FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – As tiny gumbo limbo spiraling whiteflies swarm trees in Broward County, the city of Fort Lauderdale is trying to exterminate the tiny bugs.
Fort Lauderdale resident Marc Gigliotti says the whiteflies are swarming his gumbo limbo and ficus trees.
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"They almost look like dust. That's why I never noticed it before," Gigliotti said.
The fly is the rugose spiraling whitefly, also known as the gumbo limbo spiraling whitefly.
Fort Lauderdale parks supervisor and city forester Gene Dempsey said the problem is pervasive.
"In certain areas, there's very large populations and you can get clouds of flies," he said.
Dempsey said the whitefly was first discovered in the United States in Miami-Dade County in March 2009.
In months, the pests spread to southern portions of Broward County, and now their eggs and white protective film are coating tree leaves farther north.
"If you look on the underside of the leaves, you can see where the fly is actually laying its eggs. And the reason it's called the spiraling white fly [is because of] the little circles, spirals, it's creating," he said.
Unlike the ficus whitefly, which has killed ficus trees in South Florida, experts believe these pests may just make a mess. However, they are known to have a broader range of hosts.
"This whitefly is a little bit larger and slower-moving that the ficus whitefly, so it's more visible," Dempsey said.
The city of Fort Lauderdale is now waging war against the tiny bug by spraying chemicals into trees' root systems.
Dempsey said systemic root-spraying with pesticides found at any nursery or hardware store is the best way for residents to treat their own trees at home.
Experts believe the spiraling whitefly will continue to makes its move north.
"It's probably going to move up to Palm Beach, so get ready up there," Dempsey said.
For more information on the whiteflies and what you should do if you find them on your plants, click here .