NEVER do anything ... even oil.. w/o understanding what you are dealing with ...

crikey.. you sprayed them with oil ..... and now you want to do more????

are they even still there???

ken

i just had to answer you ken...I've had every book home from the library with regard to description of pests, analysis of disease. to that end I took leaves to penn state 's extension (in mid april) so far, no reply. I have tried to avoid serious chemicals, so in looking at 'organics' pictures, I can guess white fly, but have no way to know for sure. your CRIKEY doesn't help at all.

Any chance of a pic of the damage and the critters (or a more detailed description of them). Right now, all I know of the flies is that they are small (tiny/little). You mentioned wings but I've yet to see an unwinged fly. ;-)

tj

It sounds like you have boxwood leaf miner. Oil may have knocked out some adults, but you probably didn't eliminate the problem. A hard pruning and disposal of trimmings earlier (before adult emergence and egg laying) would help, as would systemic insecticides.

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/nurspest/boxwood_leafminer.htm

if you can actually ID the miners ...

'sounds like' is not good enough for me to take after a plant and prune it ... or spray it ....

please.. do NOT wing it ... find local experts ..and get an ID .. at a minimum.. post pix and see if the folks here can ID it ... then act

ken

I have had multiple calls and emails the last couple weeks, some with pics, of swarms of small reddish fly like insects on boxwood, and showing the typical leaf miner damage.

Boxwood LM adults fly and mate at the time Weigela bloom, which is now. Sometimes you don't need pictures to make the diagnosis.