Leaf Miners

[Ginger2778]

Has anyone tried using Seabright's blue traps which are said to attract leaf miners and thrips?

http://www.seabrightlabs.com/trap.htm

I have. The yellow ones attract thrips too, and don't cost as much. The blue ones do attract those moths that lay tomato fruitworm eggs, never saw those on the yellow, but I have seen lots of thrips.

[kath]

Thanks, Marsha, very interesting. Don't think I've ever had thrips but the tomato hornworms can be a real pain in a bad year. Lately, even worse are the army webworms- dark caterpillars with longitudinal stripes that really wreak havoc with the tomatoes especially. Wonder if anything attracts those moths???

[Ginger2778]

Thanks, Marsha, very interesting. Don't think I've ever had thrips but the tomato hornworms can be a real pain in a bad year. Lately, even worse are the army webworms- dark caterpillars with longitudinal stripes that really wreak havoc with the tomatoes especially. Wonder if anything attracts those moths???

Those army webworms might be the same thing as tomato fruitworms.
I dont think any sticky trap works on those sphinx moths that lay hornworm eggs.

[AZGardener]

I get leaf miners on my citrus, seems to be a favorite with them in my yard. Occasionally on peppers but not much else.
I tried the blue sticky traps but didn't catch any leaf miner moths.

[Ginger2778]

I get leaf miners on my citrus, seems to be a favorite with them in my yard. Occasionally on peppers but not much else.
I tried the blue sticky traps but didn't catch any leaf miner moths.

I know moths make leafminers too. Ours are made with fly maggots.

[kath]

Thanks, Marsha, very interesting. Don't think I've ever had thrips but the tomato hornworms can be a real pain in a bad year. Lately, even worse are the army webworms- dark caterpillars with longitudinal stripes that really wreak havoc with the tomatoes especially. Wonder if anything attracts those moths???

Those army webworms might be the same thing as tomato fruitworms.
I dont think any sticky trap works on those sphinx moths that lay hornworm eggs.

You're right, Marsha, I think I remember reading that. They're so hard to see and can really make a mess.

[worth1]

Outdoor night lights and street lights attract moths big time.

[MsCowpea]

Can you show the entire plant or plants? Are the majority of the leaves like that one? Yours must be pretty bad as normally no action is required as predatory insects control leafminer. Sometimes in a greenhouse where there are no beneficials or in fields where broad spectrum insecticide are used the problem is much worse. But you said you found good articles so you know that already . Hawaiian extension had a little bit on them.

Curious, How do you protect your plants from the elements?

I rarely see leafminer in my Florida garden and what I see is not worth any action except to pick off the leaf and destroy.
(Now they will be sure to come.)

But I know they can be a serious issue for some people and literally destroy your plants , particularly when they are small. Hope you get a handle on them.

[Mark_Thompson]

Wow I went away for a few days and look at all this!

I’ve tried the yellow sticky traps, those had no effect. I do spray Neem oil as well, forgot to mention that. Picking off every leaf with miners would leave me with bare stalks though. When I’m starting plants outside I have them under fine mesh until they’re big enough for their forever homes (Container or in ground).

The plants that are protected from the elements are in containers under the eaves, on the leeward side of my house. This lets me control how much water they get, we’ve had 18” of rain this month. I think it must just be the wind that keeps the garden plants from getting hit as hard by the bugs as the protected plants do.

I’ll have to google “Surround.” That plant looks like it’s been hit with the fake snow they spray on Christmas trees, I like it.

[Ginger2778]

Wow I went away for a few days and look at all this!

I’ve tried the yellow sticky traps, those had no effect. I do spray Neem oil as well, forgot to mention that. Picking off every leaf with miners would leave me with bare stalks though. When I’m starting plants outside I have them under fine mesh until they’re big enough for their forever homes (Container or in ground).

The plants that are protected from the elements are in containers under the eaves, on the leeward side of my house. This lets me control how much water they get, we’ve had 18” of rain this month. I think it must just be the wind that keeps the garden plants from getting hit as hard by the bugs as the protected plants do.

I’ll have to google “Surround.” That plant looks like it’s been hit with the fake snow they spray on Christmas trees, I like it.

Hard for me to imagine the sticky traps didn't help. Did you put them out every 5 feet? I still get a few but it's much more manageable for me, in my conditions. I can't see how neem would help since it can't penetrate the leaves, and leaf miners are protected inside the leaf where they tunnel.

[Mark_Thompson]

Two yellow traps per plant, no apparent effect. Neem oil is definitely not the most effective either, but it is cheap, which is worth something. But that Azadirachtin and Spinosad on alternating weeks has been the only thing that makes a difference for me. I only see how big of a difference when I don’t spray for a while, then I get to see the miners in full force.
Was hoping maybe someone had some other cheap and easy secrets for me.

[Nan6b]

They love my lamb's quarters. Maybe plant them as a trap crop?

[MsCowpea]

Nan6b, that is a good idea. Plant it , then the baddies move to the trap crop, and then the parasitoids will come as well. That is the way it works in theory .

I like this as well as you can put any product you want to use in search box and it tells you the impact on natural enemies like predatory mites, parasitoids, and general predators. It also tells you if you need to do anything to protect bees like spray in evening, etc. or avoid something all together.

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/PNAI/pnaishow.php?id=65


***When you search, the very first link is the one you want.***

[AZGardener]

Nan6b, that is a good idea. Plant it , then the baddies move to the trap crop, and then the parasitoids will come as well. That is the way it works in theory .

I like this as well as you can put any product you want to use in search box and it tells you the impact on natural enemies like predatory mites, parasitoids, and general predators. It also tells you if you need to do anything to protect bees like spray in evening, etc. or avoid something all together.

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/PNAI/pnaishow.php?id=65

Thank you for the link, some good information there.

[ahntjudy]

I mentioned this in the 'floating row cover' thread so sorry for the duplication but I have had success with floating row covers over the greens beds as protection from the leaf miners...

It worked tremendously well...

[EdieJ]

Wow that's some good info. We were just a mess of bugs last year and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to try again this year it was so awful. I have saved the link and am going to order a batch of both the yellow and the blue and see if that helps. Thank you!