Insect invasion

amandajstaley

Have planted winter pansies and primroses for the first time for a bit of winter cheer and the leaves are being eaten but i dont think its snails. Can anyone suggest the culprit and a friendly potion to irradicate the rascals

Dovefromabove

If it's not snails it's probably slugs ... go out in the evenings and first thing in the morning, look under the leaves etc and nab them ... what you do with them is up to you. 

amandajstaley

Thank you, i will do as suggested but the holes appear within the leaf not from the edge inwards but they are tricky. 

Dovefromabove

Slugs and snails are quite capable of making holes within leaves because their mouthparts act as a rasp. 

amandajstaley

I'm on my way out I might hear them grinding their way through the foliage. Thank you.

Lyn

amandajstaley said:

Thank you, i will do as suggested but the holes appear within the leaf not from the edge inwards but they are tricky. 

Sounds like a disease called Pansy Leaf Shot. 

charlesclark1567

I think it would be Sawflies who can chew holes that do not go all the way through the leaf, making it look intact but transparent. If you found any sawflies then you can kill them with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil.

pansyface

Not much point in using pesticides if you don’t know what is causing the damage.
It might be earwigs. Put a stick in the ground, push a bit of newspaper into a small flowerpot and hang the flowerpot upside down on the top of the stick. Earwigs will crawl in there for a snooze. You might even catch a snail in there.

cornelly

Look for woodlice.

Obelixx

Woodlice are a gardening friend.  Not foe.

Lyn

I dont think wood lice make  tiny holes in the middle of pansy leaves, I’ve never seen then do that.