Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Dealing with Ravenous Critters and PestsPart #5, 1 by coleup

coleup wrote:
Dreams of Spring Good reminder on the snake thing. It wasn't me holing that snake but a picture I borrowed from the internet.

I agree on the motion activated spray of water as a pretty good deterrant...My neighbor had a large patch of sweet corn protected by one. His goal was to have his own corn for his 4th of July cook out and even prestarted seeds in a makeshift greenhouse, Everything was looking good for the tassels to start turning brown and each ear hefelt seemed full! And no critter damage!

On the morning of the 4th when he went to harvest the corn, however, it was a different story. Most all of the stalks had been trampled and the ears eaten or removed! In our best crime scene recreation we figure that racoons wanted a drink with dinner and managed to knock over the sprayer to get some and then it was game on for them and the deer. Wonder how long it took the racoons to figure out 'on demand' water for washing their booty?

As to rabbits, I'm recalling that my daughter's pet bunnies ate almost continuously in their outdoor hutches. They would move from hay to pellets to 'greens' always munching on something. Rabbits are grazing animals, eating little meals throughout the day (and night, too) The constant chewing and nibbling also keeps their teeth which keep growing like other rodents trimmed and healthy. So I suspect that what looks like "nothing was eaten' would more closely inspected reveal "very little was eaten".

Also, a nibbled plant stem would yield moisture. Sometimes an alternative water source can lessen garden destruction.

Below is a blurry pic of a new to me caterpillar Sphecodina Abbottii or Abbott's Sphinx Moth. Feeds on grape vine and Virginia Creeper. Check out this persons collection of caterpillar photos (#7870)
http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/moth_caterpillars