The Rugose Whitefly formerly known as Gumbo Limbo Spirialing Whitefly also appears to attack a wide range of plants and palms of many varieties including woody ornamentals and fruit trees, it has been confirmed to attack over 60 different host plants including: Coconut Palm (appearing to be one of the worst affected) others include: Mango, Avocado, Live Oak, Black Olive, Gumbo Limbo, Cocoplum, White Bird of Paradise and many others. *(treated fruit trees should not be eaten as per product lable requirements). 

Adult whiteflies congregate on the undersides of the leaves to feed and reproduce. The female Rugose Whitefly lays her eggs in a

 spiral pattern on the leaves and also deposits a white, waxy substance on the eggs. The crawler stage hatches from the eggs and crawls around before it starts to feed with its “needle-like” mouthparts. This stage is very small and difficult to see. The crawler will molt and go through several immature stages some of these immature stages will secrete white filaments of wax all over the leaves. It will likely survive year round in the warm climate of south Florida. The most noticeable symptoms of a Rugose Whitefly infestation is the abundance of “honeydew”, which is another name for the whitefly’s excrements, the sticky urine and feces that the whitefly secretes constantly, that can get all over everything which is anywhere near to under the infested area and causes the growth of "black sooty mold" damaging whatever it lands on such as cars, pools, boats, docks, decking, outdoor furniture etc... Rugose Whitefly can reach high populations quickly and can be extremely damaging, this is why it is suggested that you begin treatment as soon as you notice the infestation to avoid as much dammage as possible!  Many local pool services all over south Florida have been completely overwhelmed with trying to keep the whitefly and their "honeydew" out of their customer's pools which is literally turning them a sticky, green, cloudy mess, clogging filters and possibly causing the pool pump to burn up. This is creating a nightmare for local pool owners and professional pool service providers that are just trying to keep their pools clean enough to use during a time when everyone wants to use their pools the most. No one wants to go in when the water looks like that!

 You may achieve excellent control of Rugose Whitefly with one of the methods listed below, but remember the white, waxy

 material and the sooty mold on the plant will take time to wear off unless physically washed off with soapy water. 

 Contact pyrethroid insecticides are typically sprayed on the foliage to kill adult whiteflies, coverage must be thorough to get the best results, particularly in cases like this when the insect is primarily on the underside of the leaves.  

Foliar systemic sprays of Tristar are very effective on adult whitefly giving both quick knockdown and good residual protection. A systemic neonicotinoid insecticide can be applied directly to the infested plant or to the soil.

 Systemic neonicotinoid insecticides can also be sprayed on the foliage, but often provide longer control when applied to the soil or trunk. 

 Soil applications of a systemic neonicotinoid include drenching the soil with a liquid neonicotinoid chemical or spreading a granular neonicotinoid formulation over the root area then watering it in properly. Some neonicotinoid products can also be applied as a basal trunk spray. We use the Arborjet system that offers a systemic neonicotinoid trunk injection of control products directly into the vascular tissue of the affected tree, this method safely applies the control product deep into the trunk which then moves up and throughout the canopy into the leaves. This method is very popular at resorts and public areas because the trees can be treated while sun bathers lounge right under them safely! We also use the Arborjet system here at Boca Delray Pest Control Inc. as part of the extensive arsenal of whitefly control products we provede for our customers. We use one or a combination of the above whitefly control methods to service our customers with the best treatments available!