- Pests eating your impatiens result in mostly the loss of flowers, buds and the upper leaves. Not many creatures eat the plant back to the ground. Even the smaller amounts gone can result quickly in plant death as there are limited leaves to create food for the plant.
- Identifying what is eating your impatiens by examining the pattern of missing plant parts. If leaves appear nibbled, caterpillars or insects are the culprits. Stalks and flowers missing tell you that deer, rabbits, groundhogs or even cats ate the plants.
- Different pests require different methods of eradication. Identifying the pest is important before you put down chemicals or erect barriers. You do not want to poison a neighbor's cat, and rabbit fencing will do nothing against insects or deer.
- Prevent most creatures from eating your impatiens with a prepared mixture of red pepper and other nasty-tasting things. This can be purchased at garden supply stores and sprinkled or sprayed onto the plants. Strong-smelling soap shavings can also deter pests.
- Impatiens came from eastern Africa and were introduced to the western world by a British naturalist in 1869. They were first named for a Zanzibar sultan, but the scientific name was changed to Impatiens wallerana to honor a missionary who worked at a university in central Africa.
