On Apr 18, 3:20 pm, wrote:
I have seedlings started indoors in polystyrerne cups, under lights:
tomatoes & peppers up about 1 inch but not yet with true leaves. This
morning I find about 30 percent are nipped off 1/4 to 1/2 inch above
soil level. In most cases the young first leaves are gone. Completely
vanished - just a stub of stem remains.

I see no sign of whatever pest has done this (apparently overnight
when the lights are off.)

Can anybody make an educated guess, what beastie would this be? And
what can I do to protect the rest of my seedlings - please be quick! -
as well as thwart the pest in future?

Thanks,
Alexander Miller
Port Alberni, B.C. (Canada )


Since this happened at night, you need to prevent access to the
seedlings
at night. Cover each cup with something and wrap it tightly with a
rubber band
or just group the cups together and cover with something large enough
and
heavy enough to block anything from entering, for example a large book
or
board. If something still happens you'll know that whatever it is,
it's in the soil.
It sounds like a slug/snail. Or as Victoria said, a cutworm in the
soil, but
then they would have to be in each cup, a cutworm probably
couldn't move from cup to cup. Did you see any slime trail from a
snail/slug?
Hope you find it; that would be very discouraging, to say the least!
Emilie