Help needed to confirm if these are indeed whitefly larvae and what I can do.
It's October (going into winter here) so I brought my herbs indoors a few weeks ago, only to have this pest.
Questions: 1. Can anything be done to remove the white spots from the leaves? I think this is the larvae. Right now I've moved the herbs back outside and the whiteflies have disappeared (too cold), but as it's currently 45-55 F here (7-12 C), I'm worried how long my plants (esp basil and parsley) will last.
Can I eat the parsley with the white dots? Even with aggressive spraying, vacuuming the leaves, and scrubbing with water, I can't remove them. I doubt they're harmful, but not very palatable. I'm seriously considering chopping off the parsley early for the winter to end this pest.
Will these spread to other herbs? There's also snow-like shedding in the soil. So far, these have not spread to my other herbs beside it (basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, chives). Are any of these others significantly at risk, or just parsley? Should I trash the soil (these are in pots) completely rather than risk larvae next season?
Please share if you can help.