Where in z6 are you?

Here in St. Louis I had leaf-roller caterpillars on quite a few of my citrus trees when I brought them in for the winter. The caterpillars eat the citrus leaves.

You will have to look pretty hard to find them - some will blend in very well and can be hard to spot. Probably the best way to be sure is to look for rolled up leaves on the tree. Open them up and check for a silk webbing cocoon. I didn't even end up finding the caterpillars on the citrus trees (I did spot the damage) - I found them eating the buds of my roses *glare*

Here are a few links:
http://www.mobot.org/GARDENINGHELP/PLANTFINDER/IPM.asp?code=228&group=24&level=c

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/image.asp?image=Pest1020.jpg

The colors can vary and etc. I found some green ones and some brown ones.

Though - looking at the first image close it looks like the leaf was deformed before? Perhaps from aphid damage much earlier or from excess N?

The center vein looks like it's curving off to the side in the first image so I don't think that is caterpillar damage - that is something that happened when the leaf was young. The hole in the 2nd photo could be caterpillars or could just be the leaf getting caught on a thorn and blown around in the wind until it opened up.

Are those the only damaged leaves?

Hello and thanks for your help! I've only had the tree a few weeks so I'm a total newbie. The leaves at the top picture do look deformed. They are really curved. Those are the only ones I see like that. There are a few other leaves with those little pinholes in them but not many. I am just trying to keep this little tree alive. I have killed "unkillable" plants before lol! Just want to make sure I'm doing it right.
Oh and I almost forgot, I'm near Charleston, WV

P.S. How does one make the soil have less N?

I wouldn't stress about the N; flushing is really the only way to reduce N in the soil; but I don't see any evidence of that.

Nutrient deficiencies have signature evidence; what I see in your fotos is not nutrient; it could be snails, slugs,or leafcutter bees... anyway, it is cosmetic, don't change what you are doing.

Hi Real, and welcome to the world of citrus!

I would say you have EARWIG and or SLUG damage. That is exactly what happens to mine all summer. It looks like past damage when they are at their most destructive stage. You know, your trees look might delicious just before retiring for the winter.

By the way, the coloring on your trees looks mighty fine, so forget about worrying about the nutrients and focus on how good you are doing. They obviously like environment they are in and your care.

John pretty much nailed it.

Mike

I have similar issues during the Spring and Summer.
Earwigs and slugs, as Mike says, are the culprits that I usually blame. John's right, though, it's a cosmetic
issue and not life-threatening.

Josh

EARWIGS!!... that's exactly what it is; I haven't had to deal with that nasty critter in so many years, I always forget about it. I HATE earwigs; but they are not so hard to control; you just have to start in the Spring and aggressively treat for them on a regular basis... that and good ground sanitation. They shun the light of day and hide under things, not hard to find them and there are simple baits to use against them; and if you do those things, you will notice the population reducing every year, that is unless your neighbors have a "hive". Anyway, it is still cosmetic and your tree looks so healthy you don't need to do anything.

Thank you so much everyone. You guys have been so helpful. I think this tree has a chance of surviving life with me :) !