RE: decimation

So sorry to hear ..... but I guess everyone has to eat.

Can you surround them in some kind of mesh/screening so they can't do this
next year? Have you thought about moth balls?

As far as why they pick on one plant and not another is a mystery.  Maybe
they got distracted and forgot where the goodies where... or filled up and
left the others for later?

When I had voles, the rut marks in the grass where a dead give away... do
you have any of those? Seems my snake took care of the vole problem... and
now it appears the hawk is going to take out the snakes.... only the bunnies
are left here to cause damage currently. <sigh>

Donna

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
> Behalf Of Kitty
> Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 9:30 AM
> To: gardenchat@hort.net
> Subject: [CHAT] decimation
> 
> Those little varmints had a huge feast on my containered lilies this
> winter.
> I had about 30 containers of lily bulbs huddled with other plants in a bed
> in front of my front porch this winter.  I had never used this spot for
> overwintering before.  Previously I had only done this in the back yard.
> But when I'd done lilies before, they were not touched.  This year they
> (mice? voles?) nailed almost every one.  And why is it they  eat only the
> very base of the bulb?  Is that the only tasty part? Each pot was full of
> scattered scales.  Actually some were empty, but it looked like they'd
> taken
> the bulb to another pot so they could party with their friends.
> 
> Other interesesting observations.  They did not touch Lililum 'Black
> Beauty'
> at all.  Wonder why?  And they didn't seem particularly fond of L. 'My
> Fair
> Lady', though they did try a few.  Both of those are crosses of two types
> of
> lilies.  They devoured straight Asiatics and trumpets, but didn't seem
> interested in crosses.  Coincidence?  They even tried the Colchicum (I
> hope
> they died a horrible, painful death!)  And, strangely to me, they devoured
> the 3 pots of Russian Stonecrop, Sedum kamtschaticum.  They nailed one pot
> of Ornithogalum magnum, but the other 6 pots were untouched.
> 
> Oh well, I've now started to uncover the pots in the backyard and so far
> have found no damage, but maybe I should wait until done b4 saying
> anything.
> 
> Kitty
> neIN, Zone 5
> 
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