something is eating my cactus plants! help!

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denjr Pace, FL May 29, 2014

I live near Pensacola Fl. I have a good number of cacti which I keep outdoors in the summer. Lately, something has been eating my cacti! A couple of lobivia plants were eaten down to soil level in their pots; several mammillaria and opuntia have had chunks eaten out of them, and lately a couple of pereskia have had long sections of their branches eaten off. Any idea on what might eat these plants? The lobivia and mammillaria were very spiny, yet something was able to eat them. I thought it was some kind of insect, but the amount of damage looks to be too large for insects. Any ideas?

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Sequoiadendron4 Lititz, PA(Zone 6b) May 30, 2014

Perhaps it was a bird? I know there are a lot of animals that prize cacti for the amount of water they hold. Pictures might give you a better id of the problem.

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denjr Pace, FL May 31, 2014

I found a big banana slug on my deck near where the plants were eaten; could slugs be eating my cacti?

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Cville_Gardener Clarksville, TN(Zone 7a) May 31, 2014

Yes, they could be.

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momlady Camano Island, WA(Zone 8a) May 31, 2014

Wow, a banana slug versus a cactus! Out here in Washington, banana slugs are prized (well, sort of) as being the only native slug in the area.

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Sequoiadendron4 Lititz, PA(Zone 6b) May 31, 2014

Oh geez, what good could come of a slug??

Yes, I would definitely blame the slug. Get rid of that sucker and watch to see if you have any more damage.

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denjr Pace, FL Jul 01, 2014

I set out slug bait all around my cactus plants, but the damage continued. Finally I noticed what looked like teeth marks on one of the plants, so I got a small animal live trap from Harbor Freight and set it out with pieces of carrot as bait. After one night when the carrots disappeared, I thought I was on the right track! I adjusted the trap, and sure enough, the next night I caught a mid-sized brown field rat! He's been relocated to a remote woods area, and now I hope my cacti will be safe. I have reset the trap in case the rat has family....

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Cville_Gardener Clarksville, TN(Zone 7a) Jul 01, 2014

So many critters seem to have a taste for them.

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Sequoiadendron4 Lititz, PA(Zone 6b) Jul 01, 2014

Wow, that's crazy! I never would have thought. Good job :)

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momlady Camano Island, WA(Zone 8a) Jul 01, 2014

Are you kidding me! Are carrot eating rat!!! I would never have thought to set a trap for a larger animal than a slug. Well done.

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