If you're not using wire fencing with a very small mesh, like chicken
wire, then woodchucks, raccoons and other critters will go right
through, rather than under, your fence. I swear some of those big fat
things could fit through the neck of a coke bottle if they really wanted
to. And they'll come back for the lettuce when the eggplants are gone.
DAMHIKT.

J.

GrlIntrpted wrote:
For photos of the problem please refer to Alt.binaries.pictures.gardens
under the same subject line.

As you'll note in the photos, the plant was chopped in half on one plant.
And the other plant the leaves were pulled off and left on the ground. There
were 5 more eggplant plants but nothing remained of them. The plants were
about a foot and a half in size with fairly large leaves so it couldn't be a
cutworm. I'm also attaching a photo of a strawberry that was eaten through.
My garden is behind a five foot fence with chicken wire that is running
along the bottom (2 feet height) so that smaller critters can not get in.

I know that deer can easily jump over, but they would leave foot marks, and
there are none. I've inspected the ground around, and don't see any holes,
nor do I see any prying in the fence anywhere.
I was wondering what it might be. We do have a lot of groundhogs, deer,
beavers, cottontail rabbits, moles, and lots and lots of birds, Central New
Jersey.
I grow lettuce less than 20 feet away, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers and
nothing was touched. Any clue?

-M