The present invention utilizes a fatty acid as an attractant in a method of attracting whiteflies. By using a fatty acid as a whitefly attractant, it is possible to attract whiteflies to a desired location. The fatty acid can be used in a lure or other propagator to provide a dispersion of fatty acid in the air, the variation in the concentration of the fatty acid in the air being such that a whitefly is attracted to the lure as the source of the fatty acid. The use of a fatty acid as an attractant results in significantly higher levels of attraction, as measured by the number of whiteflies attracted to a sticky trap, as compared to the use of color alone.