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Any idea what has been nibbling at my things?

EtherealElementsEtherealElements Posts: 7
in Problem solving

Hey!
I am going to shortly be getting some pest spray to try and deal with a leaf and petal hole problem I've been having recently.

Although I am expecting this to work well enough, I would love to know what has actually been doing the damage if possible.  It'll be a lot easier to post Imgur links so I hope that is okay!  I apologize in advance - my phone has a terrible camera and some of the shots are a bit blurry.

http://imgur.com/HEIOFJM - Violas, this one has had a huge chunk taken and some smaller holes.

http://imgur.com/WbMU7fM - Rose bush (lower leaves)

http://imgur.com/Lzu6yoI - Rose bush (upper leaves, with some white markings)

http://imgur.com/BWolMAu - Pepper

http://imgur.com/Cyckrmd - Now here, I think I may have found a culprit.  The quality is terrible but you can just see a very small white tube-like thing.  It didn't have legs or anything and moved around by its body.  Could it be a baby caterpillar?

Thank you in advance - this is only my first year gardening properly and so if anything seems glaringly obvious I may very well have missed it anyway!

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Posts

  • Steve 309Steve 309 Posts: 2,753

    The viola petals have almost certainly succumbed to slugs.  Pick 'em off by torchlight and cut them up or drop them in salt water.

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Its slugs, on some but about 6 little pellets will do, you dont need to use all those! The rose will be poisoned by the pellets.

    This year, my garden has been plagued with tiny shiney green beetles, they are now mating and are everywhere, they lay tiny orange eggs on the undersides of leaves. The only consolation is that they dont chew the leaves all year and new leaves will be ok.

    They start of just on sorrel then go to any plants, 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • EtherealElementsEtherealElements Posts: 7
    Steve 309 wrote (see)

    The viola petals have almost certainly succumbed to slugs.  Pick 'em off by torchlight and cut them up or drop them in salt water.

    Steve 309 wrote (see)

    The viola petals have almost certainly succumbed to slugs.  Pick 'em off by torchlight and cut them up or drop them in salt water.

    Thank you, I wouldn't have thought such small plants would support a slugs weight! image

    (No idea why this is double quoting all the time)

    Lyn wrote (see)

    Its slugs, on some but about 6 little pellets will do, you dont need to use all those! The rose will be poisoned by the pellets.

    This year, my garden has been plagued with tiny shiney green beetles, they are now mating and are everywhere, they lay tiny orange eggs on the undersides of leaves. The only consolation is that they dont chew the leaves all year and new leaves will be ok.

    They start of just on sorrel then go to any plants, 

    My neighbour put them on the rose bush and the lid fell off... I'll take some out and use them elsewhere now you've said that though, thanks image

    That's good then, I'll keep a close eye on the new leaves.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,129

    Look under the pots and under the rims of the pots - it's those sort of places that slugs and snails hide during the daytime.  image

    I'm giving my slugs some Slug Pubs - yoghurt pots with beer in, sunk into the soil - foolish things can't resist them and go and drown whatever sorrows slugs have.  It's not my fault if they can't hold their ale image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • EtherealElementsEtherealElements Posts: 7
    Dovefromabove wrote (see)

    Look under the pots and under the rims of the pots - it's those sort of places that slugs and snails hide during the daytime.  image

    I'm giving my slugs some Slug Pubs - yoghurt pots with beer in, sunk into the soil - foolish things can't resist them and go and drown whatever sorrows slugs have.  It's not my fault if they can't hold their ale image

    I will certainly be checking there next on the crackdown.

    That is pretty amusing I gotta say image  I'll have to try that trick out sometime, alcoholic slugs may be what saves me a lot of hassle next time round!

  • Steve 309Steve 309 Posts: 2,753

    It's the little ones that do most of the damage.

  • alan carralan carr Posts: 6

    can anyone help ID a bug on my honey bush ,its has a slug like shape gray with a red stripe right down its back.I have been picking them off , but i have never seen these things before Thanks

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,614

    Keep picking them off , Alan. Have you got a photo?

  • alan carralan carr Posts: 6

    No   but thay are about 15 mm long as i said almost all gray with a thin red line down the middle of the back ,its not so mutch the damage they are doing ,just ive never saw anything like them before

  • Steve 309Steve 309 Posts: 2,753

    er....could it be a ladybird larva?  They're sort of slug-shaped and grey with red bits....?

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