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What is eating my plants?
Can anyone help identify what is eating my plants? I have included pictures of one of my roses but whatever this is, is eating anything anemones, salvia even strawberries. I really want to solve this as we have built large raised beds to grow vegetables and would like to see something grow without being demolished. i have searched the plants and there are no caterpillars or any evidence of other pests. this is happening in 2 large beds and pots the only plant being spared is my hellebore.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
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My primary suspects would be adult vine weevils.
I would apply nematodes when the soil temperature warms up sufficiently. They worked for us.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Not sure about vine weevils.They tend to cut notches on the edges of the leaves but don't eat the whole leaf or bits in the middle so looks more like this:-
With the damp,wet weather we have been having I think it more likely to be slugs and snails.
Danielle, if you put that many slug pellets down you'll actually draw the slugs and snails in. You really only need two or three pellets around each plant. So you could be drawing lots of those little black slugs in each evening (or wet day). A lot of the leaf damage on the rose looks like it's been battered by wind and rain so maybe some of the tears aren't insect related. I'd remove 99% of those pellets, check the plants for slugs (including tiny weany ones) late evening or early morning (or when it's wet) and keep checking all the plants for other suspects. Rose sawfly caterpillars can be minute and really need a beady eye to see them (and they drop off onto the ground if you disturb the leaf they're on!) although it's a bit early for them, but it gives you an idea how small the nasties can be. Good luck
Thank you for the responses, this rose is in quite a sheltered spot however the wind and rain have been brutal although definitley think some kind of pest is around. Will get some of the slug pellets removed although was told that before and everything got eaten badly and ended up with a third of the plants I started with throughout the summer ?As seem to Have a huge population of snails and slugs and a neighbour behind has cleared a huge overgrown space and now the hedgehogs have left us.
Will keep investigating, going to try at night today to see if anything can be spotted, it’s just so disheartening.
No, don't be disheartened. You need to keep at it. Only put a few pellets down and then keep looking. This time of year it's mainly the small black slugs so you'll need a torch and a good eye. We all suffer from slugs, you're not alone. They're always in the top 5 pests in the garden in the polls and if there was one solution that worked 100% we'd all be doing it. Persevere, don't check once a week, check every day if possible. Good luck