My entire cherry tomato harvest almost went down the drain because of a hidden pest

I was watering my plants in Chicago last Tuesday and saw a single, tiny whitefly, which led me to discover a full-blown infestation on the undersides of all my leaves that I had to spray down with neem oil for a week straight to save them. Anyone else had to deal with whiteflies on their balcony?

3 comments

3 Comments

coleman.avery2mo ago

Ever notice how those little jerks wait until you're feeling proud of your plants before they show up? I had a whole batch of basil get wrecked because I missed the early signs. Felt like a real genius watching my pest control turn into an all you can eat buffet for them. Took me two rounds of soap spray and moving the plants around to finally get it under control. Those whiteflies are sneaky enough to make you question your own eyesight.

victor_adams952mo ago

@coleman.avery I actually think catching them early is the easy part.

the_ruby2mo ago

Honestly though, what do you even count as early? Because I swear I'll see one or two and think it's fine, then blink and it's an infestation. Is it the first bug or the first bit of damage on a leaf? Tbh my eyesight is not good enough for this.