BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR BOXWOOD LEAF MINERS

Leaf miners in boxwood have become more and more prevalent here in southeast Michigan in the past several years; making their first appearance at my house last season! Herein lies a bad news good news tale. I will tell you what I did to get rid of them and show you how well it worked in this series of photos I took earlier today.  I urge you to rid yourselves of these pests because even though they may not kill your boxwood outright, they will weaken the plant enough so that they eventually will succumb. And they look pretty bad on their way to succumbing.

First the bad news: the first two photos are two of my boxwoods that showed no sign of miners last year. Hence I did not treat them. But look at them now! Covered in many yellowish and brown leaves. If yours look like this, pull off a few leaves and open them. If you see little yellow wiggly worm-like creatures you’ve got miners. I have had clients who had so many miners that you could literally hear the chomping of these tiny pests as they chewed their way through larvahood.

The next picture shows the varmints both in the leaf and a couple I flicked onto the counter and exposed for their photo shoot.

Now the good news: The next picture shows some of the the boxwood I had treated last year by Turf Pro (Contact information on endorsement tab on our website. www.gardeninggraces.com) They used a soil injected systemic insecticide and look, no sign of miner damage now. The view out the window is of early spring in its glory. The boxwood in the foreground are miner free.  Their less fortunate cousins in the front yard are not so happy. They have requested treatment.