Rick F. wrote:
In article .com, motor man wrote:
Even without a picture, I strongly guess that the tree was attacked by
brown snails (Helix aspersa). This is a serious problem in the
commercial citrus orchards here just south of you in Ventura County.
They climb lemon trees and eat the bark, leaves, and fruit. They can
kill a tree by girdling the trunk (eating the bark off completely around).

There are several ways to control brown snails. See
http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107500111.html.

Hmm.. I wonder if this is related to what I was seeing earlier in the year on
my plum tree.. The slugs on it were really small (perhaps no larger than
1/4 inch -- more like 1/8 inch) and all over the leaves on the entire tree
-- eating away at the foliage.. I didn't notice any eating either the bark,
branches or the fruit which was never touched.. Is this a related pest perhaps?

If it matters, I'm in Torrance not too far from Ventura or Santa Barbara..


Slug-like leaf-eaters on a plum or other stone fruit might be soft scale
or the grub of some other insect. Unlike snails, which have shells to
keep them from drying out, slugs rarely venture far from the ground.

In your case, you might take an infested leaf to a nearby nursery for
them to identify the pest.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/