Either this is the most aggressive cutworm on the planet or I have an even bigger problem on my hands. As I went about my usual stroll around the garden after work today, I noticed that the my backyard varmint had moved on to several beets that were planted around my broccoli. In broad daylight too! This is a brazen little fella. My guess is that one of the bunnies, squirrels or chipmunks that frequent our yard is responsible for this mess. But can a bunny really fit through a 2 x 4 inch mesh wire? To be on the safe side, I sprinkled some blood meal around my fence to deter them. But does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with squirrels and/or chipmunks?! (Aside from a shotgun that is?)
P.S. The beet above is the same one photographed below. RATS! I ended up harvesting some beet greens today after all.
Those creatures can be so annoying. I had a red squirrel chew the end off my pitch fork that I left on the deck. I don't know why he would do such a thing - I also had the chipmunks and squirrels dig up the sunflower seeds I had planted - so thanks to them I have none growing.
ReplyDeleteI have no advice. Sorry.
Son, you're going to have to be the first person I know to make squirrel pate...
ReplyDeleteElectricity. A human can be killed by as little as 1/10th of an ampere, and I would think a squirrel would only take a small amount. Using a car battery, wire the positive terminal directly to a flat piece of plate steel (about 2'x 2'), then place a 6" x 6" piece of cardboard directly in the center of it, with a baited cup on top that is completely wrapped in aluminum foil. Connect the negative terminal of the battery to the foil, then setup your video camera. It will become your favorite home movie....No? Hey, it will work! Ha! Ok...everyone start throwing things at EG now...hee hee...
ReplyDeleteEG - will this really work? Yes, I'm being serious. I will even cook him up if that will appease the masses.
ReplyDeleteOh the dreaded squirrels. I chase them out of the garden if I ever see them there. The chipmunks are my nemesis. They can be discouraged by bird netting. They hate the stuff as their feet can get tangled in it. When I'm desperate I bring out the rat traps since chipmunks and rats are close enough to the same size. I don't know about squirrels though. I haven't had them damage my garden recently except the occasional digging. I'm sure they would hate the bird netting just as much, but it would be hard to net the whole garden (and costly).
ReplyDeleteYes, Thomas - it will work. When a path is provided between the positive and negative terminals of the battery, dc current will flow (in this case, the squirrel's body becomes the path, or conductor). It probably won't kill it, but it will definitely scare the hell out of it. You just don't want to let PETA know about it. Ha. Direct current has more of a "burning effect" than anything, and alternating current causes muscles to constrict. Placed inside your enclosed garden, it will be safe from other animals. *Don't try this with ac voltage, because it is REALLY dangerous! More effective, but deadly to everything!!!!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not cutworm, they don't snap the plant off mid-stem ;-) You might have to make cages for your beds like this guy did http://tinyurl.com/yep6uyj
ReplyDeleteo you know anyone with pets? Seriously, spreaing dog hair through my beds has stopped just about everything from munching, rodents and slugs for sure.
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We have lots of squirrels and some chipmunks, but they leave the vegetable garden alone. I think it is because we feed birds all year and there are a lot of sunflower seeds for them to eat. The chipmunks do dig holes all over the place but the population seems to have declined this year probably due to the neighbourhood cats. I must try the dog hair solution for slugs. I've tried copper mesh, slug traps, an ammonia solution and Safer's products with no luck. My variegated hostas are a mess. This year the earwigs wreaked havoc with the chard, spinach, lettuce and pepper plants. Any suggestions? It would be great if the dog hair would work. There are way too many to trap!
ReplyDeleteYep, that looks like 4-footed damage, not cutworms...something with rather large feet that stepped on your beautiful beet greens on the way to chomping on the broccoli. And then not eating them! I lost my early shade-grown tomatoes (not a good thing, unlike shade-grown coffee, but it's all i can manage with lovely 60 year old maple trees shading the place) to squirrels and/or woodchucks who had the nerve to remove the tomatoes, take a bite or two, and then drop them...pfooey.
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