Shriveled new growth. Insects on plants

[CrazyConure]

Eggplants and pepper plants are affected to the point that new growth is stunted.

I see whiteflies and aphids on them, but it looks nowhere near an infestation. However, new growth is twisted, shriveled, with very slow growth. I bought this spray on Fridayhttps://www.arbico-organics.com/product/5053/mealybug-control-deciduous-fruit-tress?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi570leiu6AIVBonICh0ofw1AEAQYASABEgLhm_D_BwE

The whiteflies flew away as I sprayed. And 2 days later they are all back.

Tell me what to do. I’ve heard of yellow sticky traps. Do they work?

 

[Chuck]

Eggplants and pepper plants are affected to the point that new growth is stunted.

I see whiteflies and aphids on them, but it looks nowhere near an infestation. However, new growth is twisted, shriveled, with very slow growth. I bought this spray on Fridayhttps://www.arbico-organics.com/product/5053/mealybug-control-deciduous-fruit-tress?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi570leiu6AIVBonICh0ofw1AEAQYASABEgLhm_D_BwE

The whiteflies flew away as I sprayed. And 2 days later they are all back.

Tell me what to do. I’ve heard of yellow sticky traps. Do they work?

Sorry to hear about this. It sounds like the whitefly has taken hold and once they have are a little difficult to exterminate but, here is what I have done in the past. First, if you can separate the plants as far from each other as you can since you are growing in bags. Then use a spinosad based product both as a SOIL DRENCH AND AS A SPRAY. Spray both sides of the leaf. You should do this twice. Wait 4 days between applications. This will knockdown the majority of them. Then the next morning or evening spray with Neem Oil mainly on the underside of the leaves and on the stems. This will kill the eggs. An organic vegetable gardener only needs three (3) products to control any pest he may come across. Spinosad, Bt and Neem Oil. All are completely safe to humans and pets.
The reason that they came back after 2 days was primarily because of a new hatch. Yellow sticky traps are OK for letting you know that you are going to have a problem in a few days but are not for control of an infestation. If you are going to get traps get the blue color trap as well. It is for thrips insects

 

[CrazyConure]

Separating them is not going to be possible because I only have one area that receives sunlight.

I started with Neem oil right now I’m going to have to get a bottle of spinosad.

 

[Chuck]

Separating them is not going to be possible because I only have one area that receives sunlight.

I started with Neem oil right now I’m going to have to get a bottle of spinosad. Are sprays the only effective way to remove these bugs? I just checked, and my determinant tomato plant is infested with the whiteflies too.

how do large commercial organic farmers avoid the aphids and whiteflies? They have a ton of plants at once. I doubt they can spray each leave top and bottom. How do they manage it?

It is best to start with the spinosad and then go to the Neem. I only suggested moving them so as to minimize the numbers that could get on the plant at one time.
Sometimes commercial growers do have infestations but only rarely because they keep traps out at all times and the traps let them know if any whitefly are around. Whitefly is mainly an indoor or greenhouse problem. It is much easier to get rid of a few thousand whitefly than a few million. And commercial growers do spray their plants, a lot, but they mostly use non-organic compounds. One way to keep aphids from becoming a problem is to spray the plants with liquid seaweed. LS changes the "skin" of the plants to something tougher or thicker, something that the aphids do not like. Aphids are much easier to get rid of than whitefly. Just get a hose end sprayer and spray soapy water on the plants once every couple of weeks or so.
The commercial growers that I have seen lately use towable boom sprayers and they almost atomize water. It comes out like a thick mist or fog and covers every inch of the plant, so spraying really isn't an issue with them. When I grew tomatoes commercially back in the 1970's I sprayed with a backpack sprayer but I only had 13 acres and only sprayed for tomato hornworms so it wasn't all that bad.

 

[oneeye]

On every watering day, spray plants with a strong blast of water to knock whiteflies off the leaves. Spray the bottom of each leaf since whiteflies tend to hang out there and lay their eggs. Spray plants with insecticidal soap or cold-pressed neem oil, paying attention to the underside of the leaves. Yellow Stickies Work best. I use yellow stickies everywhere in indoor and in my outdoor container plants too. I just lay sticky side up in the containers and on watering days I just remove them to water. Its best to use them when you first see flying bugs on the plants. .