Beetles: From Japanese to Rose chafers, beetles are known for eating petals and leaves. Handpick beetles and drop them in soapy water or spray with Insect Control. Fruit Worm: If you see holes in the leaves of mature hydrangeas, you may have fruit worm.Click to see full answer. Also know, what bugs are eating my hydrangea?Insects that may trouble the hydrangea include aphids, leaf tiers, rose chafers, oystershell scale and four-lined plant bugs. Aphids distort the new growth and coat the leaves with sticky honeydew.Also, why do my hydrangea leaves have holes? On young hydrangeas especially, holes can also occur due to slug feeding. This can occur for a variety of reasons, but it’s common when hydrangea shrubs don’t receive sufficient water. Lack of water can also cause brown, brittle spots on leaf edges, and a few branches all on one side may die out. Also to know is, how do I keep bugs from eating my hydrangeas? You can tackle aphids with drenching the leaves with dish soap and water. If there are holes in the leaves, it could be beetles. Pesticides may be effective, but picking them off and dropping them in a pail of soapy water works too. If something is eating just the new leaves, look for signs of slugs.Do any animals eat hydrangeas?If hungry enough, deer will eat just about any plant. However, there are plants that deer prefer more than others. According to Rutgers University, most hydrangeas are “occasionally severely damaged”. Which means that deer prefer other plants more, but when hungry deer will eat hydrangeas.