What Is Eating The Flowers? Hosta "Elegans" (4K) July 2024

[@cindyl3916]

Diatomaceous earth! Have you used that before? It’s great for slugs and some beetle type bugs that travel on the ground. I got a bag at Lowe’s last season. Just sprinkle on dirt. Glad you showed this, I wouldn’t have guessed a slug to go on Hosta lol! Thank you!❤

[@GardenNotes]

Thank you. This is great. Never use but have heard of. Not sure what it was used for before. I searched on the Home Depot site and it is quite pricy Canadian $40 for a small bag. I guess it depends on how much and how often to use. Do you sprinkle once a year or more?

[@cindyl3916]

@@GardenNotes It’s an interesting product. I first found it for human use in wholistic nutrition. Which I used for awhile. Last season I read about it for organic bug control. I had/have a horrible beetle problem. They come out like an army and destroy plants eating them to bare bones! Then when I started with strawberries I got the slugs. I think it works on their oxygen. I’m a little fuzzy but I think it sticks to them and they suffocate. Don’t quote me on that. It’s pretty cheap here. For humans a large zip lock bag size was a few dollars. The one I found for plants was less than $20 for a bag about the size of 5lb dry dog food. On plants I use it before or as soon as I see the beetles around mid seasonish. They’re called Blister Beetles. They survive well over winter and come out in here swarms. They love large foliage too like on watermelon and cantaloupe. But they’ll eat anything it seems.

[@GardenNotes]

@@cindyl3916 Thank you so much! If it can be consumed by human, I feel better in using them as soon as I can find somewhere affordable. The Canadian 40$ is for 10 oz. Pricing in Canada is outrageous and our dollar is much lower than USD. I’ll keep looking around 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@AnneitaHarris-rx4zj]

I've been dealing with the same thing. Especially with petunias. They are called budworms. Nothing will kill them except Thuricide. Hope this helps.

[@GardenNotes]

So they just eat the buds? (That what it looks like) I can do without flowers if that means less chemicals. I enjoy the foliage more. Look forward to your response. Thank you kindly!

[@AnneitaHarris-rx4zj]

A little green worm was eating my buds and flowers. I kept seeing holes in my petunias. I checked online and read where these worms couldn't be killed with most products. Thuricide was the only thing that could kill them. If I'm not mistaken, I believe it said that it wouldn't harm other insects. Study it for yourself. I'm like you. I don't want anything that would keep pollinators and butterflies away. So far, it's not been a problem.

[@sharoncampbell2218]

I wondered if it might be budworms. I get them on my geraniums (pelargoniums), and I know they attack petunias as stated by another person. I am in the Seattle area zone 8b so very similar climate. My hostas are untouched by budworms. If you go out in the late evening with a flashlight you can see the green budworms. Also check for holes in the buds on your plant. That's another tell-tale sign they are there. They also leave bug poop (is there a more polite word? LOL) that drops on the leaves below where they are feeding. That is what drew my attention to them a couple years ago. I use BT, a bacteria based product that is effective with caterpillars and worms. They have to ingest it. Is it the same as thuricide that someone else mentioned? Isn't it considered organic rather than a chemical poison? I am asking because I don't know. BT works well for me. It doesn't affect pollinators. This year I am spraying it on budding parts of my geraniums, in the early evening, trying to get ahead of the issue. So far, so good.

[@sharoncampbell2218]

@@GardenNotes Yes, they bore into buds, eat inside the buds before they open and then when the flower blooms, a lot of the petals are missing or chewed up.

[@GardenNotes]

@@sharoncampbell2218 that is exactly what happened. I’m ok then - rather be chemical free! Thanks for responding 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@sharoncampbell2218]

Who is only eating the flowers is a mystery. Perhaps earwigs?

[@GardenNotes]

Thanks for your response!. A viewer has suggested Diatomaceous earth so I think she has earwigs in mind. I never pay much attention to bugs when they do damage to leaves since I hate to use chemicals. But this are blooms! Will find out more on this fix and make sure it does not happen to other Hosta. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