How to Use whitefly in a Sentence
whitefly
noun-
Tens of millions of years ago, a tiny, milky-white bug known as a whitefly snatched a gene from its host, an ancient plant.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 13 Jan. 2022
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Spray whiteflies and aphids off with a sharp stream of water using a Bug Blaster hose end nozzle.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 May 2023
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The wasp lays its eggs on young whiteflies, which are eaten by hatching larvae.
—Sindya N. Bhanoo, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2016
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Pests and Problems Night Sky petunia plants can be bothered by aphids, whiteflies, and slugs.
—Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 May 2023
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This treatment should also help avoid mealybugs, mites, thrips, and whiteflies.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 15 June 2023
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Lacewings Both adult lacewings and their larvae eat aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs, scales, thrips, and whiteflies.
—The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, 11 May 2016
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All parts of the plant can be toxic if ingested –– except, alas, for such pests as cabbage worms, spider mites, aphids and whiteflies.
—R. Daniel Foster, latimes.com, 22 June 2018
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Flea beetles and whiteflies can attack, especially if the plants are drought-stressed.
—The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 31 July 2018
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Look beyond the black coating for insects including mealybugs, whiteflies and scale that are sucking juices from the plant.
—Tom MacCubbin, OrlandoSentinel.com, 27 May 2017
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Whiteflies are the scourge of many farms, damaging tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other crops.
—Sindya N. Bhanoo, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2016
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The key with whitefly — whether on your hibiscus or Brussels sprouts — is to eradicate it early before the numbers build.
—Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2019
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White traps lure whiteflies, plant bugs, cucumber beetles, and flea beetles.
—The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, 18 Dec. 2017
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But the BtPMaT1 gene neutralizes these toxins, so the whitefly can continue to destroy crops undisturbed.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Mar. 2021
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The whitefly would have to ingest those phenolic glycosides when feeding on the tomato plant and that would usually kill it.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Mar. 2021
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Their diet includes aphids, caterpillars, mites, whiteflies and insects’ and mites’ eggs.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2023
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Aphids, mites, thrips, mealybugs, scale and whitefly are typical hitchhikers, and could be lurking under foliage, on stems, or even among the roots.
—Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2022
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Protect Rinse off the foliage on all your plants several times during the hot season to reduce pest pressure, namely pesky mites and whiteflies.
—Deanna Kizis, Sunset Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023
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Then, when the virus infected the whitefly, the plant DNA spread and was eventually incorporated into the bug’s genome.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Mar. 2021
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How to grow it: Think about kind options to maintain a healthy garden, such as having kids plant garden helpers like thyme and tansy, which both have strong oils that deter pesky bugs like aphids and whiteflies.
—Kier Holmes, National Geographic, 29 May 2020
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Another easy way to reduce aphid, mealybug and whitefly populations on sturdy plants is to knock them off with a strong spray of water in the morning.
—Debbie Arrington, sacbee, 22 Dec. 2017
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The crop is also susceptible to viruses transmitted by the common pest known as the whitefly, which can devastate farms.
—Wired Staff, Wired, 13 Dec. 2019
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Protect To control pests like aphids and whiteflies, introduce ladybugs and lacewings.
—Heather Arndt Anderson, Sunset Magazine, 16 Mar. 2020
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The foliage of hardy hibiscus is sometimes a target for whiteflies, aphids and Japanese beetles.
—Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2023
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From a distance, it could be mistaken for a ficus hedge, but does not seem bothered by all the problems that plague Ficus benjamina, like whitefly, thrips and scale.
—Kenneth Setzer, miamiherald, 27 June 2018
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Humans, too, could help by engineering crops that turn the whitefly’s gene off, making the insect vulnerable once again.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2021
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Pests controlled: Yellow traps attract whiteflies, fruit flies, male winged scales, leafhoppers, fungus gnats, midges, male winged mealybugs and leafminers, thrips, psyllids, and winged aphids.
—The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, 18 Dec. 2017
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Figs are really cool plants with a slightly bad rep in South Florida in part because of overuse of Ficus benjamina hedges and their unwieldy roots and problems with whitefly and scale.
—Kenneth Setzer, miamiherald, 11 July 2018
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The whitefly carries two viruses that together destroy over $1 billion worth of cassava in Sub-Saharan Africa each year.
—Kieron Monks, CNN, 11 July 2017
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Also, when the whiteflies are under control, the sooty mold gradually disappears.
—Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 23 Nov. 2019
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Neem oil is labeled for soft-bodied pests such as aphids, beetle larvae, caterpillars, leafhoppers, mealybugs, thrips, spider mites, and whiteflies.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 May 2023
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whitefly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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