What Is Eating My Lettuce Seedlings At Night?

Slugs and snails love lettuce, but they nibble from the outside edges toward the center. A leaf with a center rib intact and a scalloped edge has been visited by a slug during the night. Only if seedlings have just sprouted will slugs eat the whole plant.

What is eating all my plants at night?

Many caterpillars, beetles, and especially earwigs and slugs, feed at night and hide during the day. Handpicking caterpillars, beetles and slugs and dropping them into soapy water can be effective in home vegetable gardens.

What keeps eating my lettuce?

Common Lettuce Pests

1. Herbivores.
2. Insects. Aphids. Beetles. Caterpillars. Crickets. Fungus Gnats.
3. Slugs and Snails.

How do you protect lettuce from seedlings?

Early and late sowings may need protection against cold, using cloches, plastic tunnels or horticultural fleece. You can also grow lettuces in containers and growing bags, but be sure to water regularly.

What’s killing my seedlings?

There are several possibilities for the damage you see, most likely either snails, slugs, earwigs or birds. Soil and plant moisture levels from all the rain we’ve had right now favor the likelihood of snail, slug or earwig. These pests are night feeders.

What can I spray on lettuce for bugs?

Commercial Pesticides
You can spray neem oil on lettuce leaves to get rid of these pesky bugs.

Do rats eat plants at night?

You see them: Aside from activity in your yard and garden, rats often travel on top of power lines, especially at dawn and dusk. Watch for rats along fences and trees, too. Plants disappearing overnight: New plantings, seedlings, and sprouts often disappear overnight without a trace.

What is making holes in my lettuce leaves?

Slugs and Earwigs
Slugs are the most common cause of holes in leaves, but they often remain unseen because they feed at night. Sometimes larger slugs eat leaves from the edge inward, but small slugs make irregular holes inside leaves, as shown in the chard leaf on the right in the above photo.

How do I protect my lettuce plants?

Lettuce is tolerant of cold temperatures for short periods of time, although growth will slow down. To protect lettuce in frost-prone areas, plant romaine or butterhead lettuce, which are the most cold-tolerant. When frost is predicted, cover the garden with sheets or towels to provide some protection.

How Big Should lettuce seedlings be before transplanting?

between 2-3 inches tall
Lettuce should be transplanted when the plants are between 2-3 inches tall. You should harden off your lettuce plants 7-10 days before transplanting. Bring them outdoors for a few hours, increasing the length of time each day. Prepare your bed by loosening the soil and adding compost if available.

Can you fix leggy lettuce seedlings?

Leggy seedlings can sometimes be saved by gently brushing your fingers back and forth along the tops of the plants every day. This simple motion simulates an outdoor breeze and tricks the seedlings into thinking they need to grow thicker stems to hold up against windy conditions.

What temp kills lettuce?

If the air is moist enough, freezing in this range might also involve frost, but it’s not a given. Lettuce may cope with light freezing and even one or two hard freezes, but once the thermometer reads 25°F or below, the plants are in danger.

How do you protect new seedlings?

This Old House magazine suggests using three toothpicks to protect your seedlings from cutworms and caterpillars. Over at the Organic Lemon, they suggest cutting up and using the top half of a plastic soda bottle (with no lid) to protect your seedlings from birds and cutworms.

What insects are eating my seedlings?

Common Pests that Affect Seedlings

• Mammals. My least favorite pests are mammals.
• Flea Beetles. The brassica family is particularly susceptible to flea beetles.
• Leaf Miners.
• Aphids.
• Whiteflies.
• Cabbage White Caterpillars.

How do you protect leafy greens from bugs?

Employ physical barriers.
One of the most useful methods of preventing pests in your garden is to put a physical barrier between the plant and the insect. Cover pest-susceptible plants with floating row cover, a lightweight, spun-bound fabric that rests on top of the plants or on wire hoops.

Do coffee grounds deter aphids?

Coffee grounds are usually touted as a cure-all when it comes to controlling garden pests like aphids, snails, and slugs, but truth is… there’s no truth to their pest-repelling power.

What to spray on plant leaves to keep bugs away?

A great recipe for a homemade bug spray for vegetable plants is to use one tablespoon of dish soap, one cup of vegetable oil, one quart of water, and one cup of rubbing alcohol.

What scent will keep rats away?

Rats have a powerful sense of smell. You can repel rats from your home and garden with scents they dislike, such as clover, garlic, onion, hot peppers containing capsaicin, house ammonia, used coffee grounds, peppermint, eucalyptus, predator (cat) scent, white vinegar, and citronella oil.

What smells do rats dislike?

It’s proven that rats hate smells such as eucalyptus, peppermint and citronella oil, coffee grounds, predator smell and chili powder.

What are the signs of rats in the garden?

Signs of Rats in Garden

• Rat Droppings in Your Garden. Rat droppings are distinct and have a different shape and size compared to the mice droppings.
• Bite Marks on Garden Hoses.
• Rat nests.
• Footprints in The Dirt.
• Burrows.
• Increased Pet Activity.
• Rat Pathways.
• Rat Adour.

Is it OK to eat lettuce with holes?

Fortunately, there’s good news! Greens with holes in them that were created by feeding insects or slugs should be fine to eat, if you cut away the damaged parts.