Gem, there is a FAQ for whiteflies, however, I do believe it is of limited use in the treatment of whiteflies. The yellow sticky traps are more of an indicator that you have them instead of a cure. Ants are only there because they are attracted to honeydew that the whitefies are producing. Getting rid of the ants won't solve the problem either as they are only there because of the honeydew. They are not "harvested" like aphids. So what to do... To gain a further understanding of the problem, you have to know why whiteflies are tought to get rid of. Whiteflies have a short life cycle 6-8 days. In this time they live to procreate, they and their larvae suck out the juices out of your plants, and then add the sooty mold (from the honeydew) to further weaken the plants. You have to be persistent with them as no solution is easy. You have several easy non toxic choices. Right now since you have them, I would suggest you use start spraying them off every day, twice a day. You have to do this for at least 2 weeks before you start seeing some results. You could also augment this by using insecticidal soap or a hydrogen peroxide solution (3 parts water to 1 part peroxide + a little dishsoap so it can stick to the leaves better) also on a daily basis. Since the lifecycle of a whitefly is so short--by then they have laid eggs which will have hatched and produced more whiteflies--the cycle goes on. In their larvael stage, they are almost inductructible. You have to get them in their adult stage. By going after them for 2 weeks, you should be able to get rid of 3 generations of whiteflies. Once you notice that the population has decreased, you can use water a couple times a week to control the population. To control the population in the future, underplant plants sensitive to whiteflies like tomatoes, hibiscus, and others with plants that attract beneficial insects. This method is called companion planting (I attached a link). This includes such plants as marigolds, sweet allysum, and dill among others. These plants help attract beneificial insects such as lacewings whose larvae devour whiteflies and other pests by the hundreds. Other plants actually repel certain pests so you don't have to worry about them in the future. I prefer to let nature take care of the pest problem itself. It just takes a little planning beforehand and these problems will be taken care of for you. Beneficial insects and companion planting will do a great job in pest control if you give it a chance. Good Luck and HTH Here is a link that might be useful: Companion Planting

The hoover fly (syrphid fly) is attracted to flowers. The adults mostly eat pollen and nectar. Some flowers that are especially attractive include wild carrot or Queen AnneÂs lace, wild mustard, sweet alyssum, coriander, dill and other small flowered herbs. Another name for the hoover fly is flower fly or hover fly. It is the larva of the hoover fly that will feed on the larva of the white flies. They also feed on aphids, thrips and other small insects. I don't know anywhere to buy them, perhaps someone else does. I have included a link to a very helpful post on Gardenweb on controlling white flies. Hope this helps, Carole Here is a link that might be useful: Controlling White Flies

After dealing with these pests for another 7 months, absolutely nothing has worked. Not soapy sprays, not worm castings, not garlic sprays, baking soda sprays, EM1, nothing! Something that no one mentioned to me is that when you use most of those sprays, the plant drops all of its flowers and fruits. Since I am trying to grow vegetables, that was a waste of time. From what I have noticed, the adults flies make the plant suffer, but can't kill it completely. Its when they lay eggs, those sticky, white, fluffy things, that a plant will die. White flies love to lay eggs on my peppers and tomatillos. What I do is spray the undersides of the affected leaves with plain water. This causes the white fluffy stuff to wash away and I think kill the insect. All that is left is a black speck, I don't think the fluff comes back. When I spray next, the black specks fall off the leaf easily. More show up each day but the plants are actually surviving now and keeping their flowers/veggies.

Hi, Rhizo_1 is right about the neem oil. I lost a beautiful deadora pine tree to pine tree borers and then they started to infest my eucalyptus tree. I had some neem oil that hadn't been used so I put one treatment on it and all the PTB's died. I lost only half of that tree, which was cut and burned. Also, I have an orange tree that has been in my back yard for several years, but no blooms. White flies brought in black, sooty mold and then leaf miners had their way with it. That tree looked so dilapildated. Then, I thought, "why not?". So, out came the neem oil. The white flies went away, the leaf miners died, and the black sooty mold started peeling off like wisps of thin paper. Ever since, I treat that tree (and others) in the early spring with neem oil, kills the white flies that still show up every year right on time, and get lots of delicious oranges. Just follow the instructions on the container and all should work well for you. I only wish I'd had this stuff when my gardenias were literally killed by those horrible little pests. Olyveoil...(O: >