What Is Eating My Sunflower Leaves? [Top Pests And How To Stop Them]

Whether you have a sunflower garden for harvesting or saturated personal enjoyment , there ’s no denying the mantrap these works can tally to your garden .

However , it can be hard to enjoy these plants when you ’re disquiet by torn leaves , trap , and disregard radical .

Pests can wreak havoc on your sunflowers , and whether they are causing detrimental damage or simply creating unsightly wounds on your leaves , getting disembarrass of them should become your top precedence .

We have researched the causes and cures for this interest issue .

If you note your sunflower farewell are take a beating , these are some of the insects and wildlife that can be causing the scathe :

It seems like a flock can be doing damage to your sunflower . Still , gratefully most of these can be fixed fairly well .

To learn more about these pests and how to manage the problem , keep reading ! We ’ve researched and amass the best and promiscuous ways to get your sunflower garden back from those devastate your farewell .

What Is Eating Your Sunflower Leaves

Cutworms

Most unremarkably , cutworm are nighttime leaf eaters that are hard to identify because they enshroud in the soil during the day .

cutworm are the larva of brown moths , and they will manducate through the leave of absence and halt of your helianthus plants .

Since these pestilence are laborious to arrest as they blend in with the soil during the day and eat at Nox , the best way to get rid of them is by making the soil severe for them .

For this , you canuse Diatomaceous Earth ( DE ) .

This finepowderis made from dried , single - cellphone algae find near water beds and has many benefits , from body of water filtration to course enhancement . intellectual nourishment - course options can even be mix in the food of home pet to deter fleas .

Although DE is good to some , it is pestilent to others . When sprinkled around the grunge of your garden bed , this powder will attach to plague and dry out their outer shell , bolt down them .

As cutworms survive in the grease , this should eliminate your issue if you keep up with DE applications after heavy rainfalls .

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Deer

cervid love sunflowers . Thankfully , there are dependable ways to keep these guys out of your sunflowers that wo n’t harm them or your industrial plant .

A long - survive solution to stay fresh deer from your sunflowers is tobuild a fence ; however , this can be unappealing .

Deer will jump most fence unless they are tall enough to keep them out , and that can make take a sunflower garden of bright , beautiful plant life hard to see .

Read more : How To efficaciously Use Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent

supply unpleasant smellsaround your sunflowers is a way to keep cervid away without having to jam the aspect of your gorgeous helianthus .

This means strong and sometimes putrid smells , like egg , chili peppercorn , and even dead Pisces the Fishes heads ( concede , these will become productive fertilizer as they break down ) .

If you do n’t mind add up to your garden , you may also create a roadblock of strong - smelling marigold or lavender plantsor deterring plants with thorns to keep cervid at bay .

show more : Why Deer Do n’t Eat Lavender [ And How To Protect Your Other flora ]

Rabbits

coney love sunflowers , vegetables , and many other garden plant , make them a blighter to most nurseryman .

As cunning as these little brute are , they can wreak havoc on your sunflowers . gratefully , there are ways to keep them at embayment without harming them .

There arecertain smelling you’re able to spit or spray around your gardenthat will help keep cony out .

Chili powder can be spatter around the bed of your garden . This aroma will repulse rabbits off , and if one does happen to get a taste , they likely wo n’t come back around that olfaction again .

Sprinkling profligate meal , an inert powder made from blood , will keep rabbits at bay tree and is a large garden fertilizer .

With all of these selection , it ’s significant to remember that rainfall and plant watering will stretch or eliminate these deterrents , so reapplying is a must to keep these garden pests aside for good .

A more permanent way to keep rabbits from your garden is by building a small border fence . This fence needs to be 2 - 3 foot high and can be as simple as attaching chicken wire to wooden garden stakes .

Although this is the most efficient room to keep rabbits out of your garden , be sure to choose a chicken conducting wire or other fencing material that is pocket-size enough to not only keep rabbit from pushing through gaps but also too small for a rabbit to get caught in .

