Something's eating my lettuce leaves

savingsara_2

I don't know what it might be, but something is eating the outer leaves of my Little Gems, I'd guess some sort of fly rather than slugs... any ideas please?

windym_2

OH 'caught' a deer in our garden the other night eating our lettuce and carrots. We have now put some netting over the veg plot, also cut some 2lt cola bottles and placed over the remaining lettuce to act like a cloche protection. Seems to be working.

bizzylizzy

Hooligan sparrows eat our lettuces - we have to cover the beds with fleece to stop them. I have even seen the sparrows trying to pull the fleece off!

Gebo26

I've had cutworms in lettuces. Try scraping the soil away around each affected plant and you might find a caterpillar. If so, that's the blighter which is eating your leaves under cover of nightfall. Just squash it.

If you don't find anything, then it's likely to be something else.

savingsara_2

Gebo26 wrote: »

I've had cutworms in lettuces. Try scraping the soil away around each affected plant and you might find a caterpillar. If so, that's the blighter which is eating your leaves under cover of nightfall. Just squash it.

If you don't find anything, then it's likely to be something else.

Ah! I wonder if that's what my friend was talking about when I asked her. She suggested putting some water and fag ends into a jar and letting it stand for a day then spraying the noxious mixture onto the lettuce. I'm gonna try so I'll let you know.

My OH is in the process of giving up smoking so it had better work quickly if it's going to!!!!

Gebo26

savingsara wrote: »

Ah! I wonder if that's what my friend was talking about when I asked her. She suggested putting some water and fag ends into a jar and letting it stand for a day then spraying the noxious mixture onto the lettuce. I'm gonna try so I'll let you know.

My OH is in the process of giving up smoking so it had better work quickly if it's going to!!!!

It might work, but do you really want to eat the lettuces after they've been sprayed with nicotine? It's probably illegal, too.

I think I would try dusting with derris, a nasty, plant-derived poison which is approved for "organic" gardening. Sprinkle it round the plants onto the soil close to the stem if you don't want it on the leaves, but it loses its potency quite quickly.

savingsara_2

Oh dear, too late :eek: