The incessant rain and humidity in the Northeast has been wonderful for all our little nasties. Not just slugs, but earwigs and a host of other creepy crawlies. I think that is your problem, as it is for a lot of us. And once they have turned your hostas into lace doilies, there's not much anyone can do about it.

Remember what we used to say about the Red Sox. Next year, it'll be different!

(Hey, the Red Sox won tonight.)

I have the same issue and I don't think it's slugs either.

Sure, I have a few, but these holes don't look like slug holes from years past. That and these are about a month-6 weeks earlier than usual.

I'm near Chicago and have about 300 hosta. Almost every one of them has these tiny holes. Very few slug holes but these are everywhere and on many other plants. I wish someone would identify the critter.

Westy

Sounds like slugs - when slug eggs hatch they are small and produce tiny holes. But if you have a picture it would help.

It's been a terrible year for aphids...first they chewed the leaves off my crabapples and roses, and yesterday I saw that the leaves are being chewed off my purple smokebush. I'm not sure if aphids are known for chewing small holes thru hosta leaves, but maybe they can??? Or maybe flea beetles are the culprit???

Aphids
Flea Beetles

Uhh, I found one of those kind of 'beetles' in my driveway yesterday, Don!! It was covered with big black ants
and I couldn't tell what it was till I got the ants off of it! I immediately thought it must be a *Japanese* beetle!

I now know, it was the 'Japanese Beetle', after looking them up, because of the ring of white dots/stripes along it's 'skirt',
really stood out!!! Can they also be a culprit with hosta?

Actually, if it's them, (the JB's) the leaves would look like lacework, not just tiny holes, I'm thinking!

I'm convinced it's earwigs doing the pin-dot damage--they LOVE Sweet Potatoe vines, especially, I've found!!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1065530}}

I have the same problem, we have sprayed and sprayed and sprayed ammonia and I still have holes. On my hosta the holes are usually little white dots that turn into holes. I was told last year that I was in denial, that it is slugs. I never did buy it, yes I am sure I have slugs, I have seen them. BUT I still believe there is also some bug that causes some of this damage. Q and Z nursery told me it might be thripes. All I know is that it is very frustrating!

Nancy, Same white dots here (both sides of leaf), then tiny round holes. Never saw that in 30 years of hosta growing. 2nd summer here at our new location and have this problem. Only moved 25 miles & find all sorts of new bugs. Interesting.
Marlene

We have japenese beetles here. They are on my burning bushes, zinnias and green bean plants, so I'm sure they are not adverse to dining on the hostas as well!

I spray my hostas with Deer Off to keep the deer, bunnies and squirrels from eating them. Perhaps this has helped keep the JB's away as well. I use Sevin for the JB's on my other plants & bushes.

Ms Jo

OK, I think I figured this one out. I Googled 'white holes hostas' and came up with this website on our very own Gardenweb forum--look at botanyBabe's answer about 2/3 way down the page.
It seems to be flea beetles--and they invade the whole plot very very quickly.
Elsewhere I found not only Nematodes and Diatomaceous Earth to be useful, but folks are recommending
Sevin (which kills 234 types of insects!)--probably kills earthworms, too--I certainly hope not! I love my earthworms!

July 2015, I live in Ontario Canada, this year all 100 Hosta Plants seem to have tiny holes in the leaves, I have checked for slugs and snails and did not find any. I have never had this happen in six years of planting them. We had a very rainy Spring, and now the heat with humidity. Anyone have any ideas. I guess the holes are there to stay this year anyway.

I just found japanese beetle for the first time in my yard. Hole everywhere, but they have destroyed my two rose bushes. My neighbor's veggies have been decimated. I don't do chemicals, so I'm not sure what I will do other than write off the roses.

Flea beetles, they do a number on a lot of my hostas, particularly the thinner leaved ones. Don't seem to hurt the plants any, but makes them look ugly. Might affect the miniature ones more, though.

Zone 5, Chicago: I have the holes on virtually every hosta. The bed where I have the most hostas is a mess. Nothing looks good. It's not slugs: it doesn't look the same, and I have been putting out bait steadily. Plus, no slime trails.

I find this thread very interesting. Thanks 2 all posting. Mt first reaction was SLUGS, lil baby ones. Other posters r opening my eyes 2 so mni oder culprits. Here's nother: in our pine forest, pine needles sometimes manage to fall vertical nuff 2 poke holes. All 2 often. Just today I was trying 2 find nuff leafs unmarred 2 post leaf shot pics. Between slugs, cutworms, hail, pine needles, deer, well water discoloration, early season cold damage, well, not best year to enter leaf show ;-!

HH, I don't text more than I have to, so I find your shorthand difficult to read. You usually have interesting posts and nice photos, but this is difficult for me to follow. Hopefully, I'm the only one who has a problem.

bk

I'm with you bkay2000 - I learned to speak and write English and I'm lost with this new language. If I text, I use the King's English! But I think it's dying a quick death.

I have noticed these small pin-like holes on some of my hostas, but checking to see which ones, it appears to me that this is much more prevalent in those hostas that are in areas that are relatively dry and shady. Plants in areas that are more naturally moist and that get several house of morning sun, seem less affected. This is not slug damage. Has anyone else noticed the same thing?

I obs text 2 much, no prob HH! ;0

keswick, me too. The dry shady bed is the worst. I have never even seen a slug in that bed. I am sure it is some insect. People on other threads have talked about earwigs. I've seen some but they are crafty. I don't want to spray, and it is too late anyway.

Slugs and snails will always leave slime trails. Look for a thin line of a silvery material under the leaf. It's visible even when it is dry. If you don't see slime trails, it's not slugs.

What kind of insects are doing this to my hostas?

probably should have started your own post ...

did you rule out all the suggestions above???

go out after dark and see if you have slugs ...

ken

This looks like slug damage, but I also see a Japanese Beetle crawling there. The beetles eat my dwarf weeping willow tree every year and the leaves are left, lacy looking.

But I have many hostas in my front yard, and they don’t eat the hostas. In fall when cutting back foliage and spring When the pips are coming up, douse you’re hostas with a 10% solution of vinegar or ammonia. This will kill any left in fall and kill eggs in spring. I found about 6 weeks after the spring douse, that I needed to treat especially susceptible hostas again. Some people use sluggo in between but I never had luck with that product. Here’s my Diamond Tiara from the previous year. :-((

This year with treatment:

debra