Holes eaten in leaves
Irregular holes chewed through the leaf, ranging from small perforations to leaves reduced to their midribs. What ate them is usually identifiable from the pattern and the time of day the damage appears.
Described view
Strawberry foliage showing two kinds of damage in one frame: large irregular holes rasped through the leaf blade with a silvery slime trail still visible across the leaf, and separately the neat semicircular notches bitten inward from the leaf margin that are the signature of adult vine weevil
What causes it, and how to tell them apart
Work down the list making the observation under each heading. GrowingHQ will not guess which one you have — the observation is the answer.
- Cabbage white caterpillarsvery common
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Cabbage caterpillars
Checked 2026-08-13
How to tell
On brassicas in summer, look on the leaf undersides for the caterpillars themselves and for dark green-black droppings caught in the leaf axils. The droppings persist after the caterpillars have moved on and are often the first thing seen.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Cabbage caterpillars — identification
Checked 2026-08-13
If it is this, do first
Pick off the caterpillars and the egg batches on the leaf undersides, then cover the plants with insect-proof mesh.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Cabbage caterpillars — control
Checked 2026-08-13
- Slugs and snailsvery common
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Slugs and snails
Checked 2026-08-13
How to tell
Damage appears overnight and there are slime trails on the leaves or nearby soil in the morning. Slug holes have ragged edges and often start from the leaf margin; the plant may be grazed to the stem at ground level, which caterpillars do not do.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Slugs and snails — damage
Checked 2026-08-13
If it is this, do first
Go out after dark with a torch on the next mild damp evening and collect them. That single hour tells you both how many there are and removes most of them.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Slugs and snails — control
Checked 2026-08-13
Where GrowingHQ holds more for one plant
This page lists the causes across every plant. The plants below are the ones where something about that plant changes the answer — different candidates, or a different observation that separates them.
Vegetables
- Broccoli: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to broccoli
- Brussels sprouts: holes eaten in leaves — 3 candidates specific to brussels sprouts
- Land cress: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to land cress
- Lettuce: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to lettuce
- Potato: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to potato
Fruit
- Strawberry: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to strawberry
Ornamentals
- Dahlia: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to dahlia
- Fuchsia: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to fuchsia
- Hosta: holes eaten in leaves — 3 candidates specific to hosta
- Hydrangea: holes eaten in leaves — 3 candidates specific to hydrangea
- Rose: holes eaten in leaves — 2 candidates specific to rose