Holes chewed in leaves or ragged edges
New holes appear overnight or over days; often more outdoors..
- Also called
- holes in leaves
- something eating my leaves
- chewed leaves
- bite marks
- ragged leaves
Likely causes, most likely first
Ranked for this sign on its own. Your stage, medium and readings change the order, so run the checker for your plant.
PossibleCaterpillars and budworms
Fix: Hand-pick; exclude moths with netting; use Bt (kurstaki or aizawai) while larvae are small, since it must be eaten and breaks down in sunlight in days. Remove bored buds: frass starts bud rot.
Recovery: No fresh frass or holes after 1 week.
How to confirm it
- Open the densest colas. In flower, gently spread the largest, densest colas at the base and look for brown, mushy or grey tissue around the stem, a single wilted sugar leaf that pulls out easily, frass or caterpillars. Check 5-10 colas per plant each week from mid-flower, more when RH is high. Bag any rot before removing it.
Look for
Clean-edged or ragged holes; look for frass, slime trails, caterpillars or beetles at night with a torch..
The full guide: What is eating holes in my leaves?
Guidance, not a guarantee. The checker weighs common causes against what you tell it; confirm with the tests before you treat, change one thing at a time and watch the new growth.
