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What the @#@#$ could be eating my plants?

bpwilly

bpwilly

Looking for any ideas about what could be eating my plants.  I went out to the garden today and noticed that the plant stalks and the pepper stems are being eaten by something.  I have never seen something like this before, and did not notice any slugs slime trails, so am hoping someone on here has seen something like this before and can suggest some steps I can take to stop this.  Some of these plants may not survive, as the stalk is almost girdled!
 
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Open to any suggestions, as this is the first time I have seen anything like this.  Notice it is also getting the leaves.
 
 
 
 
Have you checked morning, mid day, and night for pests?
 
I suppose it could be the tomato hornworm…. but in my experience they devour even more than that. Plus they are quite noticeable!
 
AaronRiot said:
Dude, I can't help you here, but whatever it is it's the insect version of the porcupine. So strange, to me at least,
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AaronRiot    LOL, I sure hope it is not porcupines, or I have a much bigger problem.  But it sure is chomping away
 
Spicy Mushroom said:
Have you checked morning, mid day, and night for pests?
 
I suppose it could be the tomato hornworm…. but in my experience they devour even more than that. Plus they are quite noticeable!
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SM   -  I will have to check tonight.  I normally do not have a catepillar issues around here, other than tent catapillars, and they normally stick to the trees, but I sure will check, as it is something, just glad it has not hit them all yet.
 
smokemaster said:
Grasshoppers do that to my pepper pod stems.
At night crickets get the bottom stalks but cut worms do it too.
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Smokemaster, I will check this as well.  I have not seen any grasshoppers around this year yet, but at this point, I will check anything out/.  We normally get the grasshoppers later in the year when it is a bit warmer and dryer, but I am open to anything at this point.  Hmmm - cutworms, now we do get them as they have gotten to other vegetables in past years when they were small, but maybe my ground cover fabric is making a ideal hiding spot for them.  Will have to check it out.
 
SmokenFire said:
check early in the morning and at dusk.  looks like rabbit damage to me.
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SF -  Now rabbits we have had a increase of them in the past few years, so maybe I need to think about watching this place closely and practice my hunting skills early this year!  My main watch dog would just as soon make friends with rabbits.  Bird dogs!
I will check this out the next few days and see what I notice.
 
Thanks
 
Looks like the suggestions to check the plants late at night and early morning paid off.  I just went out to the garden with a flashlight, and I have an invasion of little slugs.  Guess they are small enough that they are not leaving a slime trail like I am use to seeing.  Must mean there are some big parents someplace as well, but at least I now know what is eating the plants and how to deal with them.
 
I just need to take a few of those bamboo shish kabobs out to the garden with me tomorrow night.  Might also take some slug bait and make a few slug traps, but after seeing what they have done to my plants, the bamboo kaboobs sound justified!!!!
 
Thanks one and all!
 
bpwilly said:
Looks like the suggestions to check the plants late at night and early morning paid off.  I just went out to the garden with a flashlight, and I have an invasion of little slugs.  Guess they are small enough that they are not leaving a slime trail like I am use to seeing.  Must mean there are some big parents someplace as well, but at least I now know what is eating the plants and how to deal with them.
 
I just need to take a few of those bamboo shish kabobs out to the garden with me tomorrow night.  Might also take some slug bait and make a few slug traps, but after seeing what they have done to my plants, the bamboo kaboobs sound justified!!!!
 
Thanks one and all!
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Just leave some cups of beer and they will drink themselves to death (I'm serious that is a proven anti slug treatment)
 
I have used that treatment for a all summer cure in my strawberry patch in the past, and you are right, it does work well.  They are just like us, give me a option, beer or strawberry? and I know which one I will take!
 
Around here I need to rig up litle umbrellas to go over the cup or jar, else the rain will fill them up!  I better go get the party started
 
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