Rhizo, Thanks so much for that photo. Now I know that the pest is called Oleander scale. One lady says she uses a yellow mouthwash, Cepacol or the yellow Listerine on the scale. I also read that the horticultural oil is effective.

Ok thanks that reassuring I have read loads of things about not composting tomatoes because of the risk of spreading virus's. I didn't take pics. Last year my corvettes and tomatoes were both very slow and didn't do well. Tomatoes had very yellow curled leaves and slow growth, low fruit. Similarly the Courgettes had mold and again slow growth - I had thought this was just due to poor wet weather. I I had thought it was maybe a magn deficiency in toms but nothing I did helped. I don't know if this is at all relevant but I also had my sprouting broccoli destroyed by cabbage whites and caterpillars!! (Not a good year!) probably just a coincidence but worth mentioning. Now, whiteflies have annihilated my honeysuckle but also my sage. Destroying almost all the leaves. All the plants are just outside. I could have tackled it before but us it's the middle of winter I haven't nipped out much, hence it gaining a hold. I have been told the frost might kill them off, do you think that's possible? i live in north wales. We have had a very, very, wet year. (Like many in the uk!) my garden is white washed walled and south facing so it should do brilliantly, but it hasn't been planted before so I am still working on the soil really. Determined this year will be better! Thanks for responding I'm new to this gardening lark and learning fast! Xx

Hi Everyone. L.G. - Here in Australia I've never seen White fly as a problem with bromeliads, vegetables yes, but not broms. I rarely use insecticides and when I do I never spray; I prefer to dunk the whole plant so that the insecticide only goes on the plant requiring it. I have an insecticide I sometimes use called Clensel, however it's possibly not available in your country. http://www.newapproach.com.au/?wpsc-product=clensel-insect-mite-killer-750ml It's made from natural ingredients with the main one I want to discus being Oil of Citronella which is also a natural insect repellent and the main reason I use this product. What I do, instead of spraying the plants, when ever I re-pot a plant, I paint or use a small hand sprayer to spray some of the mixed up concentrate around the turned over plastic lip of the pot as well as around the base and in this way I use it as a repellent rather than an insecticide and I find it keeps the insects away. With this in mind I have also tried with success, doing the same thing with the Oil of Citronella that is used for burning in insect repellent flares around BBQ's and I daresay you would more easily source this product than the insecticide I speak of. I would recommend you give it a try as it's relative inexpensive and should solve your problem naturally without spraying poisons around. All the best, Nev.

Kathy, coffee grounds will have zero effect for whiteflies. As a matter of fact, they can cause problems for plants grown in confined spaces. He needs to let us know the varieties of plants that are affected by these pests as well as more about the solarium.