I live in a snail and slug mecca, until 20 years ago we didn't see snails just slugs but things have changed. One evening a couple of years ago I picked 40 snails off the trunk of my pink dogwood, I don't know how many more there were I couldn't reach them. The same year any window we looked out in the evening you'd see them slithering across the window panes. It looked like a massive escape from a escargot farm. I think Floral can relate to this. I use copper tape on pots and have bought several rolls of copper mesh, the later I even covered one of the benches in the greenhouse with it. I've seen slimy trails over this at times the little %#$^% must have put rubber boots on. I have no problem with hand picking, it's pick and stomp when I see them, why waste the salt. Annette

Hi Darlene, You could either have leafrollers or slugs or possibly both. I would spread a slug bait around and buy Sevin bug spray. Spray the top and bottom of the leaves it worked well for me last year. Or there are organic methods you can do a search for. Good Luck. Tara

I am surprised that most of you writing this have snails not eat your salvias. I have two salvias (red flowering kinds) and snails attack them on a daily basis; worse when it is raining daily. I have to pick 4-5 snails from the base of the plant where there is mulch every day or they will climb up the plant and make holes on the leaves. I also pinched the laves from the base of the plants so that it is not dark and protected for the snails to siesta during the day but every time it rains, the snails find their way there. The salvias are flowering nicely but I am sick of snails. I read that snails leave slimy trail behind them as they come to find an edible crop so the next one finds its way by following the trail even if you pick the snails and throw them on to the road (or whatever special way you have of killing them, my favorite is line them in bunch and stomping on them). The good thing is, I only have two of these plants so I can easily get rid of them and replace them with something else. I used snail baits for a while but these things are expensive, though they do work (for a while). I also have read and also believe that poison run off from the snail baits kill earthworms (who wants that?). It also killed the whole nest of birds that were nesting on a loropetalum tree in our garden once, and that was that! I had a lump in my throat for days because I think the mother bird picked some snail baits and took it to the nest to feed the chicks. All three chicks were dead the next day (I found them under the tree, they might have twitched and fell as the poison made them suffer). Back to snails, they dont seem to bother a blue flowering variety of salvia that I also have, this one has sort of hairy leaves. --- Plants I have in my garden that snails DONÂT bother: -Camellia -Azalea -Roses of Sharon (including Jean dÂArc Althea) (they do love to eat the fallen spent flowers but not the plant) -Hibiscus (again, they will eat the fallen spent flowers on the ground) -Gardenia -Jasmine -Rangoon creeper -China doll (planted in the garden) (they ate some leaves touching the ground but gave up) (I think it didnÂt taste delicious the way they have expected) -Japanese magnolia -Poisettia (also planted in the garden) (they might hide under it due to bushy nature of these plants when planted in the garden) (I have found sporadic snails during rainy days under my poinsettias but they never ate the leaves) -Heavenly bamboos (both tall & dwarf varieties) -Duranta erecta (Cuban gold, honey dew drops, & alba I grew them all, although Cuban Golds were killed last winter which was a record breaking freeze) -Ixora -Boxwood -Palm (sago) -Aloe -Impatiens -Ginger (edible) -Butterfly Ginger (flowering type, not the one you eat) -Gladioluses (every now and then a snail will climb on them but donÂt know what they are doing) -Dahlias (though I was warned snails like to eat these but they never bother except for a few holes at the base of the plants) -Mexican heathers -Red Yucca (I did find a slug at the base of the plant but it was just living in the mulch without ever eating the plant) -Spider lilies (they will taste a few leaves to see if they like it, but mainly they will leave these climbers alone) -Sedum (although snails avoid them, birds love them!) (Also snails may taste a few leaves before leaving them alone) -Bleeding hearts (white flowers, red center) -DevilÂs ivy -Mother-in-lawÂs tongues (no pest bothers these poisonous things in my garden, also in outdoors containers) -Weeping fig (Benjamina) -Golden euonymus (I have the dwarf kinds) -Oleanders (the good news is, they donÂt eat the small plants either) -Plumeria -Jade plants -Snake plant -Texas sage -Taro -Calla lilies -Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) -Yellow mini-roses -Silvery Sunproof Lily Turf -Hydrangea (snails were present around these but never really bothered them) -Peonies (small one without true leaves are germinated but still havenÂt attacked by snails so I am assuming it is safe to say they wonÂt bother) -Mint -Basil -Thyme -Cilantro --- What snails WILL eat (experience gained from my own garden) -Marigolds (A hungry snails will eat these despite myths that they are repellent to pests) -Salvia (red flowering ones as mentioned before) -Hostas (will destroy them) -Chrysanthemum (they climb onto my outdoors container every day) -Verbenas (I have red flowering creeping kinds) -Justicia Carnea (a beauty but snails destroyed this plant for me) -Hen and chicks (I have the silvery-bluish variety with long stocks with flower-like leaves on top) (they donÂt eat the plant per se but they love the decaying matter found on these weird things) --- Where they love to hide/breed/live (also from experience observing in my garden) -Ajugas (snails donÂt eat them per se but the multiplying nature of this ground cover makes an ideal place for them to hide during the day under well protected moist, dark crowds of ajuga plants, ideal place to breed too since eggs are able to hatch undisturbed here) -Verbenas (if planted in the ground and they creep, covering the ground) -Creeping Juniper (they wonÂt eat these beauties but this creepy grass makes a great place for them to breed/hide during the day, also for overwintering because this thing is evergreen) -Monkey grass (monkey grass looks beautiful along our driveway but the crowded nature of this beauty makes ideal snail breeding ground although they never damage the grass itself, also a great place for snails to overwinter since it is evergreen) -Calla Lilli garden (where a crowd of these are growing along the yard, especially the weedy invasive red flowering kind makes a perfect moist hiding and breeding grown, also overwintering) -Pine bark mulch (yes, pine barks are there to preserve moisture, snails love moisture too, and protection, also ideal place for them to overwinter). --- I hope you find this informative. I donÂt normally have slug (the one without shells) problem but I have a lot of problems with the brown garden snails. Did you know snails are sexless? They can basically reproduce by themselves and they donÂt have a male or female gender. Each snail can breed many more snails no matter what! Urgh!

The type of damage and the droppings point to an insect larva and not a slug or a snail (snails tend to graze across a leaf or bud, leaving holes surrounded by undamaged leaf). Since you haven't found any caterpillars it's probably a sawfly larva or something similar. These look like caterpillars, but hide in the soil near the plant during the day. If you go out with a flashlight just after it gets dark you should be able to spot them. If there aren't too many you can handpick them & dispose of them, otherwise I'd suggest a systemic insecticide (and perhaps a preventative spray early next season before the damage gets done).