Allium leaf miner

[suethegardener]

My onions and leek seedlings have twisted, distorted leaves, and I have found little (3mm) brown pupae in some of them. I think this is allium leaf miner - am I right?
And if so, is there any way I can prevent this in future? I am planning to destroy this crop now (boo hoo!)

[hawthorns]

it maybe leek moth.

[rustylady]

Try cutting back the affected leaves below the damage.

[baggyman]

You usually find the leaf miner pupae in the bulb and it wil also show a kind of redish trail where it has eaten its way down to the bulb.
Covering the onions with enviromesh is probably the only way to beat it although some people on my lotie site have said that ultimate bug killer ( the one in a blue bottle that you mix yourself) will kill it, apparently it is related to the lily beetle but I don't know that for sure.
But it is systemic so you have to weigh up the pros and cons of that.

[mrbadexample]

I've got this problem too, and I'm not impressed.

Shall I just remove the affected leeks or the whole lot?

[Hazel at the Hill]

We've got it at the Hill too - my leeks are affected (but not the shallots or garlic, both planted at the start of the year). It's a w'ton/walsall/North b'ham prob as far as I know (at the mo!).

The good news is that the plants do seem to get over it and carry on growing, as long as they were big enough it withstand attack when they were planted out.

[mrbadexample]

We've got it at the Hill too - my leeks are affected (but not the shallots or garlic, both planted at the start of the year). It's a w'ton/walsall/North b'ham prob as far as I know (at the mo!).

The good news is that the plants do seem to get over it and carry on growing, as long as they were big enough it withstand attack when they were planted out.

Thanks, that's somewhat encouraging but they're pretty small at the moment. I was thinking I should ditch the affected plants to try and save those that are left.

[bearded bloke]

I first got it in Telford a couple of years back usually heads for the garlic first

[mrbadexample]

Yup, looks like some of my garlic is affected too.