Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Something is eating my tamarind to death, 1 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Gina, a picture of the leaf damage would be helpful. Have you actually seen the ants cutting the leaves?

You also might have Sri Lanka weevils - they eat the leaves in a similar way. It's easy to find out if you have them by just spreading something dark-colored under a branch and shaking the branch vigorously. They will fall off onto the dark surface (a tarp, or a dark umbrella works) The weevils are white and up to 1/4in. long with a hard shell, and sometimes have gray dots on their backs. It's also really easy to see them at night with a flashlight. Look under the leaves.

Unfortunately, as with the ants, there's not much that works on these weevils, even noxious chemicals aren't dependable. So mechanical removal - shaking the tree, collecting the weevils when they drop off, and crushing them or dropping into soapy water slows them down substantially. The key is to break their life cycle - the adults live on the undersides of the leaves, mate then they drop to the ground and lay their eggs in the ground. Once the larvae metamorphose, they climb back up out of the soil onto the host plant again.

I've had a few on my rose bushes, and have kept damage under control by hand picking the bugs (with gloves on, although they don't bite or sting). I'll see if I can get a picture of one.