got any waskly wabbits awound???

ken

lol @ Ken

Looks like Wabbits to me,also! Phil

My wabbits have different taste, like carrot tops. My hostas have little holes from baby snails.

Hmmmm, so when the tips of the leaves etc are missing it might be a wabbit? Aha!! I thought the family wabbit from last year failed to return. Sure haven't seen it in person, but that damage looks like some of my hosta.

What a revolting development this is.

I don't think we have any bunnies in the middle of my neighborhood. But there are LOTS of squirrels. There are also some isolated round holes in the middle of leaves, as well. Does that help?

Holes in the middle of the leaves- if they are between the veins, are probably slugs...Slug damage is more common on thin-leaved hostas and in shady areas...

If the holes go through the veins, the culprits may be Black Vine Weevils or Cutworms. This damage is commmon on all hostas regardless of leaf substance...and includes plants located in sunny areas.

The Black Vine Weevil crawls up the petioles during the night and eats holes through the foliage, then climbs back down by morning.You can use a systemic, among other remedies, to control them.

The Cutworms can be controlled with a systemic, or with a topical insecticide like Sevin or Bayer garden dust.

Esther - It does look like rabbit damage, but I've never seen a rabbit in Queens, though I suppose it's possible. Regarding squirrels, I've never seen a squirrel eat a hosta, so I doubt that's what it was.

I dunno about the cutworms or black vine weevils that Don mentioned. I guess just keep an eye out and see if the damage continues to get worse.

Generally, when you find notches on the side of the leaves, and tips chewed off the ends or scapes bitten off, you're most likely looking at rabbit damage, or possibly deer if the damage is extensive. Deer tend to go for the all-green hostas first, then head for the variegated ones. Keep an eye out, especially if you notice more damage. Rabbits will often feed at dawn or dusk, so they may evade detection.

Same damage as on some of my variegated hostas and I've seen a bunny around. Question is why is he chewing on my hostas and not on my neighbours' carrots?

Deer, we can safely eliminate as a culprit because this is an urban environment. These are garden apartments set in a lush lawn/trees/shrubs setting in Queens. I've seen opossums in garbage cans a few blocks away, but never bunnies. There are a few stray cats about, so bunnies may be put off by those. The only chewing kind of thing I've seen in abundance is the squirrels. I sprayed some anti-squirrel spray around the hosta area, but I'm not sure it's effective. Not all the hostas have holes, just a few. What specific brand/product should I use to discourage invertebrate chewers?

Cutworm damage occurs mainly when the shoots are just emerging, and are noted by a line of holes across the leaf because they nibble a hole in the leaf before it un-furls, so they git several layers all in one pass.

The solution is a chemical that is deadly to bees, but proper application timing can alleviate that. (Apply at O-Dark-Thirty, and by the next morning when the bees are again active, the chemical is inert (inactive). See Ortho 'Bug-Geta-Plus', though their label does NOT describe the bee problem.

If only I had a dollar for all the hours I've spent studying this . . .

I LIKE bees. I HATE SLUGS/CUTWORMS, et. al.

hh