gardenchic
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How to Identify What is Eating a Hosta

What is eating my hostas?? It looks like bugs but I have seen none. I tried powdered 7. I tried slug be gone... what else could it be? And what can I try?

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rainbowgardener
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Does it look something like this:

[img]https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/Portals/0/Gardening/Gardening%20Help/images/Pests/Slugs_and_Snails1383.jpg[/img]

That would be slugs or snails. Hostas are a favorite treat of slugs, so having slug damage is very typical.

The slugs are only active at night, so you will never see them unless you come out late with a flashlight.

Type slugs or slug control in the Search the Forum Keyword box and find lots of discussions we have been having about them.

The Sevin (besides all the other reasons not to use it) will have no effect against slugs or snails, so you need to know what you are targeting.

bugme
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Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Almost certainly you have slugs. You could go out in the morning and pick them off of the underside of the leaves. I just pinch them with my fingers. I know...yuck. But I put a real dent in them this way.

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Midwestguy
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Location: Kansas

In order to find out what is eating them, you need to go out at night with a flashlight and check them. You can't treat them until you know what you are up against. I had damage to my hostas during the spring that looked very similar to what you have, and it was cutworms (caterpillars). They only fed at night, just like slugs, so I had to go out at about Midnight with a flashlight to find out what they were. I used a broad use insecticide from Fertilome to treat my hostas. I haven't had a problem since. Good luck, and I hope you stop whatever is eating your plants.
If it does end up being slugs, a salt shaker with table salt works great at killing them.

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rainbowgardener
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Salt does kill slugs, but it also kills the life in your soil and if overdone, kills your plants.

Put the salt in water and drop the slugs into it.

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Midwestguy
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I didn't realize that a little bit of table salt from a salt shaker would be that damaging to the soil. I guess you learn something new everyday. Thanks rainbow. :D



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