Bugs!

[olympus999]

My leafes have holes in them . Are ants doing it?

olympus999 Reviewed by olympus999 on 07-01-2006. Bugs! My leafes have holes in them :mad: . Are ants doing it? Rating: 5

[Sabrinaleena]

It depends on the location of the holes. I don't think it's ants, though.

If you're noticing chewing from the outer edges of the leaves, I would suspect snails/slugs and look for the tell-tale silver trails they leave behind after they're done destroying... I mean munching.

If the holes are in the center of the leaves, I would look underneath them for caterpillars. Look REALLY close. The typical caterpillars we get around here are the perfect kind of green that blends right in with the plants they eat. Some caterpillars can also be brown. Just be on the lookout for any caterpillars, really. It's a search and destroy mission. I hate them with a passion.

If you're seeing leaf damage with some issues going on around the holes, like transparency, I might suspect spider mites or aphids. Again, look under the leaf. A mustard yellow gathering of little bugs could possibly be spider mites. Aphids show up darker in colore and black/brown, other colors, but you'll see them. Look for ants around the base of your plant, as they'll conglomerate when there's an infestation of aphids, as the aphids exude a nectar-like substance, so the ants hang out with them, take care of the aphids, in return for the juice.

Those are the basics that come to mind. Personally, I'm thinking caterpillars because it's the season for them. Get into Columbo mode and start looking all over the plants with holes, turn those leaves over and look under them. And pictures of you have any


Sabrina

[olympus999]

Yes they are caterpillars. I have holes in center of leafs.