I just started up my first small attempt at gardening and have already run into my first problem. I decided to plant some green beans and they've been beset upon by leaf miners within the first two weeks. They're infesting pretty much every plant. I called up my local agricultural extension and she basically said I made a mistake starting things in the summer and there's really not much I can do about them. Summer apparently isn't a good time to be planting here in central Florida. Supposedly they start going dormant in the Fall and I should've waited until about September before doing any actual seeding and such.

That said, is there anything that might be helpful? I've been reading around and Neem oil seems to be a big suggestion, though people mention that it's likely to burn the plants down here in zone 9b during the summer months. I've also been looking into using Spinosad, a natural pest control chemical that can kill the larvae when it's eaten, but then I run into the problem of it simply washing off during the daily rains we've been getting around here. Diatomaceous Earth may also be something I could use since it dries out the larvae once they leave the leaf and prevents them from getting into the soil below and growing.

However, those options only deal with the miners in the larvae stage. I was wondering whether there was anything I could plant or keep nearby that'd ward off the flies that land on the leaves and lay the eggs to begin with. Do herbs keep them at bay like regular flies and mosquitoes? Chives, oregano, mint, and the like? Are there any companion plants that's work? I've read that Lavender might help, or I can use trap plants like Velvetleaf to encourage the leaf miners to land on that instead of my green beans. Floating row covers were mentioned as well but those are a bit of an expensive option for me.

Any help would be appreciated!