Just few years ago a new insect pest was reported attacking ficus trees and hedges in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Miami, ft. Lauredale, and the rest of Palm Beach County in the South Floridaarea. This pest was identified as the fig whitefly, and is a challenge for pest cpntrol companies in Boynton Beach and pest control companies in Palm Beach county. Pest Control for Whiteflies wich are small, winged insects is similar to pest control for aphids scales, mealybugs, and bugs. All these insects typically feed on the underside of leaves with their mouthparts. Pest Control for Whiteflies is important due to the fact that they seriously injure host plants by sucking juices from them causing wilting, yellowing, stunting, leaf drop, or even death. Ficus hedges and trees Pest Control companies are working hard to solve this new problem and will recommend professional treatment for both prevention and or eradication of this nasty pest.
How you know if you need pest control for a whitefly problem in your property, community, commercial building, or residential property. The leaves of the property ficus trees infested with whiteflies turn yellow before the leaves are dropped from the plant. Anytime one sees a Ficus trees without their leaves is the most obvious symptoms of a whitefly infestation.
By treating the whitefly problem one could save and/or protect commony used hedges but also some Ficus trees. There are other hosts for the whitefly insect problem that include the strangler, Cuban laurel, fiddle-leaf, and banana-leaf. The nasty pest whitefly is sometimes found in many other species of ficus; that is why professional pest control advise and treatment is recommended. Azalea has also been listed as a host plant.
When one sees a whitefly infestation, agitating foliage will produce the small, white gnat-like adult whiteflies flying from the foliage. The adult insect pest (whitefly) is very similar to a very small moth with a yellow body and white wings with a faint grey band in the middle of the wings. If one wants to find the other stages of this pest, such as eggs and nymphs, Immature stages can be found primarily on the underside of the leaves. Under leaves one can see small silver or white spots that may be confuse with leaves spots. This dots are the empty skin or cover that was protecting the pupae stage of the whitefly before the adult whitefly pest emerges.
As professionals we are studying every possible pest control method to control this nasty pest and many potential options are now offer by our company (Green Palm Pest Control); the options are used to correct an existing problem, but should be use to prevent infestations of whitefly.
It is very important that everybody monitors all ficus plants for early signs of an whitefly infestation because it will be easier to manage the insect pest before it builds to high populations and causes major damage. Also, if infested trees or hedges are trimmed, either leave the clippings on the property or if removing, bag the clippings to reduce the chance of spreading the insects. If clippings are being transported in a truck, be sure to either bag them or cover these clippings with a tarp. When treating for whitefly infestations, thorough coverage of the undersides of the leaves is especially important whit both a systemic insecticide and a contact insecticide. The use of other insecticides may be necessary to control this pest.
The best and long term option available is professional pest control or landcare due to the complexity of this bug and the fact that new developments in their control are available to professionals monthly . Insecticides with systemic properties are useful in whitefly control because they can be applied as a drench to the soil and many times provide longer lasting control. Green Palm Pest Control applies liquid insecticide to as many leaves as possible as a foliar spray, this type of application provides faster control and relief. Green Palm Pest Control recommends a fertilization plan for Ficus when infestations are observe. The health of the tree will help the eradication of the pest. As professionals sometimes the rotation of products may help with control, so our company uses about 100 different insecticides depending on the specific situation. Although your ficus tree or hedge may appear to be dying after losing most of it leaves, it may still be alive. If the twigs are still supple, the plant will produce new leaves in a few weeks. As soon as new growth is evident, a systemic insecticide applied to the soil may provide protection to the new growth.