking of whiteflies.

Luminous traps should be hung at the level of cucumber bushes, since the whitefly does not fly high

How to destroy the whitefly on cucumbers folk remedies

If the whitefly has already attacked the cucumbers, then using traps will not give the full effect. In this case, it is recommended to use one of several popular home-made solutions:

1. Vinegar. In 1 liter of water, you need to dilute a large spoonful of 70% essence and mix thoroughly. Cucumbers are sprayed with the resulting product until the whitefly and its larvae disappear. Acetic solution prevents the return of pests due to the pungent odor
2. Tobacco. About 50 g of dried leaves are crushed, poured into 500 ml of boiling water and left for five days to infuse. The whitefly remedy on cucumbers is filtered, and then the plantings are sprayed every three days until the insect is completely eliminated.
   
   

   You can make tobacco infusion based on the contents of cigarettes

3. Soap. Pour about 3 liters of warm water into a large container. Laundry or tar soap is rubbed on a grater in a volume of 500 g and stirred in a liquid until smooth. The composition is sprayed with cucumbers once a week.
   
   

   The soap solution is convenient in that it forms a protective film on the leaves of cucumbers.

4. Garlic. A small head of 5-6 cloves is crushed into a pulp and poured with 3 liters of water, and then placed in a dark place for a day. The finished infusion is filtered and used for spraying three times a day once a week.
   
   

   Garlic infusion is safe for cucumbers and humans, but repels pests well

5. Home remedies help kill both the adult greenhouse whitefly on cucumbers and the larvae. In addition, spraying serves as a good prevention of the reappearance of the insect.
   
   

   You can spray cucumbers with folk remedies, including during flowering and fruiting.Biological agents

You can process whitefly cucumbers in a greenhouse not only with home remedies, but also with purchased biological preparations. The composition of such insecticides contains beneficial fungi that suppress adults and pest larvae:

1. Verticillin. Biological preparation in the amount of 100 ml is diluted in 10 liters of water. Cucumbers are sprayed with the resulting product four times in a row at intervals of 10-12 days. The drug should fall on the lower surface of the leaves, it is also desirable to treat the soil under the bushes.
   
   

   In addition to the whitefly, Verticillin destroys thrips and spider mites on cucumbers

2. Fitoverm. To prepare a treatment solution, 100 ml of the product must be diluted in 10 liters of water. Spraying is carried out at intervals of 2-3 weeks, special attention is also paid to the reverse side of the plates.
   
   

   Fitoverm is recommended as an initial preparation for the fight against whitefly

An unusual biological way to get rid of white midges on cucumber leaves suggests planting marigolds in a greenhouse. These flowers attract ladybugs and lacewings, which are natural enemies of the whitefly.

Biological solutions do not harm ripening cucumbers and do not affect the quality of the crop

Chemicals

Chemical insecticidal preparations reliably help get rid of the whitefly. Among the most popular are:

1. Aktara. About 4 g of the product is diluted in 10 liters of water and plantings are sprayed every 2-4 weeks. The drug not only eliminates the adult whitefly and its larvae from the leaves, but also forms a protective layer on the plates that prevents the pest from re-attacking the bushes.
   
   

   Actara contains the poison thiamethoxam

2. Fufanon. For cucumbers, it is necessary to dilute about 10 ml of the product in 10 liters of water. In the greenhouse, it is enough to spray the bushes once; in the open field, re-treatment is carried out two weeks after the first.
   
   

   The main active ingredient of Fufanon is malathion toxin.

3. Boric acid. To eliminate white midges on cucumbers in a greenhouse, dilute about 12 g of the product in 5 liters of water, stir and spray the plantings, paying special attention to the underside of the leaves. Boric acid not only helps to destroy the pest, but also serves as a useful top dressing.
   
   

   It is necessary to carry out spraying with a solution of boric acid in a protective mask and goggles, despite the low concentration

The main disadvantage of chemicals is that it is undesirable to use them to remove whiteflies on cucumbers during the fruiting period. Toxic substances can accumulate in ripening vegetables. Therefore, spraying is stopped 3-4 weeks before harvest.

How to process whitefly cucumbers in the open field

In open ground, the white midge on cucumbers appears most often as a result of infection at the seedling stage. Even before transferring the seedlings to the garden, it is necessary to carefully examine the leaves for insects or larvae.

If the whitefly attacked cucumbers in the open field already at the growth stage, the following drugs can be used for treatment:

1. Spark Bio. In a bucket of water, 100 ml of the product is diluted and the plantings are sprayed several times in a row with interruptions of 3-4 weeks.
   
   

   Iskra Bio belongs to the category of drugs with low toxicity for humans and animals.

2. Bud. The insecticidal preparation is dissolved in 10 liters of liquid in a volume of 10 g and the bushes are treated about once every ten days.
   
   

   The bud not only increases the resistance of cucumbers to pests in the open field, but also improves fruiting.

Before using medicinal products, it is advisable to wash the pest from cucumber plantings with plain water. The soil under the plant should be loosened 2 cm deep so that possible pupae and larvae are on the surface and also come under the influence of drugs.

The treatment of cucumbers from whiteflies in the open field has its own characteristics. Spraying should be carried out in dry and warm calm weather without bright sun. It is best to perform the procedures in the morning before ten o’clock and in the evening after sunset, in which case there will be no burns on the leaves.

In the rain, spraying cucumbers is not carried out, since chemicals will be quickly washed off

Prevention

High-quality pest prevention allows you to avoid a long and difficult struggle with the whitefly. To prevent infection of landings, it is necessary:

• carefully disinfect cucumber seeds even before sowing by heating or soaking in a solution of potassium permanganate;
• do not overmoisten the soil and regularly ventilate the seedlings;
• maintain a temperature in the greenhouse within 22-24 ° C and a humidity of about 75-85%;
• provide regular access to fresh air in the greenhouse;
• weekly weed beds with cucumbers from weeds and loosen the soil;
• inspect the leaves from time to time in order to detect the whitefly in time.

After harvesting, it is recommended to shed the soil in the greenhouse with copper sulfate or a pink solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. In winter, the soil is frozen – at temperatures below -12 ° C, the larvae and pupae of the whitefly, waiting out the cold in the ground, die.

Conclusion

The whitefly on cucumbers causes damage to the crop and slows down the development of bushes. You can get rid of the pest manually, using traps or by spraying. Which method to choose depends on the degree of damage to the plantings and on the stage of vegetation.

Reviews on the fight against whitefly on cucumbers in the greenhouse and in the open field