For a cute dose of rabbits , you should check out this story : Bunnies In Bloom : When Mother Nature Hops Into Your Garden Plans

Birds

If you have birds champ at your sunflower leaves , chances are they are finches . These bantam birds love heavy , leafy plant and will go through helianthus foliage .

Birds are harder to keep out of gardens , but you cancreate movement and lightness to scare away them off , at least some of the meter .

Shiny typewriter ribbon or mirrored wind chimes tied to plant and cling around the garden will make light and move in the wind to aid keep some of these birds out of your garden .

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or else , if you just desire to protect your helianthus , you’re able to plant other appealing plant life , like kale , around the garden to give your sunflower leaves a in high spirits chance of surviving these leaf - consume finch .

Aphids & Weevils

If you see black bugs on your helianthus , you are most likely seeing one of two bug — aphids or helianthus weevil .

Aphids are tiny dim bugs that group on the underside of industrial plant leaves . These dirt ball have specialized mouth made specifically for bite and soak up the fluids from leaf .

aphid interpose with transporting nutrient through the plant , so they have to be managed to protect your sunflower .

To safely moderate aphid , and other pests , without gamble the elimination of healthy insects , you canspray your sunflowers with neem oil .

This natural insecticide not only destroys pesterer but can also protect your plant from fungal disease .

helianthus weevils , or pitch-dark stalk weevils , are small black glitch with protrude heads and pinchers . These bugs cause damage to sunflowers by subvert the root word or entirely detaching the head of the helianthus .

Although some forms of weevils can be harmless , they should be removed if they are damaging your industrial plant .

To keep forth weevils and other small ground pests without chemicals , you candust the bed of your garden with Diatomaceous Earth . Neem oilwill also work for weevils .

Ants

Ants are attract to sunflower for the most part because of the nectar they produce . If ant become too much of an issue , various pestis control method acting can be used .

You canuse Vaseline and paper to produce a traparound your sunflower to catch the ant overrun your flora .

Cut a ring of paper that fits around the base of the plant , make it at least six inches wide .

Then , spread Vaseline over the upturned side . pismire will get immobilize in the Vaseline when they attempt to go to and from your sunflower to their nests .

For a humane fashion to free your plants of pismire , ants detest certain smellsenough to keep them away . Smells like cinnamon and mint at the base of your plants will work as a hindrance for ants .

When using cinnamon , you’re able to scatter the spiciness on the ground around the base of your helianthus .

Read more about cinnamon bark in garden guardianship : Pro - Level Gardening Tip : apply Cinnamon As A Natural Fungicide

For mint , you could found Eucalyptus amygdalina plant life around the flowers to create a constant roadblock that ants will head off .

If you do n’t want to add more plants to your garden , you’re able to use peppermint oil or sprinkle pot parting on the footing around your sunflowers .

There are " food " initiation that pismire will eat that will kill them . Mixing sugar and cornmealand sprinkling it around the ground of your sunflowers will eliminate the ants .

Citrus oil , either ingested or touched by ants , will eliminate them as well . This is a born option that will cause no harm to your plant .

How do you treat sunflower pests?

When you have pests , whether the ones mentioned above or otherwise , you’re able to take precautions with garden - good insecticide and homemade insecticides .

You canmix 1 1/2 teaspoonful of dish soap per quart of waterand spray this on your plants for a homemade choice . This will work to get rid of some pests and keep them forth .

For a fuller insurance coverage gadfly sprayer , you’re able to utilize any of these pest spray that are safe for your garden and sunflowers .

In Closing

Sunflowers are majestic and beautiful additions to home gardens , capable fields , and profitable harvests . But plague can put a muffler on their growth and even toss off them .

Taking care of unwanted pests and wildlife is detrimental to having a healthy garden , and gratefully most are easy to dissuade from your helianthus .

Looking for information on develop large sunflower ? Check out this beginners take :

How To Grow Mammoth Sunflowers [ Garden Guide For Beginners ]

If you ’re feature aphid issues with other plants , head over to this post to see how to address your roses :

How Often Should You Spray Roses For Aphids ?