Holes in Leaves on Pothos: Causes, Checks & Fixes

Quick answer

Holes in pothos leaves (Epipremnum aureum) mean something removed or tore tissue—chewing insects, leaf miners, physical snags on trailing vines, stuck unfurling leaves in dry air, or pet damage. Unlike split-leaf monsteras, pothos grown as a houseplant keeps whole heart-shaped leaves a few inches long. Any open hole is damage, not a natural fenestration pattern.

For how chewing pests and mechanical tears work in general, see our holes in leaves guide. On pothos, the diagnostic clue is usually at the trailing vine tip—soft new leaves unfurl along hanging stems where caterpillars hide, thrips scar tissue, and dry air can split a blade before it fully opens.

First step: look at the hole edge, then inspect the newest unfurling leaf and every leaf axil along trailing stems under bright light. Ragged chew marks with frass need a different fix than a clean tear on one leaf that brushes a shelf.

When to use this page vs other Pothos guides

What holes in leaves look like on Pothos

Pothos leaves are glossy, slightly heart-shaped, and grow along long trailing or climbing vines. Indoor pothos foliage stays whole—unlike wild vines that can develop ornamental splits in their native habitat. When you see a hole, sort it by pattern:

Caterpillar chewing — Irregular holes and notched margins, often starting on soft new leaves at vine tips. Dark frass pellets on leaves, stems, or the shelf below. You may find a larva tucked in a leaf axil. See caterpillars on pothos.

Leaf miner trails — Winding pale or brown tunnels inside the leaf with only a small exit hole—not a large ragged chew. Miners are uncommon indoors but show up after outdoor summer placement. See leaf miners.

Thrips rasping — Tiny scrape marks, silvery streaks, and black varnish-like specks on upper leaf surfaces; new leaves may look scarred or distorted at tips. Full-thickness holes are less common than stippling. See thrips.

Trailing-vine mechanical tears — Clean linear splits or one-time holes on outer leaves that brush walls, door frames, shelf lips, or other plants. Damage stays on the same leaf after you reposition the vine; no frass, no trails.

Unfurling tears in dry air — Small holes or splits at the center of a newly opened heart-shaped leaf where the blade stuck together while unfurling. Often paired with crispy leaf edges in winter rooms. See low humidity on pothos.

Pet chewing — Torn sections on lower, accessible hanging leaves without insect signs. Pothos is toxic to cats and dogs if ingested—isolate the plant and contact your veterinarian if you suspect chewing; this guide does not replace medical advice.

Slug or snail damage — Ragged holes plus shiny slime on pot rims or leaves, usually after patio time or on floor-level pots. See slugs and snails.

Trailing-vine snag damage (pothos only)

Hanging pothos spends months with the same outer leaves brushing the same wall, bookcase, or doorway. A heart-shaped blade caught on a corner tears cleanly; dried tissue can look like a neat hole separate from insect feeding. Follow the vine: if only leaves along one physical path are holed and damage has not spread to new growth on other stems, reposition the hanger or trim the snagged section—no pesticide needed.

Leaf axil hiding on long vines (pothos only)

Pothos petioles meet the vine in a shallow groove at each node. Caterpillars and small larvae often shelter in these axils on lower, uninspected sections of a long trailing arm while damage shows first on the softest new leaf at the tip. When you inspect, work from the growing point backward along the stem—not only the most obvious holed leaf.

Unfurling heart-leaf tears (pothos only)

Pothos pushes new leaves rolled tight at vine tips. In dry winter air below the 40–60% humidity range pothos prefers, the unfurling blade can stick to itself and split as it opens, leaving a small hole or linear tear through the center. No frass, no night feeding, and damage limited to the newest one or two leaves on dry-room plants points here—not caterpillars.

Why Pothos gets holes in leaves

Chewing pests are the most common cause of true holes indoors. Pothos is generally pest-free indoors, but caterpillars, mealybugs, and scale appear episodically when eggs hitchhike on nursery stock, patio placements, or open windows. Caterpillars chew ragged full-thickness holes; leaf miners tunnel between leaf surfaces.

Trailing growth hides damage until tips look shredded. A six-foot pothos in a hanging basket can carry insects on lower axils while the owner notices holes only when a new heart-shaped leaf opens at the bottom of the cascade. Dense overlapping foliage along moss poles or trellises creates the same blind spots on climbing specimens.

Outdoor summer brings eggs indoors. Pothos on shaded patios pick up moth eggs; damage often appears weeks after the plant returns to a windowsill. One larva can chew through several tender new leaves in sequence because pothos concentrates soft growth at each vine tip.

Dry air splits unfurling tissue. Low humidity causes brown tips and edges on houseplants; on pothos it can also tear new leaves apart as they open. This is not infectious and does not spread leaf to leaf like pest feeding.

Pets reach hanging arms. Cats bat at trailing vines; dogs chew accessible lower leaves. Tears at pet height on multiple plants suggest placement, not insects.

Fungal leaf spots can fall out. Dark spots with yellow margins may be fungal leaf spot; dried centers sometimes drop, leaving small shot-hole appearance—usually with preceding brown halos, unlike clean mechanical tears. Route persistent spotting to black spots on pothos.

Pothos does not develop natural perforations indoors the way mature Monstera deliciosa fenestrates. If someone suggests “your pothos is supposed to have holes,” that advice applies to different species—not this plant.

