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My confusion is because I have always had luck with Ortho Bug Geta Plus but this is frustrating on my new Dancing Queen and Spilt Milk. I have been very diligent with my granules. I put a ring of them around the base but I am seeing more damage. Do I have mutant slugs? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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Cutworms.  |
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| Yes, I agree, a cutworm or caterpillar. I don't know if that product works on those. Look around, you may be able to find it hanging out nearby. |
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| You need a chicken or two! They have eyes like and eagle and their only mission in life is to find and eat creepy crawlies that chew hosta! |
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- Posted by steve_mass 5b (My Page) on Mon, May 14, 12 at 20:00
| Look deep inside the petioles to see if you can find the worm. If not check in the first inch or so of soil underneath. One would think that the Plus in Bug Getta Plus would take care of these worms. Steve |
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| Steve, do the little @#$%%! come out at all times of the day or are they evening dwellers like slugs? |
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- Posted by steve_mass 5b (My Page) on Mon, May 14, 12 at 20:51
| I found one in my LS Prophecy in the morning about a week ago. I had to dig way down into the pets and this guy was buried in an eye in which new young leaves were emerging. He ate holes through everything. I was so angry. I squished him on the spot then left him on a rock in front of the Hosta as an example for the others. Steve |
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| I have found them in the day time, too, though i guess like slugs they do most of their evil business at night. I despise them, and will take slugs over cutworms any day. They are gross to kill, too. |
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| Steve, Does that mean that your Lakeside Prophecy won't be fulfilled this year? |
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| So are you all pickers or sprayers? I am leaning toward spraying as I have quite a few hostas. I am seeing some use Seven while others do a systemic like Bayer. |
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- Posted by moccasinlanding z9A AL (My Page) on Mon, May 14, 12 at 22:24
| I've done both, spray on the soil and the leaves, I tried some Sevin dust and it made a big ugly mess of my pretty leaves, so no more Sevin. I did get some diatomaceous earth and figured that would do some good on the soil. I picked up a few pots and checked beneath them, sure enough found a few many-legged 1 inch long things not earwigs, and I dusted them good--no more of those messing critters entering the drain holes of my pots. Plus, today I ordered the copper slug/snail tapes, put that on each pot perimeter and once should reduce their presence all season. I ordered 5 boxes/rolls of it, seeing as how I have all my hosta in pots. I do not really like to pick squishy critters. But I think I could deal with the slugs and cutworms using an ammonia soaked q-tip. If I think there are any sawfly larva, judging by the silvery threads on the surface of the soil in the pots, even when there is no leaf damage, I grab the pot and briefly dunk it into a 10% household ammonia solution. I even have a hard time breathing that stuff, let's hope they do too. Plus, there is always the option for using soapy water as a bath for the hosta, even if it isn't Saturday night. Extreme problems call for extreme solutions, pun intended. |
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| What worked for me was BT. It comes in a powder or spray just for caterpillars. The powder is called Dipel. It's quick and works well. It won't wash off blue hosta, by the way. I've seen 1 damaged leaf since I sprayed. BT is an organic insecticide and won't harm bees. Babka uses a soil drench, which would get them, too. They have to be close by, so they should be easy to kill. bkay |
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| Bkay, pardon my ignorance but what is BT ? I see it referred to a bit but everyone calls it BT. |
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| Don't ever feel silly for asking a good question! Found this answer for you: Bacillus Thuringiensis |
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| Wow, that sounds interesting to me, if it doesn't harm dogs. I've tried Sluggo Plus, but still have cutworms and earwigs and everything else it says it works against. Bkay, what do you mean it won't wash off blue hosta? Does it make them unsightly? |
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