My poor Angel's Trumpet, which I thought dead, is thankfully growing back, but it's being eaten now, and I can't figure out what's eating it. There's no one on the leaves (or what's left of them). I sprayed it with insecticidal soap and moved the pot off the ground in case it was ants or some other ground insect. Does anyone know what feasts on Angel's Trumpets?

Check at dusk or later - slugs could be a possibility.

They are hell on salvia and cacti.

Beer traps to get the slugs.

My guess would be slugs or snails too. They'll be active in the evening or if you get rain this time of year. My local slugs aren't drinkers but I've used beer before. Here I just go pick and stomp. You can also get copper tape and wrap it around the pot - they can't slide over the copper.
They really do love cacti - they'll crawl all the way to the tip of a four foot cactus to eat the new growth. I just wonder how they crawl down when they're hallucinating . . .

I moved the pot off the ground in the hopes it would protect it. The new growth is still a bit too small to tell, so it remains to be seen. But I did notice a whole bunch of little bugs crawling around in the soil that I'm quite sure weren't there when it was indoors. They were really small, perhaps the size of large fleas, and they had sort of shiny brown oval-shaped (?) bodies with black heads. Spider mites? Something else? None were actually crawling around the plant, just in the soil.

Spider mites are much smaller than fleas. They also leave those webs that can be seen in the light after a mist of water is sprayed on the plants.

BTW, slugs and snails will leave slime trails. The trails look like the dried mucus that it is.

What eats Angel Trumpet? Answer: Very delirious small bugs!

(Don't know, but mine were killed by something, and I've been looking for wild-eyed, strangely acting insects ever sense.)

Well a lady (clueless--I think) who gave me my seeds showed me tobacco worms on hers...they apparently do quite a job.

i have found little worms, snails/slugs, even some kind of beetle/true bug eating leaves on "wild" ones here. i think a lot of animals (insect types) eat these plants....i am often surprised how often my deadly type plants are eaten more than my edible ones. crazy world.

Mine have been devastated by slugs/snails (as has my T.bridgesii!)
Anyone know any good ways to deter slugs (without killing them)?

The best (the only) method that works for me is to ring the plants with woodashes while young and vulnerable. When they get big they are more resistant to the lil blighters.
One has to replace the circle of ashes after heavy rain and it can lead to an imbalance of phosphorus in the soil ( but I dunno coz my plants have never suffered).
Happy gardening!

Diatomaceous earth....work it into the soil as well as over the soil. This should help with slugs which are more of a problem in Europe than in the States. Many of the caterpillars you find feasting on them as well. A good systemic like Bayer Brand for Roses available at Wal-mart and other places in the states works wonders for those. Mites are another problem....spray the undersides of the leaves or turn a sprinkler on so it hits the undersides of the leaves each day...this helps tremendously if you don't want to use soap or hot pepper spray.

I haven't seen ANYTHING eating on my plants (salvia, peppers, tomatoes, and basil) this year.

I have been watering/feeding with compost tea, and now with yeast added.
I have also been spraying occasionally with the compost tea.
Occasionally I water with diluted urine and hydrogen peroxide.
To supplement any missing nutrients (what could be missing from decomposing plant matter and my own liquid mineral stream) I do add Epsom salts (why is that plural? They're/it's one compound.) and some Peter's plant food for blooming (high P content and many trace minerals.)

But to not have to agonize and choose over which pesticide to spray is a really welcomed treat this year.

It seems the bugs don't like the smell of the compost or something.

Just a side note- Insects are not intoxicated by tropane chemicals...

Donno about Snails tho...




YES!