Leafminers

Tucson, AZ(Zone 9b)

I live in Tucson Az. I've had great luck with my garden here all year long but for some reason this time around I have got a MAJOR problem with leafminers. I first noticed them on my chili pepper plants and sprayed with malathon, no luck. I then litteraly cut off every leaf with a trail, no luck. What can I do?? How do I recoginize these monsters before they get into the leaves??? I have looked behind the leaves with a magnafine glass and just don't see anything. Now they are heading for my beautiful cucumber, tomato, and squash plants. Am I going to have to "tear down" my whole garden to get rid of these???Every book I have read says no spary will help once they are making trails. I am desperate!!

Deep South Coastal, TX(Zone 10a)

At the garden center we used Avid on the columbine to control them and also imidicloprid(a systemic) but you can't use either of those on edible plants.
The leafminer is the larva of a fly, a very small fly that is hard to see(or catch in the act of laying eggs).
Are you sure it's leafminer and not leaf nematodes? Leaf nematodes attack a wide range of plants. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_IN036

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