Whatever they are they are really ugly. I don't see any eyes, what I do see is a pointed snout and huge front feet that looks like they are wearing baseball gloves. They are all over the place here in South Georgia, tunnels popping up after every rain. My little dog will tear into their tunnels and sometimes come up with one of the critters. I set mole traps and have speared more than a few. A local farmer stopped by the office this evening. I explained the situation to him and he thinks it is likely the moles are going after the cut worms and my plants are getting the worst of it. His suggestion was to place something like popsicle sticks on either side of the plants so the cut worms cannot wrap around the stem. Tomorrow I will do just that. It's always an adventure trying to raise vegetables in these parts. I gave up on carrots, the wild hogs love them and totally destroy the garden when the root for them. Photo is my corn protected by deer net.

You are describing the features of a mole, that's for sure.

They are Eastern moles and there are lots of them here. The tomato plants I recovered in the mole tunnels were not eaten but did show signs of being ringed by a cut worm which is why I believe the moles were after the cut worms while the worms were wrapped around the tomato stem. In the photo the tomato plants were on the right in the row with the egg plants. That is the edge of the garden adjacent to the yard. The mole tunnels can be seen in the grass heading into the garden but do not show up well in the soft garden soil. My wife relocated the surviving plants. We have since buried rotting logs in that row to try our hand at Hugelkultur and hopefully make it more difficult for moles to get around.

I can't help with your moles, but your squirrel cages look great.

Thanks Fori, raising a garden is challenging here. Two years ago (last time I had an unprotected garden in that spot) the squirrels not only cut down my corn just days before the ears were ready to eat, they carted off many cucumbers and I watched one pick a green tomato and run up a tree with it. Then can a dry spell and they chewed holes in my garden hoses to get a drink. I learned to leave a pan of water out for them.

Paper cup collars around stems, repellent spray, rat snap traps under buckets propped up slightly, a tall fence with quarter inch hardware wire at bottom, sunk a foot under ground, out at a 90 degree angle, electrified fencing, and a .410 shotgun should do it.

Update, the subterranean critters eating my plants have really wreaked havoc on my garden this year. Since I moved here in 2012 the tunneling animals have been moles. I've trapped many of them and my dog has dug up a few and it was always moles. This year I haven't been able to trap any and my dog has also struck out so I am now convinced it is a different creature and I'm leaning towards voles like the first responder suggested. The first 5 years, no voles, only moles, year 6 the voles must have moved in and the moles are suddenly scarce. Most vole repellents I've read about involve a castor oil concoction of some sort. Any tips on how to get rid of voles? Thanks