I am at my Wit's End!

penny1947

16 years ago

On Monday one of my 12-19 inch tall Salvia greggiis was chomped off to within about an inch of the base of the plant. On Tuesday my 4 year old Snapdragen had one section of stems and leaves chomped off. On Wednesday my Dicliptera suberecta that is 2ft tall and in a pot wedged behind a boulder in a protected corner of the bed in front of the house had every stem and leaf chew off except for the main stem which is now completely bare except for the stubs where stems used to be. Today half of my 4 yr oold Helleborus suffered the same fate and all the leaves and stems of the Heleborus were in the enclosed area behind the boulder in the front bed.

The plants aren't being eaten but drug to a secluded corner next to the foundation of the house or in the little overhand between the diding and the foundation. There is fencing all around the bed where the snapdragon is. I know it isn't deer because they wouldn't eat the salvia greggii nor the helleborus and they couldn't get to the tiny space behind the boulder in front or under the siding in the corners where the leaves are being stashed. It isn't a rabbit and even though I thought it was a vole at first, a vole couldn't get these huge helleborus leaves and stems over the boulder and behind it in the corner .

Doues anyone have any idea what is chewing off these plants? I am beside myself.

Penny

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Comments (11)

gottagarden
16 years ago
It sounds like a rabbit to me, making a nice nest with all that foliage. Voles tunnel, not drag foliage.

I would pull all the foliage out so that you are disturbing their nest.

What a drag!! At least it's the end of the season and they are not stealing from the hummers.

How about setting a Hav-a-heart trap?
penny1947
Original Author
16 years ago
Well I know the voles tunnel but I have actually seen them chewing off plants and stuffing them in a corner but not to the extent I am seeing it right now and I don't think a voles could scale that bolder. I didn't think of a rabbit becaude I have never seen a rabbit use the rough leaves of a helleborus or smelly plants like salvia greggii. It is usually grass or grassy leaves that I have seen them line a nest with and I have never seen them haul this debris to an inside corner under the siding but then again anything is possible. Yesterday I sprinkled flour all over the surface of that bed to see if any footprints showed up and of course NADA! I haven't tried a Hava heart trap yet because whate4ver it is it is trap shy just by the way it avoids any wire enclosures I have out there.

Penny
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husky004_
16 years ago
Penny-it's definitely either the mountain lion,bear, moose, elk, cougar, wolf,puma, great white shark, koala, sasquach or whatever else these people are spotting, see you responded as a nature lover and they sent all them animals your way, if not it's probably them damn hummingbirds those destructive little beasts lol.
penny1947
Original Author
16 years ago
Huskey
You are the sunshine in my rainy day LOL! You have mail@ LOL!

Penny
remy_gw
16 years ago
LOL! No, you've got it all wrong. It is a Yeti moving in for winter : )
Remy
penny1947
Original Author
16 years ago
If I ever catch this varmint I am going to bag him and bring him over to your house Remy! You have a lot more plants to eat and he can go for years without ever being noticed in your jungle LOL!

All joking aside, I did catch a vole last night in one of my Tom Cat live catch traps so I will watch now for any other damage. I do think something larger (possibly a rabbit as GG suggested is working on the larger plants because a vole couldn't possible Chomp of whole stems of my helleborus.

Penny

Penny
remy_gw
16 years ago
Penny,
No! I've got rabbits here. I don't need more varmints, lol.
Oh, and I realized I was completely wrong in my answer this morning. It is a Pink Flamingo making nesting for the winter probably. They've expanded their territory past the Cheektowaga border.
Remy
penny1947
Original Author
16 years ago
NO! NO! Not the Pink Flamingo...the bane of my very existance! I moved north to get away from the Pink Flamingo! Bring on the Yetti,the elk, the black bear, the cougar, and coyote even Bigfoot from Boggy Bayou but not the Pink Flamingo!

Penny
remy_gw
16 years ago
LOL!
rosalinda_gw
16 years ago
You are all just way too funny - ROFLOL

-Rosalinda
penny1947
Original Author
16 years ago
Well Rosalinda
I did cover my coral bells with flower pots as they were the next plant to get hit. We also cought one vole in a Tom Cat live catch trap. SO far no more munching in the front bed but the flower pots are staying in place for the rest of the winter just in case that Pink Flamingo decides to rear its ugly head again.....We do have a very humor filled group don't we?

Penny