Identify a pest and respond without reaching for poison

Something is eating a plant and you would like to know what before you spray anything.

Help me identify what is damaging my plant and decide what to do.

1. **Identification.** From the damage pattern, not just the description of the insect: holes in the middle versus edges, skeletonised leaves, sticky residue, distortion, silvering, stems severed at soil level, damage at night versus day. Give the two or three most likely culprits and the distinguishing sign for each.
2. **Confirm it.** Where and when to look, and what I would see.
3. **Does it matter?** Say plainly if this is cosmetic damage the plant will shrug off, and if so recommend doing nothing.
4. **Responses, in escalating order**, starting with physical removal, then barriers and environment changes, then encouraging predators, then targeted treatments as a last resort.
5. **What not to do**, including treatments that kill pollinators or predators and make next year worse.

Where a treatment is regulated or restricted in the UK or EU, say so rather than recommending it.

Plant and damage:
When the damage appears:
Indoors or out, and what else is growing nearby:

Diagnosis and rescue. Working out what is wrong with a plant, what is eating it, and whether it is worth saving at all.