I
Insight Horizon Media

How do you control leaf miners on citrus trees?

Author

Michael Henderson

Published Mar 09, 2026

How do you control leaf miners on citrus trees?

Use products containing imidacloprid, such as Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus, and Vegetable Insect Control, as a drench or foliar spray. Foliar sprays of natural materials such as azadirachin (Safer BioNEEM) or spinosad (Green Light Insect Spray) have some efficacy but will need to be repeated.

Is a leaf miner active at night?

The citrus leafminer (CLM) remains a major pest of citrus throughout Florida. The adults are small, white/silver-colored moths about half the size of a typical mosquito (Figure 1). Adults are difficult to spot due to their small size and because they are active only in the evening (dusk) and early pre-dawn hours.

Where do citrus leaf miners come from?

Citrus Leafminer is an introduced pest from South-East Asia that can occur on all varieties of citrus and is found in all areas of Australia where citrus trees are grown. They are called ‘leafminers’ because the larvae tunnel or ‘mine’ under the surface of citrus leaves.

How do I get rid of leaf miners on my lemon tree?

Citrus Leaf Miner Treatment And because citrus leaf miner larvae seek shelter inside the leaf tissue, these chemicals are often ineffective. You can, however, treat citrus miner larvae by using Spinosad, an organic pesticide, though its low residual activity means that you will need to reapply it fairly often.

What home remedy kills leaf miners?

To effectively rid plants of leaf miners with pesticide, in the early spring, place a few infected leaves in a ziplock bag and check the bag daily. When you see small, black flies in the bag (which will be the leaf miner larva becoming adults), spray the plants daily for a week.

Can leaf miners be eaten?

A: There would be no harm in accidentally eating a leaf miner larva from your spinach leaves. This is also true of other insects that eat garden plants, such as aphids or caterpillars; you’d simply digest them.

How do you prevent leaf miners?

Pick off and destroy badly infested leaves in small gardens. The more healthy the plant, the less chance that leafminers will hurt it. Maintain plant health with organic fertilizers and proper watering to allow plants to outgrow and tolerate pest damage. Keep your soil alive by using compost and other soil amendments.

How do I get rid of leaf miners on my plants?

The most common method to rid plants of leaf miners is to spray general pesticide on the infected plants. The trick to this method of how to kill leaf miners is to spray at right time. If you spray too early or too late, the pesticide will not reach the leaf miner larva and will not kill the leaf miner flies.

How do you control leaf miners?

Dupont benevia 200 mL per acre spray at 20 to 25 days of crop stage will control the leaf miner infestation. Pupal stage of leaf miner insect pupates in soil so the pupa also needs to be killed for effective control of leaf miners in the crops stage.

What is a natural way to get rid of leaf miners?

Another way of naturally killing leaf miners is to use neem oil. This insecticidal oil affects the leaf miner’s natural life cycle and will reduce the number of larva that become adults and thus the number of eggs that the adults will lay.

What do you spray leaf miners with?

If you notice leafminer damage on foliage, thoroughly apply Spinosad (Monterey Garden Insect Spray) to all plant surfaces. Once ingested, spinosad stops larvae from feeding and they will die within 24-48 hours. Repeat applicatons 2-3 times throughout the growing season if damage persists.

How do I get rid of leaf miners?