The environmental concern, when it comes to aluminum, is in the process of making aluminum products. That is harmful to the environment. However, aluminum reflective mulch is not shown to be harmful when used in vegetable gardens. The aluminum would have to be buried in the soil and left for years before a noticeable amount would appear. However, if you are concerned, reflective mulches do not contain aluminum, so we could suggest that as an alternative.

Wow— Well, you already know more about it than we do. We researched several “.edu” web sites and can find nothing re safety or the like. Perhaps someone reading can shed light on the matter … ? Sorry, Max—

Hi, Darlene, You may be right about the fertilizer. Excess nitrogen, such as in “quick” fertilizers, over–stimulates foliage/plant growth causes aphids to reproduce more quickly. Use slow-release and/or organic fertilizers. 

Hui Jennifer,

If the damage is so great that the leave couldn’t possibly be photosynthesizing, then sure go ahead and remove them. If they are only mildly munched, just let them be. Good for you for choosing to bring in some beneficials!

Yes, neem oil works well on whiteflies. Great idea!

Well, the first thought we have is to inquire of the source you had a year ago. The National Gardening Association has this advice: Whitefly is one of gardenings most difficult pests to control. The little fly-like insects with white wings hang out on the undersides of leaves where they multiply rapidly in warm weather. Whiteflies damage leaves and suck sap from the plant; if the infestation is severe, this can lead to death in young plants and decline in older ones. Persistence is the key to control. I have had good luck controlling these pests by spraying them with a mixture of dishwashing liquid, such as Palmolive with lemon, and water. A good squirt of soap to a gallon of water should do the trick. Place the mixture in spray bottle and spray leaves, both sides well, at least twice a week when the flies are active. You may need to continue this treatment for many weeks. Spray on an overcast day, in the very early morning or late afternoon to avoid damage from the sun. Also worth a try: Yellow sticky tape placed near plants – Yellow colored traps that attract insects with their color and snare them with a sticky substance. Release Encarsia Formosa, a tiny parasitic wasp which will eat them. Available from some nurseries and seed companies. Pyrethrin spray – an organic pesticide made from chrysanthemums. Encourage Hummingbirds. They love to dine on whiteflies. Hang feeders and keep them clean and full of simple syrup (a mixture made from 1 part sugar dissolved in 4 parts hot water). Plant flowers they adore, those with tubular flowers such as fuchsia, foxglove, salvias, bee balm. Good luck!

Angela, such a delicate plant … If there are many bugs as you suggest, there may be no saviing it. Showering it will probably not help. It’s a Mediterranean/rock garden plant outdoors, and an annual typically in cold winter areas. It may have become too wet.

You might try setting up yellow sticky traps (found in garden centers), away from children or pets. These are usually used more for monitoring than control, but in an indoor environment, including a greenhouse, it can be more effective to control the adults, which are attracted to the color and get stuck. Also, if you have any houseplants that are infested with whiteflies, be sure to check the leaves regularly, and remove any older leaves that are severely infested with the larvae and pupae. Look for tiny oval eggs on leaf undersides. Wingless nymphs look sort of like pale scale insects, flattened and oval, and do not move after the first instar. Keep handpicking and controlling with the traps, and you might be able to overcome a mild infestation. Make sure that the insects are not easily coming in from the outside, or coming in on infected plants taken in from outdoors.

Hi, Tracy: You can find all kinds of recipes for homemade whitefly sprays (see below, for example), but all involve some sort of soap to basically dry out the flies. Try slowly stirring together a mixture of 3 quarts water, 1 tablespoon dishwashing soap (not detergent, not antibacterial), and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar, and spraying. If this doesn't seem to have had any effect after 3 days, repeat, but with 2 quarts of water, not 3. Good luck!

Instead of using an insecticide try a homemade soap spray.
In a 32-ounce spray bottle mix 2 parts rubbing alcohol, 5 parts water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Spray the mixture on the foliage of the plant.

It's true that it's best to water tomatoes directly into the soil and to avoid getting water on top of the leaves. But, to get rid of white flies you need to spray the undersides of the leaves with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Repeat the application every three days until no more whiteflies are present.

Unfortunately, white flies can withstand very cold temperatures. All of these applications are deadly to the white fly: insecticidal soap, neem oil, horticultural oil, permethrin, bifenthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin. The key is persistance. Get the insecticide in contact with the insect. It is critical to direct your spray upwards under the leaves.

You can try some of the tips suggested here and see if you can get rid of some. The best strategy is to prevent problems from developing in your garden. Import natural enemies to provide adequate control of whiteflies. Remove plants that host high populations of whiteflies. Whiteflies in early stages of development can be controlled by removing infested leaves, vacuuming plants, or spraying with water.

Hi Sherry,
The soap spray will only kill soft-bodied pests like the whiteflies. You can also try to vaccuum the flies off the rose (early in the morning or late evening when they are sluggish) or hang sticky traps around the bush.

