all of my begonia plants have had holes eaten into their leaves(not slugs)?

Question

I have never had them attacked like this before. The flowers are fine, just the leaves. Can I do anything about this? I suspect a caterpillar of some sort as the leaves now look lacey. Plants at the front as well as the back of the house have been affected.

Answer 1

It MAY be insects, but there are also other possibilities with begonias:

Have you gotten your little guy's leaves wet? When watering, try not to do this - begonias are fussy and do not like wet leaves.

Also, if the soil goes from wet to dry to wet, this could cause leaf problems, too. Try to keep the soil evenly wet (not soggy).

Is your little guy in the direct sun? Begonias prefer a little shade.


OR if it is none of the above, you may have some unwanted buggies. Check your plants carefully. I'm a bit of a nutter, and check my plants leaf-by-leaf because I'm horrified to spray my plants. If you're loony like me, you could wipe off each leaf and check for unwanted little baddies (they often lurk in hard-to-find places, which is one reason why sprays do not always reach them).

Hope this helps ;-)

Answer 2

Earwigs are usually the culprits in my garden. Makes me so mad to see my healthy plants full of holes! When I think of it I will roll up old damp newspaper and put it out at night and in the morning throw them out with earwigs in them. Or just clean up in an area where there is plant material laying around and earwigs are usually hiding there. Voracious little critters!

Answer 3

Could be vine weevil - a proprietary systemic vine weevil killer will do for them, but they might need 2 or 3 applications.
They are more active in pot plants, and attack some plants more than others - difficult things to eradicate.

Answer 4

Sevin Dust

Answer 5

Lacey usually = Japanese beetles. Pour warm soapy water on them (won't hurt the plants, repells the beetles). See if it helps.

Answer 6

Sounds like a caterpiller, go to nursey and get treatment

Answer 7

That is the reason they make insecticides. Get some and kill those little devils.

Answer 8

use pesticides or any insect killers that doesn't kills ur plant at the same time