# What is eating my scallions and chives?



## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

So a few nights ago I lost a large clump of chives, totally gone, just a bit of disturbed earth where they were. They were in the herb garden which is not fenced. 

Went out to weed today and about 15 of my beautiful 6 inch high scallions were gone. Plucked out of the soil, just the little hole the onion was in is remaining. I thought deer might have eaten the chives, but the garden has deer fencing. Nothing else has been eaten. 

Gophers could get in the garden, we had one who stored it's nuts there last winter, but DH killed him this spring. haven't seen any others, but...


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

Could rabbits get in? When I had them they loved to eat chives.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Birds?


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I thought of rabbits, I suppose they could get in if they were smart enough. The cat gets in and our under the deer fencing in 2 spots. In Maine rabbits always ate all our lillies in a similar way. 

Birds, yes, we have eagles, hawks, vultures soaring on thermals above us and everything else.


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

I've had deer come through and pluck out whole plantings of their favorites. They're partial to young, sweet Vidalias, I know that.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

The only animals capable of pulling such plants entirely out of the ground and leave no evidence are elephants and primates. Since elephants are unlikely in Oregon, I'd say it's primates with **** sapiens being the best bet.

Martin


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Martin... not possible where I am. Must've been elephants, then.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Deer and dogs will sometimes eat green onions. Deer eat by biting the leaves and raising their head to break them off. In the process, some plants will come out of the ground. Once a plant is out of the ground, it is usually neglected in favor of the next plant. Dogs will just bite a leaf off and eat it. Neither will consume the dirty roots.

Martin


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Paquebot said:


> The only animals capable of pulling such plants entirely out of the ground and leave no evidence are elephants and primates. Since elephants are unlikely in Oregon, I'd say it's primates with **** sapiens being the best bet.
> 
> Martin


My first thought was that DH had thinned the scallions! But then he wouldn't have pulled 10 in a row, the rest were scattered in the row.

I think deer would pull them out. We do leave the gate open during the day and might have missed a deer going in. The dogs should have raised a fuss, but they are amazingly obtuse sometimes!


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

I've had it happen when onion starts were first planted, meaning within a couple of days and before they were established. It was hard to ignore the deer tracks all through the patch. Not arguing with you, and I certainly defer to your superior experience in these matters... just relating my own personal experience. I was surprised. What surprised me more was that they left the hardier yellow and red onion starts, preferring only the Sweet Vidalias.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Raeven said:


> I've had it happen when onion starts were first planted, meaning within a couple of days and before they were established. It was hard to ignore the deer tracks all through the patch. Not arguing with you, and I certainly defer to your superior experience in these matters... just relating my own personal experience. I was surprised. What surprised me more was that they left the hardier yellow and red onion starts, preferring only the Sweet Vidalias.


But, did they eat everything or just the green tops? Deer do not normally like to eat the roots of anything. They will pull young beets and chard out of the ground and leave a row uprooted and missing the tops. Same for iceberg lettuce transplants. Such action ruins more than the deer actually eat.

Martin


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I weeded and hoed all around the onions today and it is supposed to rain tonight - maybe I'll have tracks! Really didn't see anything, but in between the beds is pretty hard dirt. There were tracks in the parsnips, but looked to be my cat's, didn't look all that closely.

Pretty sure I don't have any superior experience : ) Gardening in the Cascades is a new experience for us, we went from many years of gardening in zone 4/5 in Maine to figuring out zone 8 gardening to now being at elevation with incredible temperature swings! 

Honestly, my Basset Hounds LOVE onions, chives and all lily plants, ate them all when we tried to garden at our old place with them. Pretty sure no loose Bassets are getting in the garden...


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Paquebot said:


> But, did they eat everything or just the green tops? Deer do not normally like to eat the roots of anything. They will pull young beets and chard out of the ground and leave a row uprooted and missing the tops. Same for iceberg lettuce transplants. Such action ruins more than the deer actually eat.
> 
> Martin


In this instance, the whole small plants were gone -- but the deer may have had little choice. Just by pulling on the newly-transplanted starts to bite them, I imagine the whole start came out, as no time had passed for the roots to dig in. I didn't see any roots scattered or left behind -- can't say I was especially looking for that, though, so there may have been. I can tell you it sure made me angry!!!


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

I do have to deal with deer again this year after returning to the community gardens. We have deer which are no longer wild inasmuch as their diet is concerned. They are able to eat plants which would otherwise give them gastric problems. I spent much of Saturday enclosing a 36x48 plot within a 4' fence and a 24x36 with a 3' fence. Those were mainly to protect beans and sweet potatoes. An 18x48 plot will have no protection since it has only onions, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes. If there is any loss of onions to deer, it will be from them stepping on them. 

Martin


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Martin - looks like we kept posting at the same time last night! There is not a shred of the scallions or chives left, no roots, no chewed on bits. The scallions are a good 6 inches tall.
Odd. 

Will head out in a little bit and check for any overnight losses.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

A couple years ago the two sandhill cranes that live near one of the gardens, plucked out every potato plant and the potato piece attached to it. The neighbors saw it or we wouldn't have known. I don't recall what part they ate and what was left.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

No suggestions, but I am curious if you find out which critter is after your scallions. We have burrowing rodents in our garden and they have left the alliums alone, so far.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

No losses today. I did stick a stick into the holes left by the scallions to see if they went all the way into a gopher hole. I read gophers will sometimes pull whole plants down into their holes if plated above one. But no, just hit dirt. 

If I figure it out or any other weird things happen I'll post again.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Next moose you see, smell his breath.......... 

geo


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

So in case anyone is interested it's gophers. Or probably one gopher as they only occasionally destroy something. A stalk of corn disappeared down a hole next. Last weekend a cauliflower plant was dead, the roots chewed off and a big hole next to the roots. Ran a hose down it for a bit. Today 2 potato plants have suffered the same fate. Huge holes from below. Neighbors are having big problems with gophers to.


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