Whitefly killer cards - encarsia formosa

• Organic natural pest control
• Simple to use
• Long-lasting effectiveness

This easy-to use natural organic whitefly killer is supplied as a number of cards with tiny parasitised whitefly pupae attached to them.

They contain the tiny parasite wasp of whitefly, Encarsia formosa, which will emerge from the pupae on the cards to seek out whitefly pupae to devour.

Once they have located them, they lay an egg inside the whitefly pupae, which turns it black in colour and kills the whitefly. The parasitized whitefly pupae then go on to produce a new Encarsia formosa wasp.

This process is one of the oldest forms of biological control and has been used for many years. One huge advantage it has over traditional chemical pesticides is that the whitefly will not become resistant to attack by these tiny parasites.

Encarsia formosa are only active at temperatures of 17°C plus - temperatures above this will progressively increase their activity and effectiveness.

Even at higher temperatures, their life cycle is still quite long, so it may take a while before you see black scale on the underside of leaves.

For best results, introduce whitefly killer as soon as you notice the first signs of infestation, before they become too well established. A staggered programme of introductions is the most effective approach.