Well. Obviously something is loving these basil leaves besides me! And it’s basil, so there’s plenty for both of us–or for me and the hoards or whatever is chewing on this.
Conventional wisdom about damage like this–where you can clearly see chewed leaves but do not see the culprit causing the damage–is for you to wait until after dark and then to go outside with a flashlight or a headlamp (try not to scare the neighbors so that they don’t call the police) and see if you can identify your insect.
In my case, I am not going to do that. There are several reasons why I won’t. The first is that I have no intention of treating whatever I find, so why do I really care?
Next, I am not bothered by this–so again, why do I need to know?
Third, I am guessing that it is one of a couple of culprits. It could be earwigs, although I doubt they would make such big holes in my leaves.
It’s not likely slugs–no tell tale slime trails.
It’s most likely asiatic beetles, whose life span is about over–so no control is necessary. So it’s all good. And I can sleep in peace without creeping around in the dark looking for bugs.
Gardendaze 