Its not deer; I would have seen their tracks in the freshly rototilled
soil. We do have rabbits and slugs. I tried the beer in a dish trap
for the slugs and my neighbor almost drowned.

I guess it will remain a mystery as we now remember to put the canning
jars over them; they do make a very warm greenhouse so I only leave them
on for a few days, lest my peppers come pre-cooked.

Laura at theGardenPages wrote:
It could also be snails, or cutworms. Try going outside with a
flashlight one evening to check on them.

Snails can be controlled with a dish of beer. They climb inside and
drown. Icky, but effective!



Not@home wrote:

We like green peppers, so I start them inside, set the tray of seedlings
outside for a week, then transplant them into the garden. Some insect
or animal eats off the leaves after we transplant them, and they die.

We solved the problem by placing large canning jars over the seedlings
for a few days. I'm really curious what kind of pest would attack a
newly planted seedling, but won't attack it a week or two later when we
remove the jars. No other seedlings are attacked. Any ideas? This is
in Ohio, zone 5.