I have some hosta I planted this spring, Golden Tiara. It is being eaten up. I can't find any worms on the plant so I am inclined to think it is slugs. Some of the leaves have small holes others have chunks missing along the edges, some of them up to half or more of the leaf is gone! This happened in the past week. How do I tell if it is worms or slugs and if I spray them lightly with sevin dust will that deter slugs? They are mulched around with hardwood mulch planted under a Hemlock tree. Please help before they disappear altogether!

The chunks sounds like cutworms. The Sevin dust should help with them. The small holes is most likely slugs. You'll need to use Sluggo or something similar for the slugs. Sevin won't have any affect on them. Some people use an ammonia spray to kill the slugs, a ten to one mixture (ten parts water, one part straight ammonia) and go out in the evening or early morning and spray the slugs directly.

You also need to move your mulch at least 8 inches away from the base of the crowns because that is where the slugs live.

Good advice above. It's also helpful to get out really early in the spring and dump the ammonia mixture on the base of each plant before they unfurl as it will also kill slug eggs. And I agree with the cutworm diagnosis for the large holes.

I have heard that putting beer out at night will kill slugs, does that actually work?

So good to see this post this morning, because when I came in from taking pics "What is eating my hostas" was the number one thing on my mind. I mix up a spray bottle of Ammonia and water and go out several times a week spraying the hostas and surrounding area, like shooting a water gun.
I very seldom actually see a slug, but the spray seems to melt him when he is hit.
Anyhow here are a few pics and I will number them so if any one replies you can refer to the pic and say something like picture one is slug damage, pic two is cutworms, pic three is both etc.
Keep in mind that these are all growing under large oak trees and some of the damage actually could be caused by small limbs falling.
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Beer in a shallow container will attract them. Also halves of an eaten grapefruit laid cut side down. Check them in the morning......

Frilly, the beer only kills the slugs by drowning them, it is placed in a partially buried container and the slugs attracted to the yeast in the beer fall in and drown, not very effective for me.

My dad used to use beer out in the yard with good results. He did check them every day (or sent his kids to check) and changed it when necessary. Diatomeceous earth helps too, but be careful not to inhale any.

arf2d2

OK so would just a little sugar water with yeast in it work?

Don't know if they sugar would be necessary, being it is supposedly the yeast they are drawn to.

You need the sugar for the yeast to "work". I've seen recipes for using it with a little flour thrown in too, if memory serves me right. Didn't work well for me. Diatomeceous earth has to be reapplied every time it rains or if you water. Gets a bit tedious. I still have the best results dousing the plants with an ammonia/water mixture. And later in the season, I also have a spray bottle, but I also add in some insecticidal soap as I've also seen earwigs on the hostas at night. Beer apparently works, by drowning them, as mentioned above. Seems like a real waste of good beer. My local hosta nursery's owner uses slug bate pellets and puts boards over it in the garden. We can't get the really potent stuff here in Ontario.

I seem to remember as a kid my Dad used salt to kill slugs, is that right or am I thinking of something else?

Yes that is right, if you put a little salt on a slug it will melt away, but salt is not good to spread around the plants, just sprinkle a little directly on the slug.

@arf2d2...


I use to run get the salt whenever I saw a slug but now I just keep a bottle of Ammonia water and spray around the foliage and sometimes even spray around pots and the house when it rains. You can use any strength you want it will not hurt the plants, it breaks down rapidly into nitrogen. I spray around 25% on everything I have works great on hostas and daylilies, just spray in and around the crowns to dissolve any eggs or slugs that are hiding. I do not usually spray it right on the flower, just foliage.

so you have to respray every time it rains? What if it doesn't rain for a while, how long does it work then?

No, I go out with the spray on purpose because they will be climbing up the side of the house! I am in it for the kill! They love to come out and play when it is raining and I am ready for them. LOL.
This stuff dissolves slugs and their eggs, once they are dissolved they are gone. But you just want to stay on top of it because you are not quite sure where they lay their eggs. I found baby slugs under a stepping stone and under some nursery pots. This is just the fun way to kill them because you get to watch them suffer, the way your hosta suffered. Bad slug!! It's all about revenge....

Quoted from above in regard to spraying ammonia, "You can use any strength you want it will not hurt the plants,"

NO,NO, NO! If it is too strong, you will risk burning the plants if you spray it on the foliage. 1:10 should be OK. It's ideal for an early season drench. 1:20 should work too to actually spray slugs. But after the hostas unfurl, please, no stronger that 1:10.

When did yours burn? I have been using the same solution for everything. Nothing has burned.