Hostas (Hosta spp.) are the unsung heroes of the shade garden, producing dense, green foliage and sweet-scented flower spikes in USDA plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, depending on species. Pests can be an issue, but most gardeners are more concerned with slugs and snails than with mole damage to their hardy hosta plants.
What could be eating my hosta leaves?
What causes holes in the leaves of hostas? This is one of the most often asked questions about hosta plants. Slugs or snails are frequently the culprits when it comes to pests eating hostas. These nocturnal foragers, which eat small holes in the leaves, are perhaps the most frequent of the hosta pests. Snail trails of silvery tint can be found around the garden area, indicating their presence. Beer traps may be used to control these slugs, which they crawl into and die in.
The adult black vine weevil is another insect pest that eats hosta leaves. This bug makes uneven notches along the outer edges of leaves as a sign of its presence. Their larvae also cause damage to hosta plants by feeding on the crown and roots, resulting in yellow, wilted foliage.
Nematodes, which are minute roundworms, infect hosta plants in the same way as fungi or bacteria do. They flourish in damp environments, just as fungal infections. Nematodes eat on the leaves, resulting in brown spots between the veins, giving the leaves a striped appearance. This usually happens in the late summer. Plants that have been harmed should be destroyed. Most nematode attacks can be avoided by providing proper distance between plants, using soaker hoses to avoid damp foliage, and removing and destroying all diseased plants.
Do you believe that only bugs consume hostas? Reconsider your position. Hosta plants are frequently eaten by deer and rabbits. Deer, on the other hand, may leave merely stalks where once lovely hosta leaves grew, whilst rabbits prefer to nibble on the young shoots.
What animal is eating my hostas at night?
Hosta damage is frequently caused by deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and even wild turkeys. I would propose enclosing the area in a green wire cage. It should be just big enough for the hostas to make a decent start. The green should mix seamlessly with the rest of the bedding.
What animal is eating my hosta plants?
Hostas are eaten by what animal? You can usually blame deer, voles, or mice if yours suddenly vanish. Slugs, snails, cutworms, black vine weevils, and nematodes are some of the bugs that can cause more slow damage. Hostas are rarely eaten by rabbits and squirrels, however bunnies do appreciate the fragile spring shoots.
Do you know what eats hostas? If that’s the case, you’ve come to the correct place. Because different species can leave similar indications, it can be difficult to know which animal is eating your hostas.
Eliminate Their Food Sources
Grubs are a favorite food of moles. The moles will relocate in search of better food sources if you remove the grubs and other insects from your yard. The use of helpful nematodes or milky spore to destroy grubs is recommended for controlling grub numbers. Use a pesticide instead if you want faster results.
Apply A Repellent
A mole repellant can be an effective treatment for an infestation in some instances. Castor oil, for example, will not kill moles, but it will induce digestive problems in those that come into contact with it, making your grass less interesting to them.
Soak the tunnels and entrances in your yard with four tablespoons of this mixture in a gallon of water.
You can also buy repellants in liquid or granule form and use a spreader to apply them to your lawn. If you pick this option, make sure you carefully follow all label instructions.
Use Plants As A Barrier
Plants having strong odors, such as daffodils, marigolds, and anything in the allium family, are disliked by moles. Plant these species along the perimeter of your garden to create a natural barrier, or on raised beds to protect root systems. You can also buy ready-made mole barriers at your local garden store if you like.
Dig A Trench
Dig a hole 2 feet deep and six inches wide around the area you want to protect to create a human-made border around your lawn and garden.
Line the trench with rocks or wire mesh or hardware cloth with 3/4-inch or smaller holes. This is a time-consuming but long-term technique for preventing moles from tunneling into your yard.
Create An Unfriendly Environment
Moles dislike living in noisy environments. This is fantastic news for you because it means that removing them is as simple as creating an unpleasant atmosphere.
To do so, go to your local home and garden store and get a sonic spike to stick in the ground in your garden. This spike will employ electronic pulses to make obnoxious sounds that will drive moles away. You won’t be able to hear or feel the electronic pulses, so don’t worry.
