Hi everyone,

It looks like something has been munching on my lily noses. They start at the tops of the outer leaves (are they leaves? Forgive me, I'm very new to lilies), and work their way down a bit before moving on to the next set of more inward leaves.

I've tried spraying with Dr. Earth's Insect Killer just because that's the only thing I have on hand, but it doesn't appear to be working at all.

Could this be slugs, or maybe something else? If anyone has any idea what it might be, and can recommend something that would work against them, it would be wonderful. I adore lilies and really want these to flourish. Several have been nibbled, but one was eaten all the way to the soil line and doesn't show signs of coming back.

Thanking in advance.

It doesn't sound like it's one big chomp like a rabbit, so yes, I would guess slugs. Slugs are not insects so insect killers don't usually work well. I would use some slug bait made with iron phosphate. Like this:

Leftwood said:It doesn't sound like it's one big chomp like a rabbit, so yes, I would guess slugs. Slugs are not insects so insect killers don't usually work well. I would use some slug bait made with iron phosphate. Like this:

Thank you. I'll post a picture or two tomorrow to be sure. I usually use beer, but I'm not sure I have space between the plants for a bowl, plus, it's difficult to reach so this might be the answer.

Till tomorrow!

Okay, here are the pictures. They make me sad. I hope they'll do well in spite of being something's meal. That is, all but the one eaten down to the ground.

Could this be snail or slug damage? TIA.

The lily in the second photo will be fine - its growth tip doesn't appear to be affected. The first will probably be okay, but the third certainly won't bloom.

It doesn't look like a critter has done the damage on the first two - far more likely to be a snail or slug. Are there any obvious snail or slug tracks nearby? They tend to leave a mucus-like residue at intervals along their path.

Australis said:The lily in the second photo will be fine - its growth tip doesn't appear to be affected. The first will probably be okay, but the third certainly won't bloom.

It doesn't look like a critter has done the damage on the first two - far more likely to be a snail or slug. Are there any obvious snail or slug tracks nearby? They tend to leave a mucus-like residue at intervals along their path.

Not a thing. Not even a vague maybe.

I don't think I have ever noticed a slime trail in the dirt.....

Really? They're quite obvious around here. Maybe it's just Melbournian snails and slugs that leave tracks...

There would be days where I would find traces of a path from one of their two favourite hideouts and straight towards my sunflower seedlings in the garden bed. In our first year here, they claimed many seedlings before I declared war on them and thoroughly cleaned out their hiding places (plus bought some pet-safe snail pellets).

I have had some damage like this in the past. I have lots of slugs around here but none that did damage like this. It took me a bit to figure it out but there was small caterpillars/worms that were hiding in the leaves that would eat large sections of the leaves. I wasn't sure exactly what species it was but they did a lot a damage in a hurry - never eating the whole nose of the lily but cutting large sections of leaves. Not saying this can't be slugs, just look for caterpillars too - they did their damage at night so it took me a while to figure out they hide during the day and eat at night. Whether it is slugs or other bugs you might want to try inspecting things with a flashlight at night to catch the little buggers in the act.