Mystery pepper plant nipper

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by BennB

You need to get something like this.

Wildlife Camera

And catch them in the act!

Thanks. That's a pretty good price for one of those. If it keeps up I may seriously consider one.

[Rockporter]

Sounds like the culprit has learned some great gardening skills, cut and come again guarantees at least one more meal another day.

Seriously though, sorry you have those troubles, I have been having some too and had been thinking of setting up a wildlife camera as well.

[Gavriil]

If its birds maybe one of these will help. not really.
I think it scares the sparrows but not the bigger birds.
We had a couple of robins that kept coming in the garden
even with this there.



and a mad dog rabbit in heat that kept chewing throw our fence

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by Gavriil

If its birds maybe one of these will help. not really.
I think it scares the sparrows but not the bigger birds.
We had a couple of robins that kept coming in the garden
even with this there.



and a mad dog rabbit in heat that kept chewing throw our fence

Thanks Gavriil but I have that exact same owl on the post in the back of the garden. It is below and about six feet from the bluebird box which the sparrows (that displaced my bluebirds ) are occupying. It is also about 5 feet from some of the peppers vandalized.

So far today I have no new damage. I am hoping that my cages and wind flappers will get me past the new transplant stage. If this ends it I will have to plan ahead for next year.

Re your rabbit... WOW, is that wire fencing? If it is I would want to check that thing for rabies or steroids! Do you carry a gun to the garden?

[dustdevil]

Originally Posted by RebelRidin

Right now I am thinking Mockingbirds or Cardinals

I have lots of cardinals nesting on my property and they've never messed with my pepper leaves.

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by dustdevil

I have lots of cardinals nesting on my property and they've never messed with my pepper leaves.

I am very perplexed by it all. In eight years at this sight I've never had a problem like this except some early rabbit problems with cabbages before I fenced the garden.

I have no particular reason to suspect Cardinals or Mockers except that there a several nesting in our yard and they are both species that in my minds eye are big enough to have clipped off the size stems that some of these were. I am also thinking bird because of the seemingly irrational fixation on certains plants/areas of the beds. That is to say irrational from my human perspective. I have seen birds display other seemingly odd, instinctive or repetitive behaviors. Beyond the possibility that some bird perhaps wanted them for nesting material I've been wondering if there presence, for some unfathomable reason, just triggered an odd response. At the risk of seeming insensitive to our feathered friends... a bird brained behavior. I did find some other posts on another forum (uh oh I've been caught looking elsewhere ) where folks in CA were talking about finches defoliating their plants. However, in those posts they were talking about them "eating" the foliage.

I probably should get the game camera... Problem is I don't want to spend the money

[tlintx]

If it's near the house or you have a laptop, and you have an old web cam (or a cheapie new one, they are not that expensive, around $20) you could probably rig something up. After all, you don't need magazine glossies, just surveillance photos.


Tl

[Gavriil]

Originally Posted by RebelRidin

Thanks Gavriil but I have that exact same owl on the post in the back of the garden. It is below and about six feet from the bluebird box which the sparrows (that displaced my bluebirds ) are occupying. It is also about 5 feet from some of the peppers vandalized.

So far today I have no new damage. I am hoping that my cages and wind flappers will get me past the new transplant stage. If this ends it I will have to plan ahead for next year.

Re your rabbit... WOW, is that wire fencing? If it is I would want to check that thing for rabies or steroids! Do you carry a gun to the garden?

No but it's a thicker plastic of some kind.

[RebelRidin]

Three says since I replanted and no new damage! I think I may have scared it off.

[Rockporter]

Sounds like a good deal to me.

[RebelRidin]

Today I caught a grey squirrel in the garden. My peppers are still OK five days after replanting and setting up some wind flappers but I do have to wonder what he was doing in there...

[lakelady]

I've been seeing Robins from my window hanging out in my garden eating my worms!!!

Roof Rats? eww....now you gave me something else to freak out about. I hate rodents. The mice drive me nuts as well as the muskrat that likes to eat all the flowers and everything else down by the lake. Nothing so disheartening as to watch your plants swimming away

I don't like spiders or snakes (either)

Yet I live in the woods, go figure.

George, could you have a woodchuck or something a bit larger than a bunny? seems like something chopped those clean off....

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by RebelRidin

Today I caught a grey squirrel in the garden. My peppers are still OK five days after replanting and setting up some wind flappers but I do have to wonder what he was doing in there...

I just setup some old cd's to flap in the wind on each of my cages, I hope I don't now have a problem with lots of bugs because they seem to be a minimal problem this year with all the birds around. I don't get any strawberries because when I go out to pick they have already been picked by the birds.

Glad you are getting some positive results.

[b54red]

I had something similar happening to my pepper plants several years ago. Turned out it was some kind of cutworm that would crawl up the stalk and eat the stem higher up. I applied Sevin to all of my new ones and never saw the problem again and hope I never do. I have major squirrel problems but they never munch the leaves of my peppers but I have had them and rats eat my pepper fruits. I hope you find out what is doing this to your plants and are able to stop it.

Bill