Keep Your Lawn Tidy
Moles prefer to be hidden. As a result, removing their shelter is a wonderful strategy to urge them to seek shelter elsewhere.
Keep your lawn maintained and your garden beds in good shape. Avoid covering gardens with thick layers of mulch and remove any wood stacks or mounds of organic material. Excess wetness attracts insects and offers a great environment for moles, so you may want to reduce your watering.
Will moles eat hosta roots?
A vole or a pocket gopher is likely to be the cause if your hostas are being aggressively devoured by a tunneling vertebrate. These rodent-like pests are known for devouring a broad variety of vegetables and ornamental plants, as well as girdling trees. It’s unlikely that you’ll observe these pests chewing on your plants unless you keep an eye out at night. Building a fence around your hostas and burying about 2 feet of fence wire underneath is the best way to safeguard them. You can slowly trap the problem animals while your hostas are protected.
Do squirrels eat hostas?
Squirrels don’t eat hosta in large quantities or actively seek it out. There are a few situations that lead to feeding. Squirrels, for example, will devour young, fragile plants when they emerge. During a drought, they will also feed on the water-rich foliage, leaving little stalks shooting up from the ground.
What does Epsom salt do for hostas?
Epsom salt enhances chlorophyll levels in hostas, reducing stunted development and making their leaves greener and thicker. It also promotes bushier plant growth and increases disease and insect resistance.
Get Rid of Slugs
The most prevalent pests that attack hostas are slugs. Slugs can be deterred by placing a tablespoon of Epsom salt in the shape of a ring around hostas. Their bodies will be irritated by the sharp crystals of Epsom salt, and they will avoid getting near your plants. For optimal results, apply once a week.
For Yellowing Hosta Leaves
Magnesium insufficiency might be indicated by yellow hosta leaves. Once a month (or more frequently if necessary), sprinkle a spoonful of Epsom salt around the base of your hosta plant per 12 inches of height until it begins to look green again.
For Lush and Healthy Hosta Plants
Even if your soil is not magnesium deficient, factors such as acidic soil, low soil temperature, soil cation exchange capacity, high potassium, and salt can all impede Magnesium uptake by plant roots.
In that case, foliar feeding your hosta plants with Epsom salt solution is a good idea:
- During the rapid growth period, mix 2 teaspoons Epsom salt in 1 gallon of water and sprinkle on the foliage once a month.
- Reduce the amount to 1 tablespoon as growth slows. Your hostas will stay lush and healthy with the foliar treatment.
Mix Epsom Salt with Fertilizer
To improve the efficiency of the all-purpose liquid fertilizer, mix a pinch of Epsom salt with it before feeding the hosta plants, then apply according to the recommendations on the fertilizer’s packet.
How do I keep animals from eating my hostas?
- Use baby powder to dust your young hosta plants. The leaves will be coated, making them undesirable to the invading rabbits.
- Garlic and wormwood plants should be planted around the hosta plants in your yard.
Will hostas grow back after being eaten?
In the correct conditions, Hosta leaves recover quickly, and these tough plants are desperate to survive. After the initial deer attack, though, guard your hostas. If hostas are repeatedly eaten, they are far less likely to recover.
What is eating my hostas from underground?
“I could use some advice,” writes Jeff in Manassas. In our yard, a mole (or several moles, based on appearances) has made a home. They’ve taken up residence in the grass and flower beds, and we’re at a loss as to how to politely request that they go. Anything you can do to assist would be fantastic!”
Now: Moles (with a M) dig raised tunnels in lawns that you can collapse by stomping on them, but they don’t harm plants in any other way. Voles (with a V) devour underground plant parts like spring bulbs and (particularly) the roots of plants like hostas, creating small runway-like tracks on the surface of lawns.
Moles vs. voles
When someone from Manassas writes in, seeking for help with “moles,” I invariably inquire, “Do you have moles?” Or perhaps voles?
Moles are blind and strange-looking creatures that are rarely seen by humans. They are carnivorous and dwell underground, consuming exclusively beetle grubs, earthworms, and cicada larvae. They don’t eat any plants. However, their enormous tunnels can wreak havoc on a lawn. (True gophers, as depicted in the classic film “Caddyshack,” are possibly the most vexing of such underground pests.) But, thankfully, they don’t exist in our area.)
