Strawberries – My leaves look like lace, what’s eating my strawberry leaves?

It’s June, it’s Strawberry harvesting season, and some pests want to butt into the harvest party like an uninvited guest!

The latest pest on our Strawberry plants, have shredded the leaves leaving elongated oval shapes in the leaves. The strawberry leaves look like lace, so let’s look at what might be eating the leaves.

Strawberry Sawfly

Strawberry Sawfly is a pest that is around in May and June. The flies, fly in and lay eggs in the soil, the eggs hatch into larve and then hatch into caterpillars in June. The green caterpillars are obviously very hungry (think the very hungry caterpillar book) and they see the first green leaves above them and think ‘Lunch’!

Suddenly your Strawberry leaves are decimated and you are wondering if you are going to get anymore strawberries this year.

Organic methods of removing Sawfly on Strawberries

Firstly there is one reason why it’s important not to use chemicals to get rid of pests – You could kill more than the pests with chemicals, you could kill the beetles, insects and other creatures in the soil that are actually natural enemies of the sawfly.

However unless you have lots of beetles or parasitic wasps on tap, it might take some time for the insects to naturally remove your caterpillars.

Best Strawberry Sawfly Caterpillar Removal Method

The best removal method is pick the caterpillars off by hand and get rid of them.

The leaves will then recover and the strawberries will keep growing! Win, Win!

Other Pests you May encounter on Strawberries

Vine Weevil

I had this last year, it did decimate the strawberry leaves and stalks. It is a black beetle with stripes down its side. The larvae are cream or white and hatch into beetles which are hungry.

The only organic removal method for these are nematodes which can be bought online poured into a watering can and mixed with water. Then this solution can be poured onto the soil where the larve is living. The nematodes then kill the larvae to stop them hatching. Search for ‘Vine weevil Nematodes’ in the search engine.

Slugs and Snails

I have had a stealth slug on our strawberries this year, I still can’t find him, he is eating holes in our leaves. I did leave him a strawberry to eat to distract it from the others that we are harvesting and this seems to be working so far. It does mean I’ll be sharing a few strawberries with the slug/s and woodlouse this year but at least everyone’s happy!

Like this? You’ll love The Grow Veg Club

Our new family of veg growers club worldwide. Gain Free access to our Members Hub for a free Veg Project every month to inspire your gardening dreams! Our new Summer Sowings video drops on June 1st exclusively for new members who join in June!

Scan the QR Code below to Join the Club today!

Or Click this Link – Join The Grow Veg Club

The Fruit Series

January – Planting Bare Root Trees

May – Sowing & Growing Mini Melons

June – Our Fruit Garden – Berries, apple, pear, peach & apricot Miniature trees

June – Strawberries – My leaves look like lace, what’s eating my strawberry leaves?

July – Broad Beans, Peach, Blackberries, Lettuce…

August – Blue, Black, Raspberry and Strawberry harvest

November – Columnar Fruit Trees – 1 Year Growth Update

Discover more from Sow Grow Harvest.co.uk

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

2 responses to “Strawberries – My leaves look like lace, what’s eating my strawberry leaves?”

Tania

June 20, 2024 at 10:33 am

Hi I have grown strawberries for the first time in a pot. The leaves I think were eaten by a sawfly, but the strawberries were growing and did turn red. But the strawberries were touching the soil so they have gone a bit black and are not looking too good. Is it worth persevering with the plant or starting again? Please advise. Thank you

Reply
1. Tracey Everett
  
  June 20, 2024 at 11:16 am
  
  Hi Tania,
  
  Thank you for your question.
  
  I hope your Strawberries recover from the sawfly attack. They normally just eat the leaves and the strawberries remain untouched.
  
  The Strawberries that have touched the soil and gone black, this might be due to a strawberry being made up of water and if it is touching the soil it might have gone mouldy with too much water and the strawberry might go a bit squishy as the bottom rots.
  
  If your strawberry plants are packed together with foliage, this could cause conditions that mould might grow in due to poor air circulation or you could try watering less if your soil is too wet.
  
  If you want to raise the strawberries up off the ground to prevent them going mouldy, you can put straw underneath your strawberries or you can buy strawberry collars (they are made of felt and fit around the plant stem).
  
  I hope this helps, I would try the above and keep persevering with your strawberries. I wish you the best of luck with your strawberries.
  Best Wishes
  
  Tracey Everett
  Author of Sow, Grow, Harvest
  
  Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

About the website

Welcome to Sow, Grow, Harvest – your go-to hub for all things Veg! Whether you are sowing your first seeds or looking to boost your harvest, we are here to help your grow with confidence. Let’s Grow Together.

Explore