How to Get Rid of Leafminers

Leaf miners are small bugs that invade gardens. These insects are the larvae of flies, beetles, or moths, and they feed on common plants inside gardens. This damages the plants and can eventually kill them if enough of the plant is consumed. One of the biggest struggles for any gardener is to find a solution to leaf miners that will not affect the plants in his garden. Since these pests are in the larval stage, the most effective way to fight them is to kill them as eggs.

Things You'll Need

• Garden shears
• Hose
• Hose sprayer
• Insecticide
• Neonicotinoid insecticide

Instructions

1. Look over your plants for infected areas. Prune the infected portions of leaves from the plants. Because the leaf miners are found inside the leaf, removing the leaf is a good way to get rid of an infestation.

2. Spray the leaves on your garden plants with pesticide if you notice eggs on their undersides. This is the most effective way to kill the leaf miners before they get out of control. Use a pesticide that is designed for gardens. You can find these at hardware and home-improvement stores.

3. Spray the pesticide on the entire plant when you notice the eggs. Make sure that you cover the lower and upper leaves, including the stems and the trunk of the plant. Do this in the early spring to control the leaf miners early.

4. Move to a heavy-duty insecticide as a last resort if necessary. Heavy-duty insecticides can be used with garden hose sprayers. This is not best for your plants, but it will not kill them. Instead, it will completely wipe out the leaf miners.

5. Apply neonicotinoid to the soil around the plants. This is a chemical proven to get into the roots of the plants and kill leaf miners. You can find this at hardware and home-improvement stores.

References

• "Leafmining Insects"; Colorado State University Extension; W.S. Cranshaw, J.R. Feucht; January 2009
• "Leafminers on Ornamental Plants"; University of Florida IFAS Extension; Eileen A. Buss