How to Get Rid of Leaf Miners on Tomato Plants
Leafminers are flying insects that actually embed themselves in the leaves of a tomato plant, which is why they can be so hard to get rid of. Although these bugs do not kill the tomatoes, they do hinder the growth because they cause damage to the plant's leaves, which interrupts the photosynthesis that allows the tomato plant to thrive. By taking a few precautionary measures, you can prevent these insects from overrunning your plant and make it much easier to get rid of the leafminers if you do find them. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Inspect your tomato seedlings for leafminer evidence before you transplant them outside. Look for white spots where larvae may exist and search for any white, wiggly trails that indicate this bug has been feeding on your plant. Avoid planting any seedlings that are infected because they are more susceptible to this insect and can easily contaminate your other tomato plants.
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Introduce beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps, to the beginning of the tomato plant's growing season. These natural predators feed on the larvae of any invading leafminer insects.
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Hang yellow sticky traps near your plants to catch and kill any nearby leafminers. Adult insects are very attracted to the yellow color and the sticky texture keeps them attached so that they do not do any further damage.
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Apply a layer of mulch on the ground around your tomato plant. If there is any leafminer larvae in the plant's soil, the hatching insects have a very difficult time reaching the surface with this additional barrier to go through.
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Inspect your growing tomatoes daily and pull of any damaged leaves to get them away from other foliage as quickly as possible. To ensure these insects do not come back, seal the leaf in a bag before disposing of it.
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Remove any potential sources of leafminer insects. Get rid of old tomato plants immediately and keep weeds away so that leafminers do not have an attractive place to dwell next to your tomatoes.
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