AboutStephen Vantassel Expertise I was a professional animal damage controller. If you are having problems with squirrels, raccoons, beavers, moles, voles, etc. damaging your property, I can help give you information to resolve that damage. I was an assistant editor for Wildlife Control Technology magazine and have published numerous articles as well as two books in this field.
Experience former Assistant Editor of Wildlife Control Technology magazine, the nation's only exclusive professional magazine for animal damage controllers. I have published two books, the Wildlife Removal Handbook and the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook.
Expert: Stephen Vantassel Date: 7/14/2008 Subject: animals eating my plants
Question dear stephen, thanks for being part of this great service! i've put in a garden in the last year, and this year fairly large holes are appearing in the soil (about 4-5" across), and whatever lives in them (maybe more than one animal) is coming out at night and eating the leaves off most of my strawberries (not necessarily the strawberries, mostly the leaves). this morning there were leaves from a strawberry plant partly dragged into one of the holes in the ground. they've also eaten the leaves off a young climbing rose, and they bit all but one bud off an echinacea plant and partially dragged them into a hole. in the vegetable garden, they've eaten a whole kale plant and snipped a large zucchini plant off a the ground level and left the whole plant lying on the ground (maybe that was a different animal?). i've bought sonic devices and they seem to discourage them but not completely. whatever it is is still eating away at the strawberries (i have less than half left) and eaten all the leaves off my rose. thanks for your help. all best, gabrielle
Answer Tough to say as you haven't provided enough information such as location.
First, are you absolutely swear to God certain that the animal comes out at night?
Second, if you are, and you live in the Pacific Northwest, I would be thinking Mountain beaver.
If not, I would think woodchuck, but woodchucks are diurnal, not nocturnal.
