Knowledgebase
Plants being eaten! #875090
Asked June 28, 2024, 11:25 AM EDT
Wake County North Carolina
Expert Response
You could have several things eating your plants and right now may be worse than previous years due to the weather. Insects get very hungry when it is hot and dry and can get moisture from eating leaves. Your first photo looks like typical caterpillar damage. The second photo looks like a leaf miner eating. The third photo looks more like what I see on my Hibiscus leaves every summer and that is damage due to a sawfly, which isn’t really a fly but has a larval stage similar to a caterpillar. Control for all would be a general insecticide or if you don’t want to use a chemical, then a general use horticultural oil should work. Most of these insects only cause aesthetic damage and don’t normally kill the plant. You need to decide what level of damage you can live with. As always, follow the label directions, especially in this heat, as most products have temperature limits on when it can be applied.