Incredibly frustrating, we suspect it is a squirrel but wondering if it was some other animal.
I know squirrels bury nuts and suspect he saw us burying nut like objects and decided to steal our stash.
Sound reasonable or some other animal a likely suspect?
This is in Central Jersey, near the bay shore.
The little bastard even dug up a flowering daffodil.
We’re going to start putting white stone down Friday or Saturday depending on the delivery of 42 bags. A ton of rocks is not going to be fun, hopefully this stops future raids, I was just planning on a grass/weed suppression and that it would look good next to the new walk. But maybe it will also discourage critters.
Years ago I stated putting heavy black plastic mesh over bulbs every fall and I pulled it up as soon as they started coming in. It didn’t eliminate them getting dug up, but it meant I’d only lose one or two instead of half of them.
I’m lucky that the area where mine are planted is surrounded by concrete. I’ve seen stories of people essentially making an underground cage by using the same mesh below and around the sides of the garden as well to prevent things from tunneling under it.
Have you thought about getting a large crocodile or gator to patrol the yard?
Failing that, a low-budget approach to the problem is to liberally sprinkle cayenne powder in and around the bulbs. That generally tends to discourage unruly animal behavior in gardens. The only potential downside is that if skunks are the culprits, they will spray like crazy after ingesting the cayenne.
I’ve had deer digging them up. They must not like them because they are rarely eaten.
Except the garlic bulbs. They eat the heck out of them. I have a big bed of them so they don’t get them all.
I also have winter onion in the same location. They don’t seem to like those.
I feel I have Italian deer.
I’ve heard if you plant marigolds the deer won’t come near the beds. I’ve had some success with it. But I just hate the things too. They stink.
I’ve heard animals are mostly attracted to the freshly dug up soil and don’t particularly want to find bulbs. You can just cover over the damp soil for a few days to let the smell reduce and dissipate as it dries. A wide area soaking might help, too.
They film at night and activated by motion. Just hang one up in a tree. I like to capture the animals in the woods near my home. It’s very interesting.
They can also be used for security if 2 legged varmints are on your property.
One example, it’s on sale for $40
Limited-time deal: Meidase Trail Camera, 48MP 1296p, Clear 100ft Night Vision Motion Activated, Hunting Game Camera with Fast 0.1s Trigger Speed, IP66 Waterproof https://a.co/d/erlQHFM
That reminds me… I’ve been considering repurposing a disused automotive dashcam to spot four legged passersby in my yard. It’s not weatherproof or IR illuminated but does have motion video capture and the biggest plus: I already have the cam. A USB battery will run it for at least a day so I’ll keep an eye on the weather and put it out for a night at a time.
I’ve got a couple of muntjac deer that developed a taste for potato plants last year. Nothing else was touched, but as soon as the potatoes flowered they gobbled all the plants within a week. I’ve just spent today putting a chicken wire fence around the potato plot in the hope it will keep them at bay.
We’ve had little luck w/ anything other than daffs. And even with those, in one drift squirrels bit off just about every flower stalk. Grape hyacinth and scilla are fine, but we don’t even try crocus.
If a plant doesn’t want to grow with the conditions I offer, or if animals eat it, I simply try another plant. Life’s too short to try to baby plants or combat animals.
