Hello! I recently planted heirloom tomatoes in large self watering containers using black plastic mulch. I am already seeing signs of white flies and have aphids on a nearby plant (worried they'll travel). I read that silver mulch is great for this. Can I place silver mulch on top of the black mulch? Should I remove black mulch first? Also, should I still use the insecticidal spray? I'd love to avoid the spray if possible! Thank you!

My favorite spray, if you do use a spray is Azamax. Does not hurt honey bees, kids or pets. Gene

Thanks for this! I ordered some and it should be arriving today. Fingers crossed!

You ought to be able to blast many aphids off with a fine, hard spray of water. I've read that very few (or none) will climb back up onto the plant.

A friend had an aphid infestation outside (on lupines). He took a few days to think about it, then checked them again.

The aphids were gone, but there were lots of ladybugs, fat from having presumably dined on aphids.

Good luck!