and leave teh plant otherwise untouched???

squirrel will look to see what you put under the plant ...

i dont know that they would do it at night.. but could they be up and out in the garden .... earlier than you are??

if you are sure its at night... raccoon or skunk ... but you can usually tell if a skunk came thru ....

what does it matter...?? ... i dont think i would trap and kill such for this reason ...

some might suggest.. a little blood meal ... or liquid fence.. might dissuade them ...

ken

Squirrels always like to investigate signs of digging. Maybe you were hiding something tasty beneath those silly flowers!

I agree with Ken, sprinkle some blood meal around. When I plant bulbs in the fall, they would always be dug up the next day. Now I sprinkle the blood meal around the area where I plant them, and have not had the problem since. Liquid fence is good too, although it stinks to high heaven!

I cannot use any fish fertilizer products as raccoons would dig up the whole garden looking for the fish. Al

OMG... I would never ever trap or kill an animal for any reason, no less because of a flower Ken... I was just curious if anyone knew what kind of animal would do it.. I've planted annuals in the same area for many years and this is the first this has ever happened so I was just wondering... its only a flower afterall.

Judy, do you see indications of something digging around your plants? Or could it be something from underneath pushing the plants up? Is it only the newly planted annuals that this is happening to? All of them?

I've seen two animals push new transplants out of the ground. The first are moles and the second are earthworms, the latter especially if the plants are small.

Those are two other possibilities for you to think about, at least. :-)

I had a possum that dug up all of my begonias one year, and he was searching for grubs. I was able to replant the begonias . I put out the trap- cage one night and caught him.
I transported him to a nearby wooded park.

Judy, you won't know for sure unless you catch the rascal in the act. Your mystery digger might be any of the critters already mentioned. Or an early-rising bird, or even someone's pet. Our neighbors let their cats wander and the cats sometimes see soft, freshly turned soil as a giant litter box.

I recommend mulching exposed soil if you haven't already. I've been using wood chips ever since I found out I can get them free from the city mulch pile. I had persistent squirrels in one neighborhood and the only thing that worked to keep them out of my flowerpots was a layer of stones. I'll be covering my pots again now that I've got another repeat digger. I thought the containers on the second floor would be safe, but I have a chipmunk who climbs the stairs.

Squirrels often dig up my annuals when they are first planted. I re-plant them and they are not bothered again. It seems the squirrel's curiosity is appeased the first time around.

Linda

Probably squirrels or chipmunks. Squirrels will investigate any freshly dug area.

Toads are baby killers. They love to nestle their fat butts in easy to dig soil, especially in my pots for an afternoon snooze. I've often lost plants that way.

I would trap a skunk if it was looking to make a home to raise younguns' here under the house or wherever. Yea, I'm bad. Same goes for a raccoon if it was wreaking havoc. I know a guy who nearly got killed by one protecting its young in his attic. It tried to come through his air duct return, claws front and center screeching like a bangee. Poor guy was holding the screen on to keep the thing from taking his face off. They can get into anything and set up housekeeping.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 1:46

The skunks are bad here in SoCal this year. They leave "V" shaped holes and LOVE newly planted things. We use a lot of chicken wire cones to give things a chance to take hold.

We did have some luck having the boys come and drink a lot of beverages before "marking" our flowers beds. But this does not work so well in the front yard.

It could be anything. Armadillos to Zebras (not really :), but I know that Armadillos can tear up a lawn and flowerbed. They don't want the plants, they want the bugs under the plants. Cats are also a possibility, though they are looking to use the site as a litter box. Personally, I would bet on the armadillo. To stop them, there is a spray that I use, which is basically a type of 'scare factor'. The scent is unpleasant to animals, invoking a fear response, which gets them to leave the area and look for a more welcoming garden. It will work for deer, voles, moles...just about anything. And it is humane. I've used Plantskydd for rats (I live out in the country) that were digging up my strawberries. It worked! I wish you well! I know how frustrating that can be.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plantskydd

I vote for squirrels!!! Every year, I watch them dig in so many places where I had just planted new annuals.

I vote for squirrels!!! Every year, I watch them dig in so many places where I had just planted new annuals.

I guarentee you it's a mole! Woke this morning to two of my newly planted perennials completely uprooted and perfectly laying on their sides. Anyway my bet is it's a mole and not a squirrel.

7 yrs. later...

Al is unstopamole.

tj

who knew al had such a sense of humor .... holey moley ... ken