A shot of JD? To improve aim and temporary lift your spirits?
Whatever it was, you'd think it would eat the leaves on the ground and clean up after itself!

Harry, that is such a shame! Big Daddy looks like a big beauty. Not a nice way to start the day and I sympathize.

Rascal Rabbits! Would it help to make a spray of Ammonia and do a double duty for slugs and rabbits. Thank goodness they don't come in the yard here but maybe our weiner dogs keep them at bay. We do have marmots that wander through but usually the dogs hunt them down and with the help of the gun( if necessary) they are gone. Such an upset for the morning walk

LOL, this is why I love this board! Deep sympathies to you, Harry, but I never have to worry about the faint at heart on this board or having to tip toe around the...uhhh...more flavorful gardening types :) Got ammo, problem solved! :)

Doesn't look like rabbits that nibble and it doesn't look like deer that can eat a hosta to the ground, but I have never seen them rip leaves and leave them.

It looks like the damage I do when I drag hoses and sometimes rip a leaf or 2 or 3 or....

Jon

Someone has to take care of rabbits. We had some fluffy fur on lawns at two houses, it looked like some wild critter seems to eat rabbits. I no longer see rabbit droppings. So far this year no damage here except winter kill of one azalea and 3 redwoods. Nothing ate hosta pips this year, might have been squirrels in past years. It might have helped that we went down from 10 roudy squirrels to 1 lonely fat squirrel.
Bernd

This post was edited by berndnyz5 on Tue, May 20, 14 at 19:00

Ugh, I'm so sorry. We don't seem to have bunnies here, but I know they are the bane of my friend in Virginia's existence.

Ah, so sorry. We get the occasional rabbit, but I only see them eat weeds, and the foxes keep the population down.

I swear the critters know which plants cost the most/ look the best/ grow most slowly/ mean the most to us. I have been fawning over Clear Fork River Valley all spring, and three days ago it was laid almost flat from the roots being gnawed away on one side. I stuck it back in the dirt and laid stones around it to keep it upright and anchored. So far it doesn't look like it missed a beat, but we'll see!

It could be rabbits, but I had similar damage to 3 of my hostas this year and it actually turned out to be squirrels. It seems like the squirrels do it just for the fun of it, without eating much of what they shred. I find that bunnies usually leave very little on the ground.

Jadie, something attacks my Clear Fork River Valley, it will be WAR.....that is from day one a great performing hosta. And it is in bloom right now, hoping to have some nice fertile seed pods this go. I have an assortment of other bloomers standing nearby.

There was quite a bit eaten. I doubt it was a tree rat.

Rabbits, voles, etc. used to be rare around here. We were overrun by feral cats, I paid to have them collected and neutered. There are only a few left.

Serves me right.

I tried to catch rabbits this winter because they ate part of my vegetable garden (caught one then) and nibbled on hostas last year. I also installed chicken wiremesh fence in the bottom of my normal fence. Then I bought a trap, but only caught squirrels. Then my neighbor across the street let 4 rabbits escape, he never saw them again. So it seems there are foxes or coyotes around eating all those rabbits; I like it! Bernd

I've been fortunate so far this year but my time is probably coming. I get that kind of damage and more every year. This year I too spread Milorganite all around and have applied Liquid Fence three times already. I saw someone on here that also uses Vicks to repel critters. I bought some (actually unbranded, it's 1/4 the the price) and will try that too.

Oh yeah and I drink lots of water...gotta pee a lot and I use the green latrine all around the garden area. Not sure about the rabbits but it might help deter deer.

I use the ammonia spray for rabbits and deer, but instead of diluting the ammonia with water, I use hot pepper tea.\
Make the tea from dried or fresh hot peppers, the hotter the better. The spray will need to be reapplied, but it does work for me. It doesn't stop the critters from sampling a leaf, but it does stop them from coming back for more.

I use the ammonia spray for rabbits and deer, but instead of diluting the ammonia with water, I use hot pepper tea.\
Make the tea from dried or fresh hot peppers, the hotter the better. The spray will need to be reapplied, but it does work for me. It doesn't stop the critters from sampling a leaf, but it does stop them from coming back for more.

What's the ratio for ammonia spray?

I do a 10-20% ammonia to 80-90% water. As ken mentioned in another post, spray it deep inside the plant, keep it off blue foliage and keep it away from other plants. I fried a brunnera one year with it, but hosta leaves seem to be ok with it.

tj

I also add one drop of vegetable oil to make it all stick to the leaf. The taste is nasty enough that the critters leave the plants alone for most of the season. I often get damage in late summer or early fall because I forget to reapply it.

Sorry to see that, Harry. Good luck with dealing with whatever the varmint was, hope you get 'em!

C'mon, Harry; You mean your BB gun wasn't right next to the back door, already loaded?

Don B.