Getting Rid White Flies on My Gardenias Without Chemicals

Spray your gardenia shrub with a strong stream of water from a garden hose at least once a week to dislodge adult whiteflies. Make sure you spray the undersides of leaves where the pests congregate.

Vacuum the pests off gardenia foliage once a month with a shop vac or a small, handheld vacuum cleaner. Vacuum early in the morning when the cooler temperatures make the pests sluggish. Place the vacuum bag inside of a large plastic baggie and stick it in the freezer overnight to kill the whiteflies.

Attract whitefly-eating hummingbirds by planting colorful, tubular flowers in your landscape and hanging feeders near your gardenias. Keep the hummingbird feeders full of a sweet syrup consisting of 1 part sugar and 4 parts hot water.

Purchase ladybugs, parasitic wasps, lacewings or minute pirate bugs at a garden center, and release them directly onto your gardenia plant. All of these beneficial insects feed on whiteflies and help control populations naturally.

Place yellow sticky traps around your gardenias. Locate the traps so that the sticky side is facing the plant but not in direct sunlight. Remove insects and other debris from the traps periodically to keep the surface sticky. Use a sticky trap as a last resort because it can kill beneficial insects too.

Place a 2-inch layer of reflective plastic or aluminum foil mulch around your gardenias to make it hard for the bugs to find them. Once hot summer weather arrives, remove the reflective mulch so the gardenia roots don't get too hot.

Mix 5 to 8 tablespoons of liquid dish soap into 1 gallon of water. Spray the solution on the undersides and tops of gardenia leaves at least twice a week while whitefly populations persist.

Remove any gardenia plant that chronically attracts large whitefly populations. While this might seem like a drastic move, it can prevent the pests from infesting your other landscape plants.