Something is eating little holes in tomato and flower leaves

I've recently put some tomato and pepper plants outside which I actually grew indoors from seed (for the first time.) Lately I've noticed little holes in some of the leaves of the tomato plants, a few peppers, and also my dahlias. I've seen a tiny fly in various parts of the yard near some of the plants. It has clear wings and won't stay still long enough, of course, to have a photo shoot. Could this fly be the culprit and, if so, is there anything I can dust or spray the plants with that will be safe? I'd like to attack the problem before it is too late.

Are the holes irregular or are they perfect circles? If they're perfect circles then I suspect leaf cutter bees, but if they're irregular shapes they're probably something else. Most likely not the fly you saw although it's not impossible, most times when you see a bug flying near your plants it's just a coincidence and they're not the culprit. What is important though is figuring out what it is before you go spraying stuff--not every pesticide kills every insect, and some insects do damage that's primarily cosmetic and won't actually hurt the plant in the long run, so if that's the case then it may be better to leave it alone. The leaf cutter bees are a good example, they are actually beneficial and good to have around, they do some cosmetic damage to plants but unless it's a tiny seedling it's doubtful they'd ever kill anything so I always leave them alone.

I'll examine the holes more closely in the morning when I have daylight. Thank you.

Well, I've looked at the damaged plants closer and the holes are not perfect circles. Whatever it is really seems to like my dahlias a lot, but also a few peppers and tomatoes.

It could be slugs/snails--do you see any slime trails either near the plants or on the stems? If that's the culprit then you can either put copper barriers around them, or try some slug/snail bait (just make sure especially if you have pets that you don't use one with metaldehyde as the active ingredient) Or there are any number of insects, caterpillars, etc that can munch on leaves. The trouble with insects is that most insecticides need to be sprayed onto the insect in order to kill it, so if you never catch them on the plant you're going to have a hard time killing them.

I definitely have a problem here with slugs and snails. However, the tomatoes and peppers are in nursery pots up off the ground. The dahlias were planted as bulbs--or tubers?? I've looked for the product which was mentioned in a recent article on DG (don't have the name handy right now), but can't find it. All I have is a product with metaldehyde. I have no pets, but still would rather use a safer product if I can find it.

Slugs and snails can crawl up into pots--I find snails in my pots from time to time and I know I didn't put them there! LOL I'm not sure how high up they'll climb so the higher up the plants maybe the less likely it is, but I've definitely found snails in pots that were up on at least the 2nd shelf off the ground.

Sluggo is one brand that is made with iron phosphate as the active, I'm sure there are others too. Just go to your local Home Depot, Lowes, etc and look through their pest control products, most likely they'll have at least one slug product that doesn't have metaldehyde.

I'll definitely look for that. You would think I could have remembered a name like "Sluggo," but I can't even remember where I park my car most of the time. LOL! I assume it's safe to use in vegetable gardens or you would not have recommended it. Thank you.

Another distinct possibility are flea beetles. They make small holes in leaves - usually described as causing a shot-hole appearance. There are many species that attack a wide variety of plants and they are found all over the country. Just google flea beetle and see if this matches your damage.

They are very small, but visible to the naked eye. It's just that you have to be there when they are present to see them. LOL They jump, like fleas, but they are beetles and not related to fleas.

I found some Safe soap--3-in-1 garden spray on my shelf and used that on the peppers, tomatoes, and dahlias. I had purchased it for my houseplants. I THINK it worked! The plants are still living.

I will do a search for flea beatles and be on the lookout for them. Thank you for your help.