Pests in cannabis: leaf miners

Leaf miners are insect larvae that attack cannabis plants, especially in the growth cycle, and if we do not carry out a control, they can complicate our crops.

In this note we will provide all the details to know how to identify and combat leaf miners in our cannabis crops.

What is the leaf miner?

The leaf miner is a larva of different species of insects that lodge, as its name indicates, inside the leaves of our cannabis plants. This pest goes through four phases: egg, larva, pupa and adult. In the larval stage it is when it generates more damage.

Damages produced by the leaf miner in cannabis

Despite not destroying the crop, the leaf miners come to damage the leaves completely and this condition generates a foliar loss, weakens and stops the growth of our plants.

How to prevent the appearance of the leaf miner?

To prevent and combat leaf miners, a series of steps must be followed that we are going to detail in these lines.

Avoid excess nitrogen

Excess nitrogen easily attracts leaf miners, as well as whiteflies and thrips.

Check the leaves daily

It is important to check the leaves daily, both above and below to make a visual control. If you see an egg or a tunnel characteristic of leaf miners, apply preventives.

Use preventives

To combat leaf miners, you have to resort to preventive such as neem oil, yellow sticky traps to attract adults, diatomaceous earth, potassium soap and / or associated plants such as lavender, rosemary, nettle, mints.

Use compost carefully

When using compost, it is important to inoculate and apply preventives to avoid the appearance of these insects. Growing cannabis with associated plants improves the ecosystem and prevents the arrival of pests.

Hydrate your plants

Maintain a balance in humidity, temperature, and ventilation so as not to clear the way for this type of pest, which thrives in hot weather.

How to identify the leaf miner pest?

The first symptom that we are going to observe is the tunnel in the leaves, shaped like a worm.

How to combat the leaf miner in your marijuana plants?

• First we must remove the affected leaves, even before applying products to combat this type of pest. One of the recommended ones is Neem oil, which, because it is organic, does not damage the soil or the plant. Predators such as the parasitic wasp “Diglyphus isaea” or the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis can also be used as biological control.
• Another prevention resource is to cover our crops with a mesh that does not affect the arrival of light.

Conclusions

We now have tools to identify, prevent and combat leaf miners in our cannabis crops. Contemplating the plants daily is one of the keys. Another recommendation is to generate biodiversity of companion plant species to provide a rich and healthy ecosystem.

Related questions

What insecticide is good for the leaf miner?

As a chemical control, we can use Ripcord alone or mixed with pyrethrins to increase its effectiveness. In organic cultivation, neem oil is one of the most used against leaf miners.

What is the life cycle of the leaf miner?

Leaf miners reproduce sexually and develop according to temperature. Normally it takes 15-25 days at 25 degrees.