Disappearing plants

Catalina 4/8/2017, 11:48 am

All my newly germinated (3-week old) beets, chard, spinach, radishes and cukes have disappeared over several nights, 46 plants in all. 32 radishes are chewed down to ground level. All that remain are lettuce and tomato plants. I have used chile/garlic spray, spraying every evening, and have everything covered with shade cloth. I'm wondering if mice would do this. Tonight I'm putting out mouse traps. Do mice eat young plants? I live in Mexico and this is my first attempt ar gardening here. Feeling a little discouraged.
Disappearing plants 1280598131

**sanderson** 4/8/2017, 8:59 pm

Rats, mice, snails and slugs, etc. Bunnies? If there are cats or bunnies, be careful with the mouse traps. Mouse traps can usually fit inside a closed shoe box with entry/exit holes cut at both ends. Are there any droppings or slime trails to help give a clue? Sow bugs are a problem for me but dual purpose Sluggo Plus solves the problem for me along with the snail/slugs.

Catalina 4/8/2017, 11:31 pm

Good suggestion about using a shoe box for the mouse traps. No slime, no sow bugs; no snails or slugs -- to dry here for them. I think if it were rabbits, they wouldn't skip the lettuce. I'll hope the mouse traps show me who the culprit is.
Thank you for your reply, Sanderson.

BeetlesPerSqFt 4/13/2017, 8:09 am

Hi Catalina!
Any success with the mousetraps?
Another new member had similar issues:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t21439-kale-sprouts-disappearing

Have you looked for cutworms buried just the surface near the recently eaten plants?

Catalina 4/13/2017, 6:49 pm

The mouse traps caught nothing. Even though I can't find cutworms in the soil, I think they are the well-fed culprits. I've spread crushed egg shell, and I'm making foil wrapped collars. Thanks for asking. Smile

**sanderson** 4/14/2017, 3:25 pm

Catalina, Thanks to your thread, I headed off disaster with my new plantings. I saw some immature sow bugs in the beds and sprinkled Sluggo Plus. The Molten Fire Amaranth was gone in 60 minutes. Shocked

Catalina 4/17/2017, 6:09 pm

Good to know this helped you, Sanderson, with sow bugs. I think the collars I'm using (plastic water bottles from my recycling bin with the tops and bottoms cut off) are foiling the cutworms. If I'd only known this 60 -some newly germinated plants ago. Oh well, live and learn.

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