What's Eating My Spinach?
Spinach's number-one attacker doesn't chew from outside — it tunnels between the leaf surfaces, ruining leaves from within. Hold a damaged leaf up to the light and the story tells itself.
The usual suspects
Leafminers
The signs: Winding pale tan trails or expanding blotchy patches inside the leaf — the green surface intact above and below the damage.
What it looks like: Held to the light, tunnels show tiny larvae or their dark frass; eggs are white specks in neat rows on leaf undersides.
What to do: Pick and trash mined leaves before larvae mature, crush egg rows on sight, and cover spring beds — the fly's first flight does the worst damage. Mined leaves are ruined; new growth is fine.
Slugs
The signs: Smooth holes and slime tracks, worst in cool damp weather — spinach weather.
What it looks like: Under-mulch hiders, feeding at night.
What to do: Morning watering, traps, iron phosphate bait.
Aphids
The signs: Crinkled leaves and sticky residue; colonies in the crown.
What it looks like: Small green clusters on new growth.
What to do: Water-blast and soap; harvest outer leaves promptly.
Flea beetles
The signs: Fine shotgun pinholes across tender leaves.
What it looks like: Tiny jumping beetles, spring-heavy.
What to do: Row cover from seeding; damage is cosmetic on vigorous stands.
When it's not a pest at all
Yellowing leaves with fuzzy gray-purple growth on the undersides is downy mildew — cool, wet weather disease, not feeding. A plant suddenly sending up a tall center stalk is bolting; day length did that.
Or just point your phone at it
Snap a photo of the leaf, the bug, or the droppings, and Harold — the advisor built into Homestead Paradise — names what he sees, tells you friend or foe, and what he'd do next. Honest when he's unsure, and careful where it counts.
Put Harold's Eyes on it — free 14-day trial