Q.Something Eating Holes On Plants
We have planted a small garden with cantaloupe, squash (zucchini and yellow), tomatoes and bell peppers. We have noticed small holes eaten in some of the leaves of nearly every plant, as well as on some of the flowers we have planted in our flower bed, mostly petunias, impatiens and snapdragons. We don’t see any bugs on or under the leaves. Would you have any idea what might be doing this and what we can do to solve the problem? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
It is likely slugs. They only come out at night, so it is hard to spot them. This article will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/facts-about-slugs-and-how-to-kill-garden-slugs.htm
As I don't know where you are I will just make this a guess based on my own experiences of things that eat holes in leaves. I live in Alberta Canada.
The first thing that comes to my mind are slugs. During the day you won't see them on the plants as they prefer to feed at night when it is cool and dark, During the day they hide underneath larger leaves, stones, wood chip anything they can get under to protect themselves from sunlight & heat.
The second thing that came to mind was possible grasshoppers.
If you find slugs, remove as many as you can and squash them. You can purchase organic slug bait and sprinkle it around, they love it. Also low saucer type dishes of beer works well too.,
If you have acess to sand sprinkle it liberally around the perimeter of your beds and garden if possible. Slugs will avoid crawling over sand as it tears open their bellies and they die. Hope this helps.
