What on earth is doing this to my mint??

[MintyIssues]

I always thought mint was indestructible.
Not in my garden!
I've consistently had unidentified problems with pests on all sorts of mint I've grown.
This is spearmint which frankly I've left out of morbid curiosity to see if the plant would eventuality win out. I've not seen this happen to any of my other mints, which have developed their own, less terminal problems.
It seems to have escalated hugely in the last week to this!
Clearly I'm going to have to cut it all back and hope for renewed unafflicted growth (tips gratefully received!) but I would also like to identify my enemy(ies). There are some tiny snails on it but I they wouldn't leave the skeleton of the leaf like this would they?
What destroys mint to this extent???

Caterpillars?

Thanks crapbuttrue!

Possibly??? I've not really seen caterpillar damage before, does it look like this?

I would think some sort of caterpillar. Caterpillars have totally stripped the leaves from.one of my rose bushes.

(Mint isn't indestructible. I have killed mint before.)

Is it indoors or outside?

It certainly looks like caterpillars. Mint sometimes attracts the Tortrix moth which lays eggs on the leaves, the larvae roll the leaves into tubes, fastened by webbing, but I’ve never seen that much damage from Tortrix moth.

@waybill

Is it indoors or outside?

It's outside, in a pot

Thanks all, I've googled tortrix moth damage and it definitely looks like a credible suspect! I've never seen any caterpillars though.
Any tips on control? Or shall I just cut it all back and hope it doesn't reappear?

Cutting it to the ground might be a solution but be aware that caterpillars hibernate over winter in the soil and come back to continue their life cycle the following spring. Both moth and butterfly caterpillars. So if they're the culprit you might need a potent spray or something when your mint comes back in spring.

Is it getting enough water? I had similar issues with one and I ended up getting rid of it and restarting with a clean cutting. I also moved it from a pot to a root bag in the ground to ensure it was properly hydrated.

I still get some damage. But not complete defoliation any more on the new happier damper plant.

Thanks gncq!

@BewareTheBeardedDragon have to admit I've been guilty of leaving it a bit thirsty in recent weeks - how would that make a moth problem worse?
Apologies if that's a silly question, I'm very much a novice!

I don’t know for sure but I guess a thirsty stressed plant is more vulnerable to attack? Sorry - I can only speak from experience but no theoretical knowledge

@MintyIssues

Thanks gncq!

@BewareTheBeardedDragon have to admit I've been guilty of leaving it a bit thirsty in recent weeks - how would that make a moth problem worse?
Apologies if that's a silly question, I'm very much a novice!

A healthy plant will be able to outgrow caterpillar damage. You’ll still get damage, but you won’t notice it under all the healthy new shoots.

Also, many plants have some sort of defence - that’s what the mint taste is about- and they’ll produce that more effectively if healthy