What's eating my oxeye daisy?

Oxeye daisy is a tough wildflower meadow plant that rarely suffers serious pest damage. Aphids are the most common insect visitor, and leaf miners may tunnel through foliage. Slugs can affect young plants, and the flowers attract pollen beetles harmlessly. Its robust, weedy constitution means established plants outgrow most pest pressure quickly.

Soft-bodied insects clustering on stems and flower buds; distorted new growth, sticky honeydew, and yellowing leaves in heavy infestations. Blast off with water; use insecticidal soap or neem oil; allow natural predators such as ladybirds and hoverflies to build up.

Pale winding or blotchy tunnels inside leaf tissue where larvae have mined between the leaf surfaces. Remove and bin affected leaves; encourage parasitic wasps; apply neem oil as a preventive foliar spray.

Holes in young basal foliage; seedlings and newly planted divisions most vulnerable in wet spring conditions. Use ferric phosphate pellets around young plants; handpick at night; beer traps near vulnerable seedlings.