What's eating my plants?

Do you sometimes go out in the morning to find pieces of your plants have disappeared overnight? Identifying the culprit can be difficult, but this is a bit like one of those television detective shows where you have to weigh up all the evidence before you can nail the guilty party.

First, clear the names of any suspects that couldn’t possibly have caused the damage. For a start, you know it’s not a sap sucker – they siphon juices out of the plant – so that eliminates aphids, mealybugs and mites.

Next, look at how much plant material has been removed. 

If big chunks have disappeared, then clearly a large animal has been at work. 

Possums will be your number one suspect. Listen at night for possum thumps on the roof or for the screeching and gurgling sounds of their nocturnal antics. Try applying home-made remedies like fish sauce or moth flakes, or festoon plants with balls of dog hair or Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food knotted into stocking toes. While these methods work with some possums, there are no guarantees. Often it’s a matter of learning to live with the possums’ nocturnal snacking.

Rats can also eat plant parts, particularly starch-filled sections such as bulbs, swollen stems or ripe fruit. Rats are definitely garden undesirables that can be controlled with a rat bait (called a rodenticide). Choose one that’s most suited to your needs, and make sure you follow instructions carefully. Ratsak products are fast-acting and are available as Ratsak Wax Blocks or Ratsak Throw Packs. When baiting outdoors: place bait inside a Ratsak Reusable Rodent Bait Station where it will be protected from the rain and from inquisitive dogs and cats.

Birds are rippers and tearers. They use their beaks to tug at pieces of plants and they’ll rip through the bark searching for fat, juicy borers. If birds are causing lots of plant damage, try some of the bird repellents, or resort to physical barriers such as netting.

If you see smaller sections that have been systematically eaten away then it could be…

Caterpillars. Check for caterpillars. There are a variety of caterpillars one could find throughout the year in a garden and it’s amazing how much plant material they can chomp their way through. Cabbage grubs, lily caterpillars, lawn armyworm, super-sized hawk moth caterpillars and codling moth caterpillars are chewers to look out for. Yates Success Ultra Insect Control Concentrate, is a control only for caterpillars of the moth and butterfly family. It will also take care of hard-to-kill pear and cherry slug, a shiny grub that’s a member of the sawfly family.

Snails and slugs are voracious chewers that leave slime trails as evidence of their activity. Sprinkle Yates Blitzem Slug & Snail Pellets to protect seedlings from their attack. Place pellets inside a container (e.g. a piece of plastic tubing) to ensure they’re out of reach of domestic pets.

Other culprits 

Other chewers are grasshoppers, weevils, earwigs and beetles. If you’re unsure of the best option to tackle these nasty’s or need help identifying, please contact us on Live Chat and we’re happy to talk you through everything.