Super small white flying bugs on my container tomato plants.

[domromer]

I went outside and noticed a bunch of tiny white spots on my tomato plant. I shook the plant a bit and the white spots started flying. The bugs were tiny. Looked like specs of dust. Anyone have any idea what the bigs are? Can I treat them with soapy water? I live in Tucson Arizona. I'm not sure if that makes a difference in identifying the said bugs.

 

[bid]

Hard to say without seeing them, but a likely culprit would be whiteflies. They can be treated with an insecticidal soap spray. Usually they will hide on the underside of the leaves, so you have to be sure and spray underneath. Pesky because of a short reproductive cycle, so you have to keep after them until you are positive they have been eradicated.

This is from memory so don't trust it:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS dish soap
Mix together and then take 2 TBS of the oil/soap mix and combine with 1 cup water.
Thats a homemade spray.

I always test one plant rather than spraying everything at the same time, especially with some concoction I have made myself. There are sprays available you can buy that contain Neem oil as well.

Hope this helps and good luck.

edited because I knew my memory was faulty

 

[patandchickens]

Flying white specks is for sure whiteflies. Get after them seriously NOW, because every day they get going more they become far more difficult to control. Spray frequently and vigorously, making sure to get the undersides of leaves in particular.

I have read that commercial insecticidal soaps do not set plants' growth and harvest back as much as homemade concoctions, for whatever it's worth.

Good luck,

Pat