Mysterious holes in my sunflower leaves!

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
jm167 London, ON(Zone 6b) Jun 23, 2015

All 10 of my giant variety sunflowers have holes in their leaves..I do see some ants on some leaves but not sure if they are the culprits..Is there any way of saving these plants from further damage?

Thumbnail by jm167 Thumbnail by jm167
Post #10099860
Quote
Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 23, 2015

Ants do not do this.
Look into caterpillars, beetles (the black bug in the picture is a beetle), and other pests large enough to do serious damage like this.
The plant is seriously weakened by this much feeding.

I would get some bait out for ground dwelling pests, and see if something is climbing up the plant at night.

You can try trapping whatever it is with some rolled newspaper. A lot of bugs will hide in the paper through the day, so you can shake them into a bucket, see what you have trapped.

Post #10099874
Quote
jm167 London, ON(Zone 6b) Jun 23, 2015

Thank you kindly for the advice. I left several rolled up newspapers this evening next to each plant and will check in the morning. I also gave each leaf (both sides) a generous spray of a water/dishsoap solution. Did the same for my Zinnias and morning glories, which I have just noticed have holes in the leaves too.

Post #10099911
Quote
jm167 London, ON(Zone 6b) Jun 24, 2015

The traps worked! Tapped the newspaper rolls in a bowl and out came several earwigs. I sprayed some diluted dishsoap in water on the leaves again tonight. Will this kill the earwigs? Also saw some golden tortoise beetles on my morning glories; I sprayed those leaves as well. Will spraying my plants with diluted dishsoap a few times a week harm the plants?

This message was edited Jun 24, 2015 7:21 PM

Post #10100478
Quote
Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 25, 2015

As long as it is diluted no stronger than 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water, plants seem OK with this.

For the earwigs you can also try some bait. Make sure it is applied in a way that dogs and cats cannot get it. A light dose, well scattered can work.

Also, clean up hiding places.

Post #10100629
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Garden Pests and Diseases Threads

Go to all Garden Pests and Diseases threads
BACK TO TOP