We may earn revenue from the products available on this Thomas Nelson Page and participate in affiliate political platform . Learn More ›

The answer to the above question is that leaf mineworker ordinarily are only a nonaged problem . According toColorado State University Extension , “ Although leafage miner injuries are conspicuous , most leafage miners develop injury that have piffling , if any , upshot on flora health . ”

ordinarily , those cuss ’ natural enemy keep them in check , except when the enemies have been decimate by the overuse of pesticides . So , if your idea of how to get rid of leaf miners is employing pesticides to offer yourself with a supposedlybug - free backyard , keep in mind that those sprayer may leave you with more cuss in the retentive run !

Trails of leaf miner insect damage on tree leaves.

Photo: Ed Reschke via Getty Images

What Are Leaf Miners?

foliage miners are the larvae of flies , moths , or beetle that lay their ball on the undersides of leaves . Once the eggs on a fussy leaf crosshatch 2 to 4 days after to begin the leaf miner life-time cycle , the larvae tunnel into that leaf between its top and bottom layer .

luckily , they only chow down for 2 to 3 weeks before pupate inside the folio or in the ground beneath the plant . regrettably , pupation only takes 10 to 25 days , so there can be several generations of these pestilence per year .

Three of the common types are vegetable leaf miners and snaky leaf miners , larvae ofLiriomyza sativaeandtrifolii , severally , and spinach plant leaf miner , larvae ofPegomya hyoscyami . In all of these instances the leaf miner insect is a modest fly , Liriomyza types give yellow markings and put down yellow eggs while the unnoted Pegomya type lays blanched ones .

A fly laying leaf miner eggs on a spinach leaf.

Photo:CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons

Signs of Leaf Miner Damage

A stippling of small puncture wound may appear on a leaf after a fly has lay its eggs on the bottom , giving an rattling gardener time to off that leafage or the eggs before they hatch . If thatnatural pest controldoesn’t happen , the leafage mineworker ’ harm will become more marked once the larvae start feeding .

As their name imply , snakelike leaf mineworker make what look like winding trails across a leaf , as do veg leafage miners . Damage from the spinach case , which actually is n’t confined tospinachand also can appear on chard , beet greens , and other vegetable , has a more blotchy appearance . Those tunnels or blotches eventually dry out out and turn brownish . So , leaf mineworker damage is unsightly but not ordinarily life-threatening to the plant unless a gravid part of it is move .

How to Get Rid of Leaf Miners

Colorado State does n’t recommend any controls for leafage miners . Many insect powder ca n’t reach them and may bolt down their natural enemies instead . To reduce leafage miner populations , withdraw and trash affected foliage and destruct any eggs you find . If you must spray , use constituent insecticides such as spinosad or neem oil .

Tools & Materials

Bobvila.com may earn a delegacy from purchases made through these links .

Project Overview

Working Time : 15 minutesTotal Time : 20 minutesSkill Level : BeginnerEstimated Cost : $ 12

Step 1: Decide whichorganic leaf miner controlyou want to use.

According to theUniversity of Illinois Extension , “ Neem oil can be applied to plants in the early spring and again every few weeks to repel flying ( leaf mineworker ) adult and keep them from laying testis . Once the larva are in the leaf , however , neem oil will not be in effect . ”

In other word , neem oil can resist off the adult form of miners but is not thebest insecticidefor exterminating them . If you omit the season for such preventative measures , T. Jude Boucher of theUniversity of Connecticut Extensionnotes that spinosad can “ move through the leaf cuticle to reach folio miner larvae . ” So it probably is thebest vegetable garden insecticidefor those pests .

Step 2: Choose the correct time of day to apply that insecticide.

Before applying even an constitutional leafage miner pesticide such as neem rock oil or spinosad , test other controls first . Although these two do n’t adversely affect most beneficial insects , they can be toxic to bee when still wet on plants ’ leafage . And any spray - on oil such as neem will smotherbeneficial insectsas well as the bad ace .

Spinosad also may harm syrphid fly larvae and many of the caterpillar that produce butterfly . Therefore , only apply either leaf miner control in the evening when bee and many of the beneficials are n’t fighting , to allow that spray time to dry overnight .

Step 3: To prevent egg-laying, spray your plants with protective neem oil.

you may buy neem rock oil either in a ready - to - spray formula or as a dressed ore . For the latter , you must leave your own spray bottle and unite the amount of dressed ore specified with the amount of water specified . Some sword may also recommend that you let in a small amount of balmy dish grievous bodily harm as an emulsifier , to help the vegetable oil and water supply blend better . Whether utilize the ready - to - use spray or the portmanteau word as your folio miner intervention , be careful to shake the nursing bottle ofttimes and cover all surfaces of your plants ’ foliation with the atomiser .

Step 4: To kill larvae already in the leaves, spray with spinosad.

As with neem oil , spinosad comes in both a quick - to - spray expression or concentrate . Again , if using the concentrate , you will need to follow the focal point on the container when mixing it with water , shake your spray bottle often whilespraying insecticide , and apply it thoroughly to all leaf Earth’s surface . Keep in mind that neither neem nor spinosad bolt down pest straightaway but normally stops them from feeding instead , so you may not see rapid results .

For neem crude , you will need to duplicate the program every 1 to 2 weeks . The amount of clip you should wait before another app of spinosad folio miner insecticide will vary with the type of crop you are spraying and ranges from 3 to 10 days . Due to the prejudicial effect that even constitutive insecticides can have , you should never apply them for tenacious than necessary .

How to Prevent Leaf Miners

Rather than have to consider how to get rid of leaf miner with an insecticide during the growing season , take time before that season begins to study how you’re able to prevent them . You may want to crop umbel - shape plants such as dill and fennel , which will draw in parasitic wasps that raven on foliage miners .

It ’s also a good idea totill your gardenin autumn to kill any larvae attempting to winter in the soil . Also , avoid planting leaf - miner - attract crops in the same area of your garden where they were the previous year . you may swath immature plants with fine sack orrow coverto foreclose flies from laying testicle on them , but that only will work if there are no overwintering larvae in the dirt beneath those covers . Finally , nullify excessive levels of N , which give leaf - miners a soft berth in plenty of tender young leave of absence !

Our Best Advice for Beginner Gardeners

Leaf with leaf miner disease.

Photo: Nickel_Bella/Depositphotos

We ’ll help you put up your first garden — whether that ’s a few pots on your patio , a raised bed , or an in - basis game out back — and select the correct plants for your filth and part .

Magnified leaf miner eggs on a leaf.

Photo:Roc 1981, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Woman uses green garden sprayer on garden bed.

Photo: Jasmina007 via Getty Images

Young couple (heads not seen) use trowels to dig into a small raised garden bed on Astroturf, surrounded by gardening accessories.