if it is a superhot then no, probably something else that doesnâÂÂt have taste buds like a bird.

maybe a neighbor?

The plants or the fruit? The plants aren't hot

the pods simply gone, and now on to some of our delicata squash since no more pods

I brought my peppers into the garage to allow the last of the peppers to ripen. Yesterday when I checked on them I found that something had eaten dime to quarter size holes in one Bishops crown and several scotch bonnets. I believe the culprit is a mouse.

If a mouse ate several dime size pieces of scotch bonnets it's either going to be a really bad day for the mouse or you need to catch it and name it so you have a chili head pet. Look what scotch bonnets do to grown men, it wouldn't shock me if it would kill a little mouse .

If the fruits have truly disappeared, and evidence isn't strewn about your property, then chances are that it's a person stealing them, imho.

Steve

This is a blurry picture of the bishops crown. In person you could actually see the nibble marks from the teeth.

This is the scotch bonnets. The holes look a lot smoother than the bishops crown but I assume its from the same animal. I also find it very hard to believe that a mouse could or would eat one of these guys.

It is NOT Humans that took these. I live in the middle of the woods with no neighbors close. I am pretty sure it is a rat/rat family. There is a small amount of chewed on refuse left, but 25 to 30 Jalapenos just gone....and T-Bones, I would say either a bird, mouse or rat.
It is not rabbits, due to one of the small greenhouse they would not be able to get into.....I guess the only other possibility are chipmunks , but I did see a rat in the recent past and is why I think it is a rat.
I guess i'll go to that other forum and ask the Brits/Aussies

I had similar damage and found a very large grasshopper was doing the same. Also some caterpillars do the same, as well as the horn worm but they go for leaves first. I hope you catch what ever it is.

Mark

If he is in W. Va, then I think the temps are probably getting too cold for most insects to be active such as grasshoppers and caterpillars...but maybe. Also, that damage looks like it was done by something bigger than most insects. I would also rule out any mammal since they are going to be affected by the capsicum just as a human would be. Is there any chance you have a bird sneaking in and hitting them. Maybe some kind of trap would work to at least ID the culprit. Either that or get one of those 9 camera security systems.

i had the same problem but mine wasn't bugs. It was the squirrels grabbing them for the cold winter. Some of them were chewed while others looked like they were sliced off

Squirrels??? Are we sure? I thought all mamals were sensitive to capsicum and the peppers above are not sweet peppers by any means. No wonder why I hate squirrels (Tree Rats) so much.
Bruce

Rats can and will eat real bitter stuff. Yet they have taste bud.
Years ago they were eating some of my melons. The melons in that stage were quite bitter. A lot of mammals , (like cows, sheep, ..) eat things that are very bitter to humans but they don't mind it. So it is a fallacy to compare their tolerance to humans.

So, putting the two cases together(OP + t-bone), I would say that it is the act of rats and mice.

Break out the traps. I have caught 5 mice in my garage already this year. Too cold out there for peppers though.
Bruce

My cayenne and hungarian wax were effected the most. I would try to chase the squirrels off the tops of my earthbox's on a daily basis. If they weren't eating not sure why they would be there in the first place.

I used to have squirrels in my above ground garden all the time. But I dont think they were eating any peppers. But they dig a bunch of holes and bury a bunch of acorns. Several times, I nearly lost mature pepper plants due to them digging them almost out of the ground. My scoped Ruger 10/22 with CCI Quiet rounds have eliminated that issue. Problem is, I only have about 4 rounds left and haven't been able to find them for 7 or 8 months.
Bruce

I'm in Australia, seen what looks like a mouse running t o wards the vegetable garden... ALL chillies have been eaten... not sure what IT is... but possibly that's the mouse... been coming in eating the potatoes in the pantry too... any suggestions