This happened to me in a raised bed that was fully enclosed with a cage. It turned out to be rodents. Mice or voles specifically. The tasted my zuchinni as well. Unfortunately, they ruined my entire plant as I couldn't stop them from burrowing into the cages. This year we will still do the cages but I'm going to do potted tomatoes. Still working on a solution.

I'm going to hazard a guess that your patio isn't as closed as you think it is. If you are having problems with rodents getting through your current cages, you need to replace them with finer mesh cages. Try 1/4", or even better 1/8" hardware cloth/mesh.

Hmmm. Beesneeds, I had not considered rodents because the only entry to my patio is a half inch space under the screen doors. I suppose something could squeeze under there so I’ll seal that up tonight and see what happens.

1/2" is plenty large for rodents, they can fit into gaps as small as 1/4" depending on how old they are, juveniles have no problem with 1/4". Make sure you check all the way around the foundations for any other gaps that might be 1/4" or bigger.

Beesneeds, My raised garden bed Is outside. My cages just sat on the surface of my soil to keep birds and squirels at bay. The mice or voles would burrow under the soil and eat my tomatoes.

Linda, they can squish into the tiniest of places. Not sure about half an inch but a tell tale sign for me was the droppings. I noticed them around the tomatoes.

it could be more than one type of vermin ... something like a slug could start the process... lets say.. releasing the aroma .... and then attract other things ...

set some mouse traps .... see if you get anything ...

and do go out at night and see if you find anything ...

ken

That bite mark on the squash resembles the bite marks on my cantaloupes last year. It turned out to be a well hidden box turtle that made it's home in the garden.

That does look rodenty (but to be fair, I am not familiar with turtle damage).

Turtles can't climb, can they? Both of my eaten plants are high off the ground. I'm leaning heavily toward rodent: rat or even squirrel. I realize the space under the screen doors is a good inch. Going to seal it today but I'll have to put a trap to catch one hiding inside somewhere.

Mouse damage, for sure. There is no way a box turtle could get through a half-inch opening.

Snap traps for sure. If you have pets or want to keep a coon from running off with it - put them in clear plastic jars like mayonnaise, jelly, or peanut butter, etc. Drill a 1" hole in the cover for rodent access. Clear so you can see if/when the trap is set or tripped.

When it comes to rodents if you have one you have a family - they don't live alone. Dollar Tree - I think you get like 4/$1 then use them.

Avoid using poison as you won't know if you got them and that will also poison the birds or whatever else is in the food chain.

Sorry about the confusion Holly- I didn't really read and didn't realize you had hopped on Linda's OP with your question. thought it was just a further post from Linda.