Slugs eat holes in the middle of the leaf. I think of grasshoppers when I see a leaf eaten from the edge.

I did not know hoppers ate hostas. I see them on lilies but have never seen them on my hostas. It has not really become summer here yet, do they come out in spring. How would you deter them.

DJ, I am having same devastating damage to my hostas as well, just want to cry as some old mature hosta which usually slug proof got chopped. It is some kind of cutworm I believe, am sure got it with one of the mulch batches.

Last year it was minimal and I did apply beneficial nematode which did not seem do any job and this year it is a disaster. Just applied Monterrey Bt, we will see.

Looks like cutworm damage to me.

tj

where are you???

it does look like cutworm.... but those are usually a very early.. just unfurling problem ... and when you see it .... you just scratch around the soils surface.. within a few inches of the stalks,,. and usually find them... usually not more than one or two per plant ... squish them ...go out hunting at might ... find out how many you have.. before you go nuclear on them .... they are squishy.. i wonder if the usual vinegar/ammonia sprays would work ....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cutworm&t=ffcm&ia=images&iax=images 

i suppose they are the larval stage of different things.. so i suppose there could be late emerging bugs.. or whatever ...

i never heard of anyone having a plague of locusts attacking hosta ... go figure on that ...

you ought to link your other.. associated post here ...

ken

Check out variegated cutworm. It is actually a caterpillar . Bt will work. I have applied nematode last year, this year infestation is worse. Does not mean it did not work though.

Sorry Ken, I need to remember to say zone 5, in Milwaukee. Now, I will have to figure out how to link the other post with this.

I think that most cutworms (generically speaking) are the offspring of moths. If I remember correctly, the time frame from egg laying to pupae is about 2 weeks. So, the offending "bug" may already be gone. The egg laying process is usually in the early spring, so here in Texas, they are already moths and out looking for nectar (or woolen blankets). We're into summer and that problem for hosta has passed.

Occasionally, we get grasshoppers that damage hosta, but it usually it's later in the summer. It happens in dry years when they move into the city searching for water, which is not a problem this year, as we've had a very wet year so far.

bkay

So, the offending "bug" may already be gone.

==>>>

thats what i forgot ... look to new tender growth ... and if that is UNaffected... then your problem already left ... ergo.. treatment would be useless ... since they are usually all of the same kind .. they tend to disappear all at once ...

which then means.. if you have more damage.. in a couple weeks... its a new problem.. not necessarily the same problem ...

did you go out last night and look???

i believe sevin used to be the go to ... but im out of that whole game.. so i dont know what the options are.. or if sevin is still a viable choice ...

ken

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5730575/organic-pest-control#n=2

This year with all the rain I worried about slug damage. So I tried to do the ammonia spray on my hosta beds. I did everywhere about twice. I am surprised to not find many slugs so far. As you know, you can't get rid of them that easily! So now I have been seeing the kind of damage you are talking about djacob. So I tried to see if I could find a cutworm, and I found two. One was easy to find as it was in a potted hosta. Looking around at night would be a good idea. Hopefully they will be gone soon. They can make a lot of unslightly damage to hosta and other tasty plants.

The cycle may repeat itself every 30 to 60 days depending on cutworm.

I had lots of damage like that for the first time this year. Discovered little green caterpillars on several hostas. They looked just like the ones gobbling my tomato plants. Sprayed those with Bt. Did see a light colored moth fly out of them when I was watering. It happened overnight, because I check them every day.

-Babka

Finally the culprit is revealed, I went out tonight and found some slugs but also several of these:

Before

After

I hate grubs/cutworms or whatever that awful thing is!!!

-Babka

bazinga ...

it always fascinated me.. that when you find the culprit ... they are often the color of the plant they are devouring ....

keep going out for a couple nights.. every few days ... and then watch for new un affected growth ..

thx linda... i suspected its a repeated cycle.. i presumed the word cutworm was kind of a general term ... for various things with wings ... in this phase of life.. so it doesnt surprise me.. that different types appear at different times of the season ...

all i was pointing out.. was in my MI experience.. it seemed to be an early spring bug ... i fully understand.. the further south you go.. they take bugs to ridiculous extremes... lol ...

ken

btw: in the first pic.. if you just pull out that ONE worst leaf.... the plant will look 99% better ...

It is a bit novel problem for my garden, here in Chicago, and I know at least one other person in the area with same problem rearing its ugly head. Yes, those are the worms and they are not easy to find!

So it sounds like problem is more systemic than just individual gardens.

Ken, I might resort to "pulling just one leaf " solution....

djacob, did you find these on the ground or on the plant? If on the plant were they on the leaves or petiole?

Ken, I have already resorted to cut the bad leaves method. and I had the exact same thought about the color after squishing. :-) Old_dirt, I found them mostly in between the petiole, on the petiole and one in the ground. After digging around a bit, I moved to another plant. Then I came back to the ones where I hadn’t found any at first and then found one or two this way. Seems they don’t like being disturbed and come out when you poke around—-the nerve!!

I was in the garden this afternoon and found more cutworms and slugs. Blick! In broad daylight, the nerve!

It's been really interesting to me that even though I am in a different country, I have been having the same issues---like cold and wet spring and now cutworms. Here we also had a gypsy moth infestation last year so the city sprayed our area weeks ago. But after that I still found baby caterpillars around. I thought that was what was eating my hostas and plants.

Yesterday I came upon this hosta, Undulata Erromena, in a pot.

Did you notice that leaf?

This is the second one I have found in a pot. I have never experienced that before.