Leaf miners can cause a great deal of damage in your desert garden. But there are ways to stop them.
Leaf miner is the generic the name given to the larval stage of several different genus and species of insects, including moths, beetles and flies. Although the types of insects differ, the damage they cause is very similar. Because of this, the larval stages of all insects which leaf mine are collectively and generically called “leaf miners.”
Leaf miners are called this because they literally “mine” the leaf tissue of trees and herbaceous plants. The tissue is the cells that exist between the upper and lower side of a leaf.
Different types of leaf miners will attack different types of plants and trees.
And different types of leaf miners have different ways of attacking leaves so it’s a little hard to diagnose at first. Some leaf miners create winding, meandering tunnels throughout the leaves. Others will mine a specific area of a leaf, causing blotches to appear on the leaves.
However, all leaf miners will caused the leaves to look skeletonized, and to fall from the plant. Eventually they can kill a plant or a tree.
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How to control leaf miners
Systemically
Some leaf miners call be killed by systemic pesticides. Contact your local county extension service, area agricultural college or a master gardener group to find out which systemic poisons will work best. And systemics may not work for every breed of leaf miner. As with any pesticide, follow directions to the letter to pprevent damage to the environment, to wildlife and pets, and eventually to you.
Naturally
Cleaning around plants
Debris tends to collect at the base of plants, and this is where the adults of the leaf miner larvae lay their eggs. Some leaf mining larva may also “winter over” in this debris. Removing leaves and other debris from around plants is an excellent method for controlling them.
Weeding
Weeds provide an alternate food source for leaf miners, so areas around plants should be weeded and mulched.
Do not use contact pesticides. Since the leaf miner is inside the leaf, contact poisons cannot reach it, and therefore cannot kill it. Additionally, leaf mining insect larvae quickly become resistant to contact pesticides.
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