lillies

just been for a wonder round the garden and looked at my lillies and they seem to have been eating on the leaves but they look like they have been c.£$%^&ped on any ideas to what this could be please

 

Oh, dear, oh dear. A red menace virgin! This is a very exact description of the activities of lily beetle - look more closely and you will surely see the pillar box coloured culprits.

What you have to do now is manually get rid of them - pick off the red beetles, squash, wash off or pick off the sh***y lumps( it's not actually sh*t, just a protective slimy coat similar to the spit around cuckoo-spit bugs). A box of tissues is an indispensable tool. Squash them or put them in the bin, but do it very soon before they hatch out into adults and continue the cycle. Check the backs of leaves for evidence of tiny eggs and wipe them away.

Nothing you can do about the chomped leaves, sorry, but once cleaned the plants will probably go on to flower OK.

 

take a look at this noksucow;
http://www.rhs.org.uk/science/plant-pests/lily-beetle

 

will this be a constant problem if i dont get rid of them all, i mean will it be back next year

 

Yes, although I had an especially careful season a year or two back where I diligently went after every last one and I have had far fewer in the years since.

 

I had problems every year in my front garden, this year I have planted them in tubs and kept them in my back garden, not spotted one yet.

 

if it ain't slugs its these little blighters well its war now