What's eating my spearmint 'kentucky colonel'?

Spearmint 'Kentucky Colonel' faces the same pests as other Mentha cultivars: mint aphids, spider mites, and slugs on young growth. Mint flea beetle makes tiny round holes in leaves; mint rust is a fungal disease that disfigures foliage. Aphids and mint rust are the most common complaints. Cutting plants hard back resets heavily infested or rusted growth.

Colonies of small green insects clustering on shoot tips; leaves curl and yellow; honeydew deposits attract sooty mould. Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil; cut back and compost badly affected tips; avoid excess nitrogen which encourages soft growth.

Orange, then brown, powdery pustules on stems and leaf undersides in summer and autumn; affected growth distorts and dies back. Remove and destroy affected stems immediately; do not compost; cut plants to ground level and dispose of debris; rotate location.

Numerous tiny round holes punched through leaves, giving a shot-hole appearance; adults are small dark jumping beetles on foliage. Apply neem oil or pyrethrin spray; remove crop debris in autumn; physical exclusion mesh helps in severe-pressure areas.

Ragged holes in young leaves and chewed stems at soil level; slime trails visible; young plants most at risk in spring. Set beer traps; apply iron-phosphate pellets; hand-pick after dark; avoid thick mulch directly against stems.