How to confirm the cause

Work through these checks in order:

1. Edge test — Ragged, irregular margin with chew marks → insects. Clean linear tear → mechanical or unfurl snag. Serpentine trail visible when you backlight the leaf → leaf miner.
2. Frass or slime — Dark pellets on leaves or below the pot → caterpillars. Shiny slime on the rim → slugs or snails. Neither → consider mechanical, pet, or dry-air unfurl tears.
3. Growing tips first — Lift trailing stems and inspect the backs of the newest leaves and the node above each hole. Active feeding usually hits soft tissue at vine tips before older, leathery blades lower on the stem.
4. Night patrol — Check leaf axils and unfurling tips with a flashlight after dark. Caterpillars and slugs feed when room lights are low.
5. Shake test — Hold white paper under a suspect leaf and tap the stem. Slow-moving worms confirm caterpillars; quick jumping specks point to thrips.
6. Timeline — New holes on different leaves weekly signal active feeding. One unchanged tear for a month suggests past snag or pet contact.
7. Placement trace — Follow which outer leaves contact walls, shelves, or neighboring plants. Isolated damage along that path needs repositioning, not spray.
8. Humidity check — If only the newest leaf on a dry-room pothos has a center split and edges are crispy, raise humidity before treating for pests.

First fix for Pothos

Photograph the holed leaf, examine the hole edge, then inspect every growing tip and leaf axil along trailing stems before you spray or repot.

Do not change watering or fertilize a holed pothos before you know whether insects are active. Extra nitrogen pushes soft new growth that chewers prefer. Do not compost mined or infested leaves indoors where insects can disperse.

Step-by-step recovery

After the first targeted fix:

1. Re-inspect every three to five days for two weeks—one missed caterpillar or miner can open new holes on the next unfurling leaf.
2. Hold isolation until no new damage appears on emerging tips. Pothos vines touch neighbors easily on shared shelves.
3. Rinse dusty trailing leaves monthly in the shower to dislodge early colonizers and improve your view of new damage.
4. Prune only when necessary — Remove leaves more than half destroyed after pests are gone. Partial holes on green blades still photosynthesize.
5. Adjust placement — Route hanging vines away from traffic paths and heating vents that dry unfurling tissue.
6. Scout after outdoor time — Rinse and quarantine patio pothos before mixing it back into your collection.

For a small starter plant with mines or caterpillars on every leaf, rooting one clean node cutting in water may be faster than fighting entrenched pests—pothos roots readily from cuttings.

Recovery timeline

Holed tissue does not fill in. Judge recovery by clean new leaves, not by old perforated blades. Pothos in bright indirect light with stable watering often outgrows light damage within one to three weeks once the cause is removed.

Lookalike symptoms to rule out

Yellow lower leaves without holes point to overwatering or low light—not chewing.

Brown crispy tips without open holes suggest low humidity or brown tips from dry air or fluoride—not caterpillars.

Sticky honeydew without ragged holes suggests aphids, mealybugs, or scale—sap feeders, not chewers.

Fine stippling and webbing suggest spider mites in dry rooms—not large irregular holes.

Natural fenestration does not apply to indoor pothos. Missing splits on a monstera is a different problem; pothos leaves should stay whole.

Mistakes to avoid

Do not spray insecticide before confirming live pests—mechanical tears and dry-air unfurl splits do not need chemical treatment.

Do not assume one holed leaf means the problem is solved. Follow the vine and check axils on lower sections.

Do not use homemade dish soap on pothos without understanding leaf burn risk; commercial insecticidal soaps are formulated for foliage when pests are confirmed.

Do not hang pothos where trailing arms brush the same sharp edge daily—a recurring tear is not a mystery pest.

Wear gloves when handling damaged pothos; sap contains calcium oxalate crystals that irritate skin.

How to prevent holes next time

• Quarantine new pothos and cuttings two weeks before mixing collections.
• Rinse patio plants before winter bring-in; inspect leaf axils on long vines.
• Route trailing stems away from doorways, shelves, and walls they scrape daily.
• Keep humidity at 40–60% during heating season to protect unfurling tips—see low humidity.
• Hang above pet reach; pothos is toxic if chewed.
• Scout growing tips weekly during spring and summer when moths and thrips are most active near open windows.
• Water from soil dryness, not leaf appearance—stressed pothos in wet soil is more vulnerable to secondary problems.

When to worry

Escalate when:

• Fresh holes appear on multiple vine sections within a week
• Leaf-miner trails spread through several new leaves
• Frass accumulates across a long trailing plant despite handpicking
• New tips stop unfurling because tissue is stripped or mined
• Pet ingestion is suspected—contact a veterinarian promptly

A single old tear on one outer leaf, with firm stems and clean new growth elsewhere, is usually not an emergency. Discard and restart from a cutting only when every leaf is mined or stripped, repeated treatment failed, and the plant has no clean nodes left to salvage.

Conclusion

Holes in pothos leaves always mean damage—chewing, mining, tearing, or spotting—not a natural leaf pattern. Read the hole edge, inspect trailing vine tips and axils, and match the pattern before you spray or repot. Pothos recovers quickly from light hits once the cause is gone; focus on clean unfurling leaves, quarantine discipline, and keeping long vines away from snags and dry-air splits.

Related Pothos guides

• Pothos overview — placement, growth habit, and care baseline
• Pothos watering — when wet soil is not the issue
• Pothos light — bright indirect light for steady new growth
• Pothos soil — drainage that keeps roots healthy
• Caterpillars on Pothos — ragged holes with frass
• Leaf miners on Pothos — tunnels inside the blade
• Thrips on Pothos — silver streaks and scarred tips
• Low humidity on Pothos — unfurl tears in dry air
• Pothos problems hub — all common issues on this species

Related tool

Use the Plant Problem Diagnosis Tool to narrow causes for holes in leaves on this plant before changing multiple variables at once.