if you find nothing during the day .. go out and look at night .. ken

If they're tiny would I be able to see them with the naked eye? I also thought the dill was for them to make cocoons on as well? If that's correct then there's nothing left to cocoon on except stems. I think I'll have to set up a video camera in the evening and see if I can catch anything but will have to plant more since it's ALL gone now. Thanks for all answers.

My neighbor saw a rabbit eating her dill, so I cut mine back and have it inside growing in a glass of water. Rabbits destroyed my parsley last year, so I grow it in pots now. I have watched how they can bend tall stems down with their cute little paws and devour stems and leaves. The best deterrent is a wire fence. I have used that fox urine granule stuff but it is expensive, and you don't want it on the leaves of your herbs. I didn't see any damage before I cut mine back and maybe should have let it grow on. I had it next to sage, which is very odorous. Maybe try growing that with your dill? I winter-sowed my sage. If the stems are clean-cut, It's likely rabbits. If they are unevenly chewed, deer, since deer don't have both top and bottom teeth as bunnies do.

Haven't planted dill this year, but the slugs are eating anything else that's small and succulent. They love my marigolds. :(

I plant parsley, dill and fennel every year to feed the caterpillars. Then the caterpillars turn into beautiful swallowtail butterflies.

I plant butterfly weed and swamp milkweed too and the caterpillars devour every leaf leaving only bare stems. The plants come back every year. And every year I have more and more monarch butterflies, which are endangered.

If you want dill for pickles and salad just plant a lot of it. And plan to share it with the caterpillars! If you let it go to seed you will always have it, it reseeds like crazy.

Slugs are slugs, best repelled by spreading sand under the target plants-- or big handfuls of golden retriever hair!

Thank you for your time to answer. I'm trying my hand at a butterfly garden & growing them as host plants. I'm 95% sure it's not caterpillars as I haven't seen one butterfly in years (if i'd remembered this I wouldn't have spent my money and time). Just for the heck of it I looked & don't see any caterpillars either but I don't know where they could be since there's nothing left but a few stems. I don't believe it's slugs either. In my old house they were everywhere but I have never seen a slug in 30 years in my current home. I think it must be rabbits, the family of 5 squirrels hanging around my deck, the chipmunk who's making holes all over the garden or some other rodent. I'm going to catch the chipmunk and take him elsewhere.

I was thinking of putting the host plants in 8' pots and putting them in the garden so the critters couldn't reach. But I think someone is going to tell me they will climb right in & I'm guessing I won't be please with the esthetics although I'd deal if it'd work. What about a fake owl? Do they actually work?

If anyone has ideas of how to keep critters away from the garden, other than building a fence, please share. Thanks!

Where do you live? My squirrels don't chew stem tops. They want acorns. Other pests must be your problem?

Maybe you should try beer traps and see what kind of bugs may be the culprits? The caterpillars don't go there, but slugs, snails, pill bugs, and earwigs do. I have heard fake owls work if you move them around. Also pieces of old hoses that look like snakes. And the more you plant, the bigger the buffet and the less you will notice the damage. Plant more wildflower seeds. I have many butterflies on coreopsis, yarrow, purple coneflowers, zinnias, brazilian verbena, etc. Asclepias,/butterfly weed / milkweed is the attractor of monarchs. I have a resident rabbit (at least one) and plenty of squirrels and bugs. My dog and a neighborhood cat leave their scent in my yard. And I use a couple of beer traps. But every few days I find something chewed. Latest was rudbeckia. I am waiting for foxes to deal with my rabbits. But i let the violets and clover and yarrow grow for the rabbit buffet.

I consider myself lucky, so far, this year. But my patio peach tree, up high in a huge pot has been stripped of her leaves. I think slug or bug damage? I Must do the beer trap for that one too.

I'm going to the beer trap and see if I get anything. I'm looking on Amazon for owls but will it scare off butterflies too?

I'm looking for plain dill but can only find fern and I read on this site the butterflies don't like fern dill. Can anyone tell me their experience?

I so love that everyone is putting up with and answering all my questions. This is a great site and you're all very nice.

If the plants are showing up in other places all chewed up, it's not slugs. Chipmunks or rabbits I would imagine. I don't want to kill the little guys, but just like with my strawberries, they don't leave a single one for me!

My dill has been getting munched on by earwigs. I planted it for swallowtail butterflies as well but haven't seen any yet. going to try an oil trap.