The whitefly is a common pest in horticulture and causes a weakening of the plant. This can disrupt growth, deformation, yellowing of the leaf and/or leaf loss. The whitefly control is important and can be done with biological and/or chemical means. View the entire range of whitefly control pesticides.

The whitefly's natural enemies are parasitic wasps and predatory mites. The natural enemies mainly fight the first stages of the whitefly. Whitefly is a common pest in professional horticulture and causes great damage worldwide. The white fly thrives in many different crops. However, it is very important to distinguish two different species of whitefly: the greenhouse whitefly and the tobacco whitefly. The greenhouse whitefly is one of the best known pests worldwide. Besides the fact that whitefly damages the leaves by puncturing the plant cells, there is a risk that whitefly spreads harmful viruses in the crop. It is therefore very important to detect and control whitefly in time. A good company hygiene is an important part. If you do spot whitefly in the crop, you can control it biologically with the use of natural enemies, such as:

• Wasp Encarsia formosa parasitizes the larvae greenhouse whitefly by laying eggs. After hatching the eggs they penetrate the host, causing the larva of the whitefly to die.
• Predatory mite Transeius montdorensis fights both whitefly and thrips and can be used in dark periods as well as in warm conditions.
• Predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii prefers the non-mobile stages of whitefly. It is recommended to use swirskii in an early stage of whitefly development.

Besides predatory mites and wasps, the predatory beetle Delphastus catalinae and predatory bug Macrolophus are also used for the biological control of whitefly. Especially macrolophus has a preference for whitefly, but can also be used against other pests. When biological control of whitefly is not entirely possible, then it is recommended to correct by using chemical pesticides. Our specialists wrote an article about how you can control whitefly. In this article the damage image of the greenhouse whitefly, the life cycle and the possibilities of whitefly control are discussed. Our specialist can explain which natural enemies can be used for whitefly control and organic whitefly control.

The parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa is used as a natural enemy against whitefly. The parasitic wasp has an excellent ability to search because it needs the whitefly for reproduction. On the one hand Encarsia feeds on larvae of the second larval stage by emptying the prey. On the other hand, she lays her eggs in the larvae of the third and fourth stage whitefly, causing the pest insect to die. From the dead larvae the new young parasitic wasps emerge, continuing the population. The great advantage of Encarsia formosa is that the population can develop faster than whitefly, which gives you quick control of the whitefly. In the assortment you will find several products that contain the natural enemy Encarsia, such as ENCARcontrol. ENCARcontrol, produced by AgroBío, comes in cardboard cards on which the eggs of the parasitic wasp are located. The packaging is available in 50 or 250 cards. ENCARcontrol is also available as sprinkle medium with 15000 pupae in a 500 ml bottle.

The predatory bug Marcrolophus pygmaeus is used as natural enemies against whitefly, for which it has a great preference. The predatory bug eats both eggs and adult pupae. Per day the predatory bug sucks 40 to 50 whitefly eggs empty. Moreover, Macrolophus can be used both preventively and curatively. In the assortment you will find various products containing the natural enemy Macrolophus, such as MACROcontrol. MACROcontrol, produced by AgroBío, is available in a bottle with 500 adults + nymphs. The product is also available in packaging with 500 nymphs. Put the predatory bugs in groups of dozens in white fly hot spots. In the build-up phase it is possible that you have to feed the predatory bugs to maintain the population.

For biological control of whitefly there are several possibilities. Do you want to buy biological crop protection to control whitefly? Then you've come to the right place at Royal Brinkman. These products above will not necessarily be approved or authorized in your country. Please check with the appropriate authority in your country as to whether you may legally use a product. Do you have questions or would you like advice on biological control of greenhouse whitefly? Feel free to contact our specialists - on workdays you will receive an answer within 24 hours.