What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

On Feb 12, 11:21*am, "Mike" wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches off
the ground. *First something was eating the spinach only. *So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. *Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. *Then the swiss chard. *Covered those. *Then the Cucumber
plants. *Ate all of those. *Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. *I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. *I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area..
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

"Frank" wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, "Mike" wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe rabbits
somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

On 2/12/2010 12:46 PM, Mike wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe rabbits
somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.


I suggested deer because they are ruminates and only animal mentioned
that would eat tomato plants. I seldom see the ones around here but
they come out at night and leave plenty of sign. I've had rabbits come
up on the front porch and eat flowers but have never seen them jumping
that high. If you are super curious you could buy a game camera and
photograph the culprit.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

"Frank" wrote in message
...
On 2/12/2010 12:46 PM, Mike wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches
off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe rabbits
somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.


I suggested deer because they are ruminates and only animal mentioned that
would eat tomato plants. I seldom see the ones around here but they come
out at night and leave plenty of sign. I've had rabbits come up on the
front porch and eat flowers but have never seen them jumping that high.
If you are super curious you could buy a game camera and photograph the
culprit.

It must be squirrels. I didn't think squirrels would eat tomato plants (and
leave the fruit) and my yard is full of acorns. Very odd as I have had
tomato plants before in a different spot low to the ground and they never
bothered them. I will have to look into the camera idea.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

On 2/12/2010 1:32 PM, Mike wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 2/12/2010 12:46 PM, Mike wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches
off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe rabbits
somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.


I suggested deer because they are ruminates and only animal mentioned that
would eat tomato plants. I seldom see the ones around here but they come
out at night and leave plenty of sign. I've had rabbits come up on the
front porch and eat flowers but have never seen them jumping that high.
If you are super curious you could buy a game camera and photograph the
culprit.

It must be squirrels. I didn't think squirrels would eat tomato plants (and
leave the fruit) and my yard is full of acorns. Very odd as I have had
tomato plants before in a different spot low to the ground and they never
bothered them. I will have to look into the camera idea.



Game cameras are available at places like Cabelas:

http://tinyurl.com/y9jxmy5

I've never used one but hunters put them out to photograph and scout
game, usually deer, in their hunting areas.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

Mike wrote:
"Frank" wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, "Mike" wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+
inches off the ground. First something was eating the spinach only.
So I build some chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when
after the radishes. Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered
those. Then the Cucumber plants. Ate all of those. Now they are
going after the tomato plants. Whatever it is is not eating a lot
but eating each night. I don't think rabbits can jump that high. I
do have squirrel and raccoon in the area. Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe
rabbits somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.

Are there any scats?

David

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

Frank wrote:
On 2/12/2010 12:46 PM, Mike wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+
inches off the ground. First something was eating the spinach only.
So I build some chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they
when after the radishes. Covered those. Then the swiss chard.
Covered those. Then the Cucumber plants. Ate all of those. Now they
are going after the tomato plants. Whatever it is is not eating a
lot but eating each night. I don't think rabbits can jump that
high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area. Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe
rabbits somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.


I suggested deer because they are ruminates and only animal mentioned
that would eat tomato plants. I seldom see the ones around here but
they come out at night and leave plenty of sign. I've had rabbits
come up on the front porch and eat flowers but have never seen them
jumping that high. If you are super curious you could buy a game
camera and photograph the culprit.

Rodents will eat tomatoes.

David

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:25:28 -0800 (PST), Frank
wrote:

On Feb 12, 11:21*am, "Mike" wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches off
the ground. *First something was eating the spinach only. *So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. *Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. *Then the swiss chard. *Covered those. *Then the Cucumber
plants. *Ate all of those. *Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. *I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. *I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

Birds eat veggies too.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:32:00 -0500, "Mike"
wrote:


"Frank" wrote in message
...
On 2/12/2010 12:46 PM, Mike wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 11:21 am, wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches
off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

They are not digging, just eating. No Deer where we are. Maybe rabbits
somehow jumping. We have wild cats too.


I suggested deer because they are ruminates and only animal mentioned that
would eat tomato plants. I seldom see the ones around here but they come
out at night and leave plenty of sign. I've had rabbits come up on the
front porch and eat flowers but have never seen them jumping that high.
If you are super curious you could buy a game camera and photograph the
culprit.

It must be squirrels. I didn't think squirrels would eat tomato plants (and
leave the fruit) and my yard is full of acorns. Very odd as I have had
tomato plants before in a different spot low to the ground and they never
bothered them. I will have to look into the camera idea.

Mammals will eat tomtoes but they won't eat tomato plants, they are
smart enough to know that tomato plants are toxic to mammals... but
slugs and snails will eat tomato plants, as will many insects and of
course reptiles... are there no lizards in FL... they will munch the
plants in order to get to the insects within, so will birds. It's a
cruel world out there.

What animal is eating my vegatable plants.
 

"brooklyn1" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:25:28 -0800 (PST), Frank
wrote:

On Feb 12, 11:21 am, "Mike" wrote:
I live in FL and I have built garden boxes that stand about 40+ inches
off
the ground. First something was eating the spinach only. So I build some
chicken wire boxes, spinach safe now. Then they when after the radishes.
Covered those. Then the swiss chard. Covered those. Then the Cucumber
plants. Ate all of those. Now they are going after the tomato plants.
Whatever it is is not eating a lot but eating each night. I don't think
rabbits can jump that high. I do have squirrel and raccoon in the area.
Any ideas.

Mike

Deer? Squirrels and raccoons will dig stuff up but deer will eat
practically anything.

Birds eat veggies too.

Whatever it is is not eating the fruit, the plants are too young. The
buggers are eating the plant itself. The chicken wire works. I just bought
more chicken wire and am going to wrap the whole thing garden box.