Question
Their is a bug or grasshopper that is cutting the buds off of my hibiscus right below the buds.  I have sprayed with Seven but every morning there are new buds that have been chewed off straight across below the bud.  What is this?

Answer
Louise,

Two possible culprits do this sort of damage-cutworms and slugs. Cutworms are the larvae of moths that live in the soil and usually feed at night on plants. They are notorious for cutting off the plant, often at the soil surface. Cutworms normally leave a fairly smooth cut whereas slugs leave a more ragged cut edge and there will often be slime trails where the slugs moved the night before.

Both, I believe, would be controlled by Sevin Insecticide so it may just be a matter of complete coverage. Use a good-quality pump sprayer and follow the application instructions. Also, take a look at this page http://www.livingwithbugs.com/slugs.html for information about the least-toxic methods of slug control using new iron phosphate (pet safe) baits.

I hope this is useful.

Jack DeAngelis, PhD
Extension Entomologist (ret.)
author Living with Bugs: http://www.livingwithbus.com/bug_book.html