If you’re looking for a true challenge when it comes to an indoor pest, look no further than the leaf miner. The leaf miner is more of a threat to an indoor gardener using a greenhouse, but leaf miners have been known to develop in any indoor garden when conditions are right.
Although there are standard ways to deal with most pests, even identifying these pests can be challenge. The adult leaf miner looks exactly like small fly. Without an expertise in entomology, you probably will not be able to spot them, even if you study them on sticky yellow monitoring tape.
The problem with leaf miner is that they do exactly what the name implies — mine the leaf of your plant. Basically, the adult leaf miner lays an egg on the leaf of the plant and it hatches a larva. In turn, the small larva tunnels between the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf and goes to work. And, of course, because it is between the layers of the leaf, it is protected form any sprays you might want to use. Read the rest of this entry »