Lemon Balm Plant has holes in leaves and droppings

[nancyjenkins]

Hello,

My lemon balm plant has holes in the leaves and droppings on the leaves. What is this and what can I spray on the plant that is not harmful to me since I use the leaves in teas?

Nancy J

[rainbowgardener]

Really hard to answer questions like that without seeing pictures and knowing where you are.

It is surprising. I grow lots of lemon balm and have never seen it bothered by anything. It is usually pretty insect repellent.

Off hand it sounds like some kind of caterpillar/ worm type thing. Have you done a thorough search to find your culprit? Check undersides of leaves, leaf nodes, and the base of the plant. If you don't find it, come back at dusk and again after dark with a flashlight and look some more.

Welcome to the Forum!

[CharlieBear]

If you find the culprit and it is soft bodied then a liberal spraying with insecticidal soap will probably cut the problem down, if you can get the spray on them that is. The droppings are a new one to me, holes I have seen, we have a problem with grasshoppers and I just get rid of the bad leaves. If it is something that is embedded in the leaves you may have to simply remove the infected leaves, destroy them and hope you got most of it.

[GardeningCook]

I too have never had any pests bother Lemon Balm. If you're using the leaves on tea, I'd nix any insecticides (organic or otherwise) & try to solve the problem with repeated gentle but thorough plain-water rinsing of both the upper & undersides of the leaves.

[applestar]

What kind of holes? I do always get Four-lined plant bugs on lemon balm, along with other mints and oregano.