Leafminers and Spinosad

kwselke · April 10, 2007

Leafminers are a major problem for me every year. I've read extensively about them and pretty much come to the conclusion that I just has to live with them. In the last week or two the biological control Spinosad has popped on to my radar screen. Supposedly it kills through ingestion but also secondarily on contact. It is labeled for control of leafminers on tomatoes with a one day wait for harvest after application. I am skeptical that it can do much to control leafminers. I guess the larva must have to eat their way out of the leaves to continue their life cycle. Does anyone have experience using Spinosad to control leafminers? Would I just be wasting my money giving it a try? Normally the only bug stuff I use on tomatoes is BT.

April 10, 2007	#1
kwselke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 172	Leafminers and Spinosad Leafminers are a major problem for me every year. I've read extensively about them and pretty much come to the conclusion that I just has to live with them. In the last week or two the biological control Spinosad has popped on to my radar screen. Supposedly it kills through ingestion but also secondarily on contact. It is labeled for control of leafminers on tomatoes with a one day wait for harvest after application. I am skeptical that it can do much to control leafminers. I guess the larva must have to eat their way out of the leaves to continue their life cycle. Does anyone have experience using Spinosad to control leafminers? Would I just be wasting my money giving it a try? Normally the only bug stuff I use on tomatoes is BT.