I've never heard of using ammonia and water on plants. But that doesn't mean anything. Myself, I wouldn't use ammonia. JMHO, I think it could be too harsh on the leaves. When I have those problems, I use a hot pepper spray. I've never had a problem using that. I've used that on quite a few different plants. I've read on another forum here that a lady used Tabasco sauce and water. I don't remember if she said how much. I don't think the coffee grounds will hurt anything. I use them on all my household plants. Only my hubby drinks coffee at home so I don't have much of those. But my house plants are doing fine after years of this.
Good luck on your problem!

Kat

Hiya, Kat! The HOSTA forum taught me the ammonia and h20...but that was for the hostas and slug control...unfortunately the coleus and hostas hang out together in the same bed...so they have been getting it too. :)) i think i'll try the hot pepper spray. Are you talking about the kind you would use on a mugger or something else? thanks! ;))

I make my own spray. I use about a jar of dried hot peppers, soak them in a gallon of water for a day, then strain it. I use an old spray bottle like Windex. When I spray, I just do the ground around the area, the stems and some lower leaves. I don't do the whole plant because they don't even want to climb up them when the stems are sprayed.
Good luck!

Kat

Green frog, I finally found the post about that tobasco sauce. It was about repelling JBs, but I'm sure it would work on any other leaf eating bug.

Kat

Here is a link that might be useful: hot sauce for bugs!

Something ate an entire coleus plant of mine overnight. It also likes basil and a type of succulent that hangs and has a grassy look. It eats the little grassy leaves off the stems. I haven't seen any sign of slugs. At first I thought it was a rat, but don't know that one could eat an entire plant at one time. I am baffled. These plants are in baskets that hang from a fence, and I have never had this problem before. Right now I am covering them at night with the cloth used for frost protection, putting a roll of wire behind each basket and bells attached. I have tried hot pepper and it seems to like it! I just started this procedure last night and all was undisturbed this morning, but don't know that I want to go to that much trouble every night. May have to give up on it. Any ideas?

Are squirrels nocturnel? If so, could be. Someone also suggested possums. Not sure what they eat. Anyway, so far covering them at night is working - so whatever it is isn't trying to rip off the covering.

same problem...but the coleus are in planters....could it be pesky chipmunks?

Chipmunks or squirrels probably. I have both of them running around where I live, but they've never bothered any of my plants or planters except for the squirrels digging in them. They really don't do any harm though. I guess I've really been lucky. How about putting some blood meal on the top of the soil in pots. Might repel them.

Kat

I brought these bags of large leaf coleus and elephant ears at Costco that were to thrive in sun or shade, because I live in an area that is considered to be very dry. July, the coleus and elephant ears did make an appearance but it was for two days because something ate them down to the ground. I have turtles and I thought it was them so me and hubby so we put a fence around them to keep the turtles out. Now the leaves are coming back and this time the leaves look like they have been sawed off (but eaten all the same) Can anyone HELP me?

I have watched a squirrel pull leaves off of Coleus plants and take them up into a tree. I couldn't see what happened after that.

Just this afternoon, near dusk, I watched a possum happily munching on my beautiful purple coleus, down to the dirt... Oh well...

Just happened to me last night! We have a gopher problem, thinking its that