If conditions are favorable, the ladybugs will stick around. It sounds like they will have plenty of food!

Whiteflies, apparently, are active year round (depending on the climate) and there are hundreds of types—and types for specific plants—but, thankfully, only a few that bother our plants. But, of course, when those few types multiply, look out!
Nematodes are not the solution (as far as we know). There are some natural enemies, but—it seems from our research—that these are effective against specific strains of whiteflies. For example, see here: http://biocontrol.ucr.edu/bemi... It relates to greenhouse whiteflies/plants, but you get the idea. To that point, however, it's possible that your whiteflies can in with/on your plants.
As noted above, ladybugs and spiders might help to control the population. Other than that, we recommend insecticidal soap or try the Epsom salt solution below from Tom. See other comments below for other ideas.

Whiteflies can be determined with strong-smelling plants—and that may be how/why the strong aroma of incense is working. The marigolds should help, and nasturiums, too.
Another idea for deterining whiteflies is reflective mulch. Speaking of mulch,make sure that your plants have some. It can be store-boughht bag stuff or even newspaper. It will help the soil retain moisture, which your plants will want more and more of as the season progresses. Good luck, Martin!

See the recommendations for sprays, traps and predetors on this page. Be diligent. If you are using sprays or just a water spray, spray daily in the evening and/or early morning. And make sure to spray the underside of the leaves.

Hi Oscar,
Only use healthy leaves to make tea and destroy infected leaves. See tips on how to get rid of whiteflies on this page. Insecticidal soap is one of the recommendations.

Insecticidal soap is only meant to be used on plants. We'd not recommend using it for general house pest control. We are puzzled why whiteflies would be in areas far from plants (such as blankets), as their food is plant juices rather than fabric, etc. There are other insects that look similar to whiteflies, such as various gnats (fruit flies, fungus gnats, etc.) and tiny moths, such as clothes moths. If you are not sure what insects you have, we'd suggest that you contact a pest control expert, who could identify the pest and make recommendations as to how to control them. For example, the webbing clothes moth (not the case-making variety) can be controlled by placing pheromone traps made specifically for that species in appropriate areas.
For identification of some common household pests, you might check out:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG...
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG...
https://insects.tamu.edu/field...
http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/...
http://www.nwpotatoresearch.co...
If you are sure these are whiteflies, check where they are coming from, such as if you have any plants, or food, that might be luring them. Toss out any infested food; use recommended controls on the plants. Because the flies are appearing in other areas of the house, you might try placing yellow sticky traps in various locations (out of the way of children or pets) to try to catch the adult whiteflies.
Keep up with the vacuuming and laundering, to catch any eggs or nymphs/larvae that might be hidden on surfaces (such as carpets)--although for whiteflies, they would usually be right on the plant itself.
Hope this helps!
 

If you can them early enough, you can use the insecticidal soap. Other solutions are:
Apply neem oil.
Set out yellow sticky traps.
Use a handheld vacuum to eliminate whiteflies by hand.

Spray on a cool, cloudy morning or spray in the cool evening. You can spray often as it's not a toxic solution. Spray on all sides of leaves, especially undersides. Whiteflies can be challenging so you might spray every couple days.

Several species of white flies do significantly infest ornamentals in Florida--gardenias, coconut palms, and others being more common hosts, but many other ornamentals are affected. We'd recommend that you or your neighbor check if the banyan tree is indeed having a white fly problem or some other cultural, pest, or disease problem. If white fly, then there are several biological and chemical controls to use, depending on the species. It would be best if one could take a sample to your local Cooperative Extension or garden center, or have an arborist/landscape professional take a look, so that the proper controls could be recommended.
 
In general, white fly larvae and adults feed on the undersides of the leaves, sucking sap. This may leave spots on the top sides of leaves; the leaves may eventually yellow and fall off. The honeydew that the insects excrete can lead to sooty mold.
For more information, see:
 
http://www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m...
 
http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu...
 
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/n...

Hi Benjamin,
The instructions are above the comments on this page.
2 parts rubbing alcohol, 5 parts water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Spray the mixture on the foliage of garden plants that are susceptible to these pests.

With whiteflies, it all depends on where you live. They love warm weather and will breed more rapidly at the peak of summer. In parts of California and the South, they breed all year, moving from one host to another as plants are harvested or dry up. Only cold weather kills them off. Therefore, it's often best to plant early in the spring to get the plants to full maturity before white fly populations grow. They are sluggish in cold temperatures.

There are are different stages of whiteflies on your plant. You have to repeat the treatment on a regular basis until they are gone.
Try neem oil. Most garden centers carry it. Spray the soil also, that's where the whiteflies lay their eggs.
They are attreacted to yellow. Cover a few yellow plastic cups with motor oil and put them out in the garden to trap the flies.