What is eating thease leaves and how to get rid of it?

[Elijah]

This is a Hass avocado tree. Despite initially growing well, it unexpectedly regressed to a smaller size after flowering at an early age, and it has even lost a few branches on its own. However, my primary concern now is that something seems to be eating its leaves. Strangely, nearby Lamb Hass and Sir Prize trees remain unaffected by whatever is causing damage to the Hass leaves.

I heard about Neem oil and Spinosad. Has anyone have experience with these product? Which one is more effective?


Sir Prize




Lamb Hass

[Jack, Nipomo]

Several possibilities from earwigs to snail/slugs.  Go out at night with a flashlight and you will probably see the creature(s). 

[Greater Good]

Escargot attack 🐌 🐌 🐌

[Elijah]

Escargot attack 🐌 🐌 🐌

I haven't seen any snails anywhere near but i will closely monitor.

[fishie]

Were they getting eaten when the leaves were big? I have seen earwigs at night eating the new growth tips. Damage looked small but once the leaves grew out it was much more noticeable like yours. I agree to check it out at night. This year slugs have been very bad for me and killed many newly budding grafts. I dropped some sluggo plus and that has helped quite a bit.

[drymifolia]

My vote is also earwigs, but I don't recommend removing them. They also eat mites and aphids and really only seem to cause aesthetic damage because they just nibble the leaves when they are tender.

I used to remove snails and slugs from my greenhouse, but after closely observing them for awhile I realized they were mostly cleaning the biofilm off the avocado leaves, and they even eat soft scale (one of the few things that does). At least in my greenhouse they do! I haven't been able to find reports of that from any other source. One of my avocado trees used to have bad soft scale, but for the last year or so I've put every snail I find on leaves with scale, and the next day the leaves on that part of the tree are totally clean (other than a slight slime trail). I have trouble finding any scale on that tree now

[Elijah]

Were they getting eaten when the leaves were big? I have seen earwigs at night eating the new growth tips. Damage looked small but once the leaves grew out it was much more noticeable like yours. I agree to check it out at night. This year slugs have been very bad for me and killed many newly budding grafts. I dropped some sluggo plus and that has helped quite a bit.

Yes, those leaves were eaten when they were young and tender, but there is a possibility that they were eaten even when they were grown big. I will look for that bug. I haven't seen any of those around the tree and all other avocado trees are not affected. That is very interesting. Maybe Hass leaves are sweeter than other varieties.

[Greater Good]

Leave out a saucer filled with beer. If it's escargot 🐌 you'll soon find out.

[fishie]

My vote is also earwigs, but I don't recommend removing them. They also eat mites and aphids and really only seem to cause aesthetic damage because they just nibble the leaves when they are tender.

I used to remove snails and slugs from my greenhouse, but after closely observing them for awhile I realized they were mostly cleaning the biofilm off the avocado leaves, and they even eat soft scale (one of the few things that does). At least in my greenhouse they do! I haven't been able to find reports of that from any other source. One of my avocado trees used to have bad soft scale, but for the last year or so I've put every snail I find on leaves with scale, and the next day the leaves on that part of the tree are totally clean (other than a slight slime trail). I have trouble finding any scale on that tree now

That's interesting. Is it a different species of snail you have up there? I've been out at night and seen the slugs sucking on new buds on my grafts so definitely not a friend in my situation. Killed at least 4 nigras that I've seen. After my trees got bigger I no longer worry about earwigs, but that eaten growth did bother me quite a bit 

Were they getting eaten when the leaves were big? I have seen earwigs at night eating the new growth tips. Damage looked small but once the leaves grew out it was much more noticeable like yours. I agree to check it out at night. This year slugs have been very bad for me and killed many newly budding grafts. I dropped some sluggo plus and that has helped quite a bit.

Yes, those leaves were eaten when they were young and tender, but there is a possibility that they were eaten even when they were grown big. I will look for that bug. I haven't seen any of those around the tree and all other avocado trees are not affected. That is very interesting. Maybe Hass leaves are sweeter than other varieties.

Even more convinced they are earwigs then  . Go out at night will be telling.

[drymifolia]

Oh yeah slugs are ruthless when it comes to mulberry buds. I've lost a couple nigras to them too. Every once in awhile I've seen slugs go after the very first buds emerging from avocado seeds, but rarely have I seen them do any damage to avocados beyond that point. This thread was about avocados, but yes the slugs are horrible pests on other things. I can't grow dragonfruit in my greenhouse because of the slug pressure, and they eat many of my vegetable garden starts too.

[fishie]

Oh yeah slugs are ruthless when it comes to mulberry buds. I've lost a couple nigras to them too. Every once in awhile I've seen slugs go after the very first buds emerging from avocado seeds, but rarely have I seen them do any damage to avocados beyond that point. This thread was about avocados, but yes the slugs are horrible pests on other things. I can't grow dragonfruit in my greenhouse because of the slug pressure, and they eat many of my vegetable garden starts too.

Specific to avocados, got it!

[NewGen]

OP, sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I do have a question, Lol.
I see you're growing them in fabric pots. How often do you water them? I have a bunch of those bags but haven't used any.
Thanks!!

[Elijah]

OP, sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I do have a question, Lol.
I see you're growing them in fabric pots. How often do you water them? I have a bunch of those bags but haven't used any.
Thanks!!

I don't water the plants during winter since we receive sufficient rainfall, but during the summer, I water them once a week or once every two weeks. It's crucial to ensure that the soil in your pots is sandy or a mix of perlite and peat moss for proper drainage. If the soil in your pots or grow bags drains well, you can water more frequently, especially on hot summer days. BTW I have three of 50 lbs bags and, the other two bags are 35lbs.