Voles are shrew-like critters with dark fur that are the size of mice. They have a high fecundity and are occasionally spotted aboveground. Those who suffer from them usually notice their trampled-down tracks in lawns. Their food is likewise underground, like that of moles. However, they are vegetarians, and the voracious bugs prefer spring bulbs such as tulips and perennial roots.
Jeff exclaims, “Oh joy.” “I suppose we have both,” says the narrator. Our spring bulbs and perennials are vanishing because we have so many elevated tunnels throughout the yard.”
Vibrating stakes are just a waste of good batteries
Jeff has both moles and voles in Manassas. “We tried using the stakes that send out a pulse (which didn’t work) and don’t know what to do next,” he writes.
Jeff, your experience is not unusual. From the indoor ones offered to purportedly ward off mice and roaches to your vibrating stakes to the huge ones sold to repel deer, I’ve never seen evidence that any type of “electronic pest repeller” works. They are, nonetheless, all around us. They’re also commonplace.
What is the explanation for this? Liquid and granular herbicides and insecticides (organic or chemical) must have been proven effective to be permitted for sale, according to federal law. Unfortunately, “devices” are exempt from federal regulations and do not need to be proven beneficial; they can be sold for any reason. However, every actual research of these gadgets that I’ve ever seen has failed.
(I had a great time with these things a long time ago.) A wrangler from the local insect zoo carried a giant clear glass tube full of cockroaches to the studio for a local TV reporter. She flipped the tube over, waited a minute for the roaches to spread out, and then put on an electric roach repeller and held it near one end of the tube. The roaches all swarmed to the tube’s far end. It’s a good thing she wasn’t holding the glass tube because it would have turned into one of the most thrilling TV moments ever…)
No ‘worms’ & no gum either
Poison gummy worms designed to be hurled into mole runs are next on the list of things not to attempt. Because moles only consume live, warm food (and because they’re blind, they can’t notice the ingenious disguise), these items are only a threat to little children who may mistake them for candy.
The classic “Juicy Fruit gum down the hole” technique is the same way. Although it was one of my boyhood favorites, right up there with Bazooka Bubble Gum, neither moles nor voles will find the gum appealing. (Not the hard, stale slab that came inside every pack of baseball cards, but the penny candy version with the Bazooka Joe comic and your fortune wrapped around it.) That inedible splinter only served to tarnish and depreciate the value of your 1952 Mickey Mantle.)
Give them a dose of castor oil
Although neither insect is easy to eradicate, the first step should be to spray the afflicted areas with a castor oil-based mole and vole repellent. These repellents, which are available in both liquid and granular form at most garden centers and home stores, are designed to give your subsoil a foul odor. The castor oil will not damage the bugs directly, but it will send them to your neighbor’s grass if you use a strong enough concentration.
Mole and vole repellents based on castor oil are harmless to humans, pets, and other animals. They cannot, however, be replaced with human-grade castor oil. Castor oil has been treated to make it odorless. You want the most powerful subsurface odor imaginable.
This entails purchasing the product with the largest concentration of active component and applying it liberally. Don’t succumb to the temptation to dilute.
Mole and vole elimination
If, like Jeff in Manassas, you have moles digging tunnels in your lawn and voles devouring your spring bulbs and perennial roots, the first line of defense is a castor oil-based mole and vole repellent. Both pests should be sent packing if the concentration is high enough.
Mouse traps baited with peanut butter can then be used to catch any remaining voles. In this case, the newer battery-powered electric traps would be ideal because they pose no hazard to birds. (Here’s an example from an internet vendor.) They’re also available on the shelf at most garden centers, home improvement stores, and hardware stores.)
Mole Zap is a new device designed to put moles to sleep. The name implies that it electrocutes the underground terrors, but it simply floods their tunnels with CO2, putting them to sleep.
Finally, a simple crossbeam positioned 5 to 6 feet above the ground, known as a raptor perch, can attract a remarkable number of owls, the most common predator of voles.