SOS! What's eating my echinacea?

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amynh Washougal, WA(Zone 7b) Jun 24, 2005

I planted some new echinacea last year and they started coming up again this year, but now are nibbled down to nothing but stubs! I haven't seen the culprits in action, so I don't even know what kind of buggie it might be. How do I get rid of it? Is there a natural organic spray or something I could use?

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kneff Dearborn, MI(Zone 5b) Jun 26, 2005

I'm wondering if you might have rabbits or woodchucks. Most bugs don't do as thorough a job as you're describing, and anything that becomes a stub in my garden has usually been eaten by critters. Very young seedlings could be entirely consumed by slugs, but I think you'd see slime trails nearby.

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Jun 27, 2005

I wondered the same thing. The bunnies haven't attacked any of my Echinacea (yet), but they're chomping away at my 'Purple Dome' asters. Grrr....

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TuttiFrutti Spokane Valley, WA(Zone 5b) Jun 27, 2005

I've learned this year that earwigs chomp down on marigolds and cucumber plants. I live in a rather urban setting with few pests, so small furry creatures just don't come into play. :)

Just a thought.
Donna

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amynh Washougal, WA(Zone 7b) Jun 27, 2005

We do have rabbits, but wouldn't they normally eat the leaf stem that runs up the center too? All that's left are these little "spikes" of stem/vein that used to run up the centers of the leaves. And the dog and cats keep the rabbits pretty well at bay. ??

We do have slugs here, but I've got pine mulch around the plants and I'm told that helps keep slugs away. ??

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kneff Dearborn, MI(Zone 5b) Jun 30, 2005

Are you seeing any caterpillar droppings below? Sometimes cutworms eat in the way you are describing. You can find them at night with a flashlight. Bunnies would eat the whole leaf; I assumed from your first post that was the case.

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amynh Washougal, WA(Zone 7b) Jun 30, 2005

No, the stems of the leaves are still left, so I'm guessing it's not furry critters. It must be some kind of bug, but I don't see anything. Maybe this cutworm is a possibility. I'm going to be making up some pepper spray this weekend to hopefully keep things at bay.

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