I see slugs on mine occasionally.

That would be my guess, too.

then bring also a quart yogurt container full of soapy water. Pick the slugs and drop them in the water, and keep them in water overnight. I used to pick one hundred a night off my vegetables, then after the first 1000 I bought a can of Sluggo.

The only thing I have ever seen eating my rhubarb leaves is Japanese beetles and they seem to really love the leaves. I don't much care because it doesn't seem to harm the plant and at least they aren't eating something else like my roses! If the damage is occuring at night then I would also think slugs.
Joann

Both slugs and certain noctuid moth caterpillars (cutworms) will eat rhubarb leaves here. Easily spotted well after dark on the underside of leaves. They tend to camp out at the base of the plants and if the rhubarb supply is adequate, they might not venture out to nearby plants.

Slugs also tend to chew an elongated trench in the rhubarb stems.

Two or three diligent night-time plucking/drownings will cut down the population for at least this season.

I've seen deer eating my rhubarb leaves. I can't really tell if the damage you have is small bugs chewing or just roughly bitten off to the stem area. If the latter it could be deer. Yes, I did warn her it wasn't good for her but she didn't listen. It was one of the few uncaged growing items at the time.

Pam in cinti

Slugs eat mine also... I think you can set a trap with beer in a can or something like that.

Something big enough to knock down the chicken wire ate mine. I assume it was deer. Northwoodswis

Sounds like slugs because I have also seen the "elongated trench" mentioned above. One more pest to learn how to control.

Everyone thx. for responses

Yep, I betting it's slugs too. I have picked slugs off of my Rhubarb and my fruit plot isn't that far from your's oldrider.

Japanese beetles hit my rhubarb very hard during some summers. Sevin works wonders against them.

For slugs, you can trap them with beer in a container at ground level - you'll need to partially cover it so it doesn't get watered down from the sprinkler or rain. Stinky cheap beer is good, like Milwaukees Best or Olympia. Also save your egg shells. Crush them and put on the ground where snails are troublesome - they'll cut the snail when it slides over the sharp edges. I thought my rhubarb was being destroyed by earwigs but now I agree with everyone above and think it's slugs.

slugs. use slug bait pellets which are poisonous to the slugs. However, holes in my rhubarb plants never bothered me since they are inedible and I just eat the stalks.

Agree Mrs G. I have slugs all over them but the plants grow great and I'm only concerned with the stalk, couldn't care less about holes in the leaves.

...unless there becomes more hole than leaf, affecting stalk growth. This can occur when the leaves are still immature and are tucked into or under the mature leaf canopy.

Japanese Beatles will eat the heck out of Rhubarb. It's a listed food source for them at numerous bug identification sites.

I am not talking about a little bug eating a hole I am talking about something eating the leaf from the stalk. Coons, Deer?

I have personally witnessed a deer eating my rhubarb leaves with great enjoyment. Ripped totally off the top of the stalks. Other animals could probably also do it, but I know for certain deer will do that.

pinc

Hi al! Some animal eats my flowers to the ground, tulips as well... not the bulbs just bitten to the ground and also rhubarb leaves and theeeen I find all what was bitten off sitting in a neat pile in the corner of my garden by the shed, never seen any animal during the day doing it, sprayed with garlic spray and put granules, and also stakes that buzz... nothing worked so far