White fly in compost
Matty2
Posts: 4,817
Every time I open my current compost bin (a dalek) to put debris in I am swamped with white fly which seem to have taken up residence in it.
I suspect I put some brassica leaves in a while ago which had them, as I had white fly in the summer.
Any one any suggestions how to get rid of them before they take over the garden when the weather warms up??
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Tricky! You could try white fly traps hung on the inside of the bin.
Your compost may be to wet, a good breeding ground for pests, in which case take sufficient out to add a layer of shredded paper then cover with the compost you've taken out, this should help dry the compost a little and the layer on top will help the paper decompose.
Whitefly die in cold weather so something else to try would be to leave the lid off your darlek during the night when particularly cold weather is expected...ie... frost but when not expecting rain, this will expose the flies and larva to cold extremes. No rain means your compost isn't exposed to further moisture.
As FG advises a fly trap hung inside the lid is also a good plan or spraying organically with a spray of garlic and olive oil may help. Aphids breath through their skin and this should kill them.
Not sure how helpful this will be...others may be able to provide further advise
Thank you both
I did wonder about leaving the lid off, I have loads of shredded paper waiting to go somewhere and somewhere have some sticky traps.
Just can't seem to get dry weather though!!!!!
Anyone else any advice would be appreciated.
In case there is still some interest in this topic. I lift the lid and spray a 5 second burst of RAID (wasp and fly killer) throw the lid back on a bit sharpish, job done!