In my side garden, where all the small "nursery" iris are growing I have something that is taking circular bites out of the rhizome. The leaves are perfectly fine, but the rhizomes have craters. I have pulled up a few of the very small rhizomes and one had a hole from one side to the next, but no leaf damage or other more borer like traits. I have never had this issue before, and it is only in this garden. The larger rhizomes in the garden have not been touched.

Grasshoppers! They go after the tenderest rhizomes and make a crater type hole you can put your finger tip in. They also eat the iris leaf edges I have watched them. Last year our region suffered the loss of a lot of familiar birds. As a result the grasshopper population went unchecked. I would find three or four different types of grasshoppers on one iris fan. It was a trying year. This year the birds are here and the hoppers are in check so I am battling the little black beetles that dig into the soil and eat the iris roots.

Well that makes sense since we have plenty of grasshoppers and crickets around here. Even with the plentiful birds. If they are hopping around the garden that would also explain why a stroll by the garden is on my neighbor cat's daily routine.

ants are not helpful either.

Tons of ants. Will they eat on young rhizomes? I have them crawling around the iris all the time, but haven't seen any on the iris themselves.

We have put poison out for them. I am not sure if the eat the actual rhizomes, but they can remove soil from round the roots.

Good point! I don't need that problem either.

Garden ants eat other bugs and clean up the area like garden spiders do. However, if they invade the irises I stir them up a bit and they move on. Fire ants are another matter.... they like taking bites out of me. When it was very cold last winter and sleet was falling I took my spade out and chopped deeply into the ground where they were mounded over. I left the spade cut open to the winter weather. They did not return this spring. This is the first summer in ten years I have not battled fire ants all summer.

Good for you! Those guys are nasty, and unfortunately they are now moving into central NC. I hope they don't take up home in my yard.

Great Bonnie. Luckily they are not in New England.

I have used "Combat source kill MAX ant" Bait. its a gel that comes in a syringe type applicator. It works fantastic! And since it works so good I can't find it anymore at the local stores. I did order some on line today just in case they stopped making it.

Ants "farm" aphids and scale (and others in the homoptera family) for the sweet honeydew they exude. Sometimes you don't notice a problem until you see the sooty mold that grows on the honeydew exuded on the leaves of a plant. The ants we have here (I've seen about 3-4 different types) don't seem to be predatory with other insects.. I see a lot of grain husks outside their nests. Glad we don't have fire ants.

And I hope you never get them. smiles

We too far north to have fire ants, and I've never seen ants (of any type !) EATING the iris, but, I don't like them in the iris beds....here's why:








the ants don't bring up nearly as much dirt as the "cicada killer wasps" do, but still, it's enough to hurt the iris...it's part of my daily walk-a-bout, brushing the dirt off!

I get that too, Arlyn.

Crickets! Crickets eat iris rhizomes. They have been eating my iris rhizomes. I do not have ants or grasshoppers around, but I do have a lot of Crickets around my home, and they are Huge!
They take huge chunks out of the iris rhizomes, not pinhole size either. They chew the tops of the iris rhizomes. I have had to resort to using Cayenne Pepper on the top of each and every Iris rhizome to deter them from chewing up the rhizomes. The leaves are not affected at all. I'm hoping to win this battle before I lose any or all of my Iris gardens.

The pepper might protect against animals as well.

Lucy, I think you are correct. I have not noticed any further damage to the rhizomes since using the Cayenne Pepper. I am concerned as to whether the rhizomes that were chewed and damaged will recover or will the plants not perform and bloom. What are your thoughts ?

The craters that have been chewed into my iris have never kept them from continuing to grow and bloom. If a lot has been eaten, then their growth has been slowed down, but I have never had any die from this yet.