Hi all,
The biggest issue I have is that I have no clue what is wrong with my basil.
I have nine herb plants and I'm afraid that they will all catch that. I can see signs that something is eating my sage, mint and peppermint.
With my Basil the issue is catastrophic.
I've managed to catch three slugs in my basil but it looks like something else is keep eating it.
With my peppermint I see the same signs and I've seen some sort of black feces thus I have no clue what the hack is that.
Eaten leaves from outside the leave and within, and brown holes and spots.
I've attached my Basil photos.
ANY HELP WILL DO
What is eating my basil and peppermint
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I don't know for sure, and maybe there's a couple things going on, but a lot of that does look like slug damage. In general, insects don't like the aromatics which are used to repel them from other things. But slugs don't care. Come out late at night with a flashlight and look for them. Sprinkle your plant and your soil with diatomaceous earth.
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applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30551
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
With most of the basil damage, including the ones your hand is indicating, they look like slugs are the culprit. But in the very last photo, in the bottom front, I see the classic leaf miner doodle -- white meandering trail.
The slugs are probably hiding under the container or between the container and the tray. Look for them at night or very early in the morning. If you can, turn or tilt the container and check the drainage holes where they like to hide.
Cut off and discard portions of leaves or entire leaves with those meandering trails -- there is a fly maggot chewing those trails between the leaves and when mature, they drop into the soil and pupate, then emerge as adults and back to laying eggs on th leaves. You need to break their breeding cycle.
The slugs are probably hiding under the container or between the container and the tray. Look for them at night or very early in the morning. If you can, turn or tilt the container and check the drainage holes where they like to hide.
Cut off and discard portions of leaves or entire leaves with those meandering trails -- there is a fly maggot chewing those trails between the leaves and when mature, they drop into the soil and pupate, then emerge as adults and back to laying eggs on th leaves. You need to break their breeding cycle.
Hi,
Thank you both for your prompt reply.
@applestar - you were right regarding the leaf miner- I had no clue that such things even exist!
I removed the infected leaves from all of my plants + removed semi eaten leaves as well.
I've searched for slugs but came up empty handed.
How can you tell that the damage is slugs damage? My Mint is aggressively eaten as well so I threw them eaten leaves away and waiting to see new signs of damage.
I'll add pictures for the Mint as well.
Any other ideas on what might causing this?
Appreciate your help very very much.
Thank you both for your prompt reply.
@applestar - you were right regarding the leaf miner- I had no clue that such things even exist!
I removed the infected leaves from all of my plants + removed semi eaten leaves as well.
I've searched for slugs but came up empty handed.
How can you tell that the damage is slugs damage? My Mint is aggressively eaten as well so I threw them eaten leaves away and waiting to see new signs of damage.
I'll add pictures for the Mint as well.
Any other ideas on what might causing this?
Appreciate your help very very much.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Slug damage is pretty recognizable, roundish/oval holes in the centers of leaves.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ElwJb9bX2wc/T ... 1_2634.JPG
Eventually as the slugs keep working on it, it turns the leaves almost lacy:
https://www.thegardenerseden.com/wp-cont ... severe.jpg
if you look carefully you can see one of the little pests on this chewed up leaf. They leave the tough veins and chew up the nice soft parts of the leaves.
And it's always a good guess for basil, because as I said, basil and other aromatic herbs tend not to be bothered too much by insects.
You will never see the slugs unless you come out late at night with a flashlight and look for them.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ElwJb9bX2wc/T ... 1_2634.JPG
Eventually as the slugs keep working on it, it turns the leaves almost lacy:
https://www.thegardenerseden.com/wp-cont ... severe.jpg
if you look carefully you can see one of the little pests on this chewed up leaf. They leave the tough veins and chew up the nice soft parts of the leaves.
And it's always a good guess for basil, because as I said, basil and other aromatic herbs tend not to be bothered too much by insects.
You will never see the slugs unless you come out late at night with a flashlight and look for them.
Be careful not to over water. The window box containers and most containers these days really don't have enough drain holes. The basil has yellowish leaves. It does not look like downy mildew, but it does look like it might be staying wet too long. I think you have thyme next to the basil, and it does not need that much water either.
I myself prefer to put a big plant like basil in a 3-5 gallon bucket so the roots have more room to grow. The shallow window boxes are o.k. for the shallower herbs.
You can use sluggo to bait the slugs. It is iron phosphate, essentially fertilizer, and is not attractive to pets. It is expensive but will last a long time if you don't have a lot of plants.
I myself prefer to put a big plant like basil in a 3-5 gallon bucket so the roots have more room to grow. The shallow window boxes are o.k. for the shallower herbs.
You can use sluggo to bait the slugs. It is iron phosphate, essentially fertilizer, and is not attractive to pets. It is expensive but will last a long time if you don't have a lot of plants.