Why do my hosta plants have holes in the leaves?
Slugs and snails eat these leaves in the night. Regular insecticides will not control slugs and snails (these are mollusks, not insects). Metaldehyde is the active ingredient in most slug bait products. You can apply this as pellets or newer products have this as a liquid, which you can use to make a solid line they must cross to get to the plant. Also, there are many organic / physical methods of control including: pecan hulls as a mulch, crushed egg shells, sweet gum balls circling the plant, (if you can’t walk on these in your bare feet neither can slugs) and diatomaceous earth (which is no longer effective if it gets wet). Each of these has been effective with some, but not all, Master Gardeners.
