Sunflower assault

[Chaselady]

My husband planted several sunflowers on our island. They are only about 8 inches tall. For the past 2 days he has noticed a plant missing each day. They are completely gone, and the dirt looks like it was returned to the spot. There are no footprints of any kind. Anybody have any ideas?

[Sunrise Point]

Do you have rabbits on the island? A rabbit could have eaten them right down to the soil.

Are there any roots left?

[Chaselady]

I have never seen rabbits on the island. I can't imagine how they would get out here.

[phoenix]

Squirrels will also do that at least they have in mine . I put a little wire around them until they get bigger

[secondcurve]

Squirrels will also do that at least they have in mine . I put a little wire around them until they get bigger

Happens to me all the time. I believe it is chipmunks.

[nhboat61]

I would go with squirrels. I've seen them in action. They would work in tandem. One would climb the stalk and use it's weight to pull it down, while the other would then nimble on the bent stalk and then drag it away.

I had 8 plant go that way one year. I thought it was a deer, until I saw the 9th and last one being worked on.

Mighty smart fellers if you ask me.

[Chaselady]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I feel like I am living in an Agatha Christie novel... 10 Little Indians. One gone each day!

[upthesaukee]

And if the grey squirrels don't get the peonies, then the red squirrels will try. And when both of them are full, the chipmunks do the cleanup.

Take your pick...we do not have rabbits in our yard.

[phoenix]

To be more specific i use chicken wire i cut a small section and en circle the plant and seems to work well and i suspect both will eat if they can get at the plant

[jogator1]

I had the same issue with our sunflowers. My son planted 50 seeds and most started growing yet everyday there were a few missing. One night we went outside and noticed snails were devouring the sunflower plants. They would climb up the plant and eat the whole plant. Now I don't know if you have snails in that area but we sure do. I went to Lowe's and bought some snail bait which fixed the problem.