Something's eating Barbara

Remember Barbara?

Something's eating her. Literally.

She's my first citrus tree and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Truth be told, I haven't investigated that much. I don't like bugs, and I don't like knowing there are bugs in my house. So I've only kinda sorta been looking for the culprit, until today. If I don't see anything, it doesn't exist, right?

But the poor girl has been dropping a lot of leaves and so I went to clean them up this morning. While looking in her large pot, I saw movement.

And then I immediately felt like there were things crawling on my head. This is why I haven't looked too hard. When the heebie jeebies attack, they attack! Fifteen minutes later I'm still scratching my head, and not because I'm trying to figure something out.

But I decided to put on my big girl panties and grabbed a pair of gardening gloves. I saw a little bug and tried to grab it and squish it. I'm not sure if I was successful because I didn't look to see if I dropped squished bug in the garbage can or not. Then I poured water in the pot, hoping to drown whatever it was. I doubt I was successful with that tactic.

So here I sit trying to figure out what's eating Babs.

The first possibility that I found is a fuller rose beetle, only because the pest photos look similar to what I saw for .5 seconds in the dirt. However, the leaf-eating pattern doesn't quite look like what's happening with Barbara.

What does mostly fit the leaf-eating pattern is a grasshopper, but I haven't seen any of those on or near the tree.

Good. Beetles or grasshoppers. My itching is in full force right now.

Without knowing exactly what I'm dealing with, I'm not sure exactly how to treat it. Most websites I've read indicate that pests are not a real threat to the lime tree and just cause cosmetic damage. Barbara is really just to look at; I don't expect to be able to grow a lifetime supply of limes from her. This website suggests soapy water or neem oil. I know I could try it, but I'll have to put some garbage bags down around her, as she's too big and heavy to keep moving outside to spray for bugs.

I would love some advice or direction if anyone has any!