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Dan Carmichael

9 Years Ago

Gardening Help

What kind of animal is this? Any help appreciated.

We have 3 plots of lettuce, all young plants about 3" high, 3" across - small.

Something is digging up one or two at a time, roots and all, and carrying it off.

I've had experience with groundhogs and rabbits and don't think it is either. First, neither digs. The mostly graze right at the spot, taking the plant down to a nub. Never seen either dig and carry. Plus, groundhogs are voracious and would take out many more plants, not one or two small plants.

Anybody know what kind of animal this might be?

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MM Anderson

9 Years Ago

Sometimes squirrels dig my lettuce up but they usually are just digging to bury a nut or something as far as I can tell.

 

Greg Jackson

9 Years Ago

"...Something is digging up one or two at a time, roots and all, and carrying it off. ..."


Hmmm, do you have neighbors that seem to have a really new garden, that seems to have 'sprouted" overnight? :)

 

Mike Savad

9 Years Ago

rats do funny things and they do dig. squirrels to dig things up some times, as they run off with it.


---Mike Savad

 

Jeff Folger

9 Years Ago

chipmunks will dig any kind of tuber (tulips are a fav as I've found out) anything with a bulb.

 

John Crothers

9 Years Ago

Do you have deer around? They may just be pullin up the small plants when they are eating it.

You can put a layer of flour around the plants and try to capture some footprints in it.

 

Debbie Oppermann

9 Years Ago

Squirrels and chipmunks are usually the culprits in my garden- they take everything, roots and all - I had hanging strawberries and I found them hanging off the planter happily munching the berries - little pains in the butt!

 

Ann Powell

9 Years Ago

I have trouble with squirrels digging in my planters, especially when the plants are new, they will totally dig them them up but they usually do not carry them off. I put small spikes around them, made from bamboo skewers and that helps somewhat.

 

Jim Sauchyn

9 Years Ago

It could be any kind of varmint... coyote, rabbit - probably rabbits since it's Easter. Chicken wire around your garden might help. Rabbits around here eat my potted plants and coyotes eat apples off apple trees. Look for tracks like someone suggested. You probably have raccoons there, that might be no. 1 suspect.

 

Roy Erickson

9 Years Ago

squirrels are just fuzzy tailed rats - but are good fried.

 

John Crothers

9 Years Ago

Roy,

I quit eating squirrel when I found out they were high in cholesterol!

 

Dan Richards

9 Years Ago

Stray dogs will do this as well.

 

Bob Galka

9 Years Ago

hobos

 

Dan Carmichael

9 Years Ago

Thanks for your help. It might have been a squirrel. I watched him head for the garden yesterday, but he never made it. He slipped on a bar of soap in the shower and hurt himself. There has been no activity in the garden since. We'll see.

 

Jim Sauchyn

9 Years Ago

I don't think squirrels eat lettuce.

 

Dan Carmichael

9 Years Ago

Maybe not normally, Jim, but I have learned thru first-hand experience to ignore the advice of "experts."

Many say that squirrels only eat nuts. Not true. Last fall I watched, with my own eyes, three squirrels swarm a collard plant (much like sharks in a feeding frenzy) and they took it to the ground.

Not only is that not what squirrels "do"(so the experts say) but anybody who has grown collards knows how unusual that is. At least around here, collards are the safest plant to grow because rabbits apparently don't like them, insects that bother other garden plants don't touch them, and even a groundhog (which will eat anything) we had last year ate a collard leaf but never did it again. Nonetheless, the so-call nut-eating squirrels took it down to a nub.

So much for what the so-called internet gardening experts say.

 

MM Anderson

9 Years Ago

I've seen squirrels eat big mushrooms that grow in our yard too so they do eat more than just nuts.

 

Debbie Oppermann

9 Years Ago

What are collards?

 

Nina Prommer

9 Years Ago

gophers come from underneath and look for green stuff, grass, lettuce etc - if you have a gopro, set it up for a timelapse and see who did it :)

 

Donna Proctor

9 Years Ago

Many say that squirrels only eat nuts. Not true. Last fall I watched, with my own eyes, three squirrels swarm a collard plant (much like sharks in a feeding frenzy) and they took it to the ground.

I have a meyers lemon tree and have watched them pick off small lemons, sit and nibble at them.

Just a thought Dan - Do you have any armadillos in your area? I would have never thought of them except - our neighbor has a small garden on the other side of his house and he ended up calling a company to come trap them. They were not only digging deep ditches around his house, but elaborate tunnels from his to ours. I know they primarily eat insects, etc . . . however, the doctor next door said they were eating his garden.

--Donna Proctor

@ Debbie - collards are another type of greens and ohhh sooo yummy!

 

Debbie Oppermann

9 Years Ago

Thanks Donna!

 

This discussion is closed.