There used to be a lot of little flies (not sure what kind) all over the plants. Once I started using the insecticidal soap they went away. Tonight I went out and looked at the plants with a flash light. I saw spiders and earwigs. I sprayed the earwigs I saw with the insecticidal soap and set some traps for others. We will see what the traps look like in the morning! Do you have any other recommendations? Thank you!

the old leaves laying in the mulch??? the new giant leaf in the middle is not being eaten ... so as far as i am concerned.. whatever harmed the old leaf is long gone.. and nothing need be done ... BTW... its august.. almost.. leaves from early spring start looking ratty ... its natures way .... i just pinch them off .. IF .. they are really bugging me ... otherwise.. they are still functioning.. so why not leave them .... ken

It sounds like an animal of some kind. I'd get out the cayenne pepper. Spray the plant with water and then sprinkle on the pepper. Concentrate on where it's being cut off but do the whole plant. The water is so the pepper sticks. I guarantee a mouthful of hot pepper will not have them coming back for more

I am not anti-mannmade-chemical, but I do use them only after reading up on them in scientifically-based literature and I do my best to choose the least harmful alternative, which sometimes includes not growing a particular plant. Personally, I wouldn't use Bayer Advanced, and I'd advise anyone who chooses to do so to act with good info and care as to timing so that it isn't likely to be present in the plant when the flowers bloom. Its main ingredient is Imidacloprid which is a systemic insecticide that acts as an insect neurotoxin and is one of the insecticides in the general class of neonicotinoids, which have been getting a fair amount of press for the last few years. The problem is that they are nonspecific and act generally on all insects and are long-lasting (info says protection for 30 days). So if you put it on your lilies, and then bees and other pollinators visit the blooms, it will kill them, not just the targeted bad bugs. IME knocking the lily beetle larvae and adults into soapy water is more time consuming, but effective and far healthier for the garden as a whole, but others have said that Bayer Advanced is the only insecticide that seems to work on the lily beetles. Captain Jacks Dead Bug Brew contains spinosad, which comes from a bacteria. It has similar effects on bugs that it effects to neonicotinoids in that it works as a neurotoxin, but once it has dried for 3+ hours, doesn't have nearly as much effect on bees. So it's much safer to use in the garden. I know it's effective for caterpillars of various sorts and thrips, but I don't know if it has any effect on red lily beetles. Another option for caterpillars like the ones on the broccoli and other cabbage family plants is Bt, a bacteria that only harms caterpillars. It's most effective when used on smaller caterpillars.