Your picture is of a fly and not a problem for the plants but a picture of the plant itself would be more helpful if possible.

Holes can be caused by wind but they look mostly like "tears" rather than round holes. And ants can also cause them and I doubt you want the ants inside anyway. ;)

The most common cause (depending on the size and appearance) is flea beetles but I would think it is a bit early for them yet. Next most common is slugs so check the soil carefully and sprikle him with a bit of salt. Next is tomato worms (the larvae of a small moth) but you should be able to see them as well on close examination.

If they are just a few small holes, they won't hurt anything but if the problem persists, then there has to be some sort of pest there somewhere so do a very careful examination to find him.

Good luck.

Dave

Thank you so much for your reply. It makes sense that the flies are not the culprit, as I have seen them around the other windows and the plants there look fine. Maybe it is just the ants. (So far, they have trotted happily through piles of cinnamon, ignored my borax-sugar cotton balls, and returned immediately after my spraying the surrounding area with ant poison). I'm trying to figure out how to change the photo. . .

Leaf photos should be on the link. Thank you!

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of leaf holes

Hi Jessica - most of that damage is just wind tears damage and a bit of sunburn. But you do have aphids too - I can see a few of them in the pictures when I blow them up - tiny individual green peach aphids. You can hose them off with the kitchen sink sprayer and then let the plants dry well before exposing them to direct light to avoid more sunburn - any droplets on the leaves act like a magnifying glass and it kills the cell tissue under it.

The aphids are also what are attracting the ants - they milk them like cows for their honeydew.

If the problem persists after you hose them off, then mix up a soapy water solution of 1 tsp dish soap in 1 gallon of water (weaker than the normal recipe since they are seedlings) and lightly mist the leaves and soil top. Again - no exposure to light or sun until very well dried.

Hope this helps.

Dave

DAVE -

What kind of soap do you recommend ?
Also do you recommend Misting the plants at night so they have time to dry before the sun comes out to avoid further sunburn?
Thanks