I purchased bare root strawberry plants from Gurneys. I have them in four raised beds. The two beds in the middle are doing pretty well but the other two not so much. Something is chewing up the leaves on those plants. I have put out shallow dishes of beer for slugs but I dont see any evidence of slug activity. I dont see any bugs in the dirt or on the plants other than some ants nearby but not on the plants. I did see a black beetle but I have no idea if he is the culprit. What ever it is it is not eating the entire leaf, just chewing the edges. I
Something is eating the leaves on my strawberry plants.
- Thread starter Becky Sue
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If it isn't snails or slugs it is either an insect or a caterpillar. A spinosad based product will kill most insects and will also kill caterpillars but will not kill caterpillars as fast as a Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis). Since you are not sure what is causing the damage I would spray with spinosad.
I will try this. I have not seen any caterpillers. Thanks for your reply.
Have a google for vine weevil and make sure it's not that.
I lost most all my strawberries to the vine weevil last year.
If it is this, the leaf damage is caused by the adult beetle. It lays eggs (tiny) around the base of the plant and the larvae hatch. Over winter and spring they eat away the roots of your plants, killing them all.
If it is vine weevil, don't panic. The root damage doesn't happen until winter. The leaf damage won't do any real harm. You can get vine weevil nemotodes cheaply and that should solve the problem and save your strawberries.
I lost most all my strawberries to the vine weevil last year.
If it is this, the leaf damage is caused by the adult beetle. It lays eggs (tiny) around the base of the plant and the larvae hatch. Over winter and spring they eat away the roots of your plants, killing them all.
If it is vine weevil, don't panic. The root damage doesn't happen until winter. The leaf damage won't do any real harm. You can get vine weevil nemotodes cheaply and that should solve the problem and save your strawberries.