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What is eating all of my plants?
autumnglory
Posts: 255
There is something eating the leaves of my plants, and I have no idea what it is. It's decimated my heucheras, there's chunks out of the hellebore leaves and it's had a munch on my skimmia. It looks like it's eating from the outside of the leaf inwards.
The only plant that hasn't been touched is the pieris, which obviously doesn't taste very nice. I haven't seen anything lurking around.
I don't think it's slugs, there's slate all around the plants and there's no slime trail. I sprayed them with pest spray last week and cut all the damaged leaves off the heucheras, and now whatever it is has started on the new young leaves.
Any ideas?
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Posts
Adult vine weevil, possibly. They overwinter under the cover of stones, pots etc and are known to take chunks out of the edge of leaves. They are also nocturnal, so aren't often seen during the day.
I was thinking vine weevil too Bob.
Have you given your heucheras a gentle tug? Vine weevil larvae love them and will eat the roots. Look for little white C shaped grubs.
Hmm sounds like they're tricky to get rid of. I've just been out to see if I can see anything now it's nearly dark since the advice seems to be to pick them off but no luck! Nothing fell off when I shook the foliage. They seem quite firm in the soil.
How do the nematodes work? Do they just mix in with water so I can pour it over the slate or will I have to move it all?
Yes, just mix and water them on. You need to wait until the minimum temperatures rise a lttle first though or they may not survive. Also most effective when applied in Autumn, although you can get traps for the adults which may be your best bet right now:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=234
Thanks for your help. I'll keep trying to catch the adults and I'll try the nematodes when it warms up a bit and again in autumn I think.
I'm just looking through some old threads for tips now I know that it's likely to be weevil.
The vine weevils are certainly out and about - I found one climbing up the wall in our sitting room yesterday afternoon
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Eurgh! I have a bit of a thing about beetles. I'm fine with spiders or worms or anything like that but there's something about beetles that makes my skin crawl!
Vine weevils in particular make the blood boil for most of us here!