I would suspect a bird.

Eh. Another one taken. This one four inches long. Nope. That wasn't a bird. Time to get the netting out. What other urban creature likes these things?

My friend's dog has been eating all of her eggplant and cucumbers out of her garden.

Since it's in the front yard maybe a two legged urban creature ... ya' think?

Yeah, I was beginning to wonder. Cleanly picked off, no gnawed remnants. I'll have to set some traps, or train my neighborhood squirrels to jump 'em and wrestle 'em to the ground.

If you know anyone who's a hunter, you might borrow a game camera and set it up.

Well, it's right outside my bedroom window, so just something that makes noise would deliver.

Now, whoever of whatever is stealing these, is ignoring the peppers and tomatoes immediately adjacent. Sort of bizarre.

Sounds like squirrels to me. Maybe fencing, netting, and some kind of swirling reflective fan might help.

Yes, they are now under a net. But squirrels like eggplant? Who would have figured ... ?

Ah. I just Googled "squirrels" and "eggplant" and was quite surprised. Yes, they do like eggplant! Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8tCoQIFxVQ. Howzabout that?

I have coons and possums out back, but none in front where the eggplant is. Only squirrels there. These squirrels are pretty unruly, actually.

I would be interested to know how you keep the raccoons and possums out of your front yard, because they climb my 6' wooden fence every night to get in my back yard.
Jim

dogs Jim, dogs. The raccoons don't come near our house anymore. No possums lately, the dogs are pretty good at killing them. Now if I can just teach them to bury them instead of bringing them to me....
Tally HO!

Well, the front yard faces a city street, with people, cars, noise, etc. In my twenty years here, I've never seen a coon out front. The back yard goes down in to a undeveloped urban creek/greenbelt. Lots of wildlife down there. I once saw a skunk out front in the daytime, but it was acting pretty bizarrely, and animal control came and got it. The real wild guys with brains intact are smart enough to stay in the back. There are fences, but easy routes around the fences if they wanted to.

Since your eggplants are disappearing in the day time it is more than likely the squirrels. They are very destructive. I call them tree rats.

Jim

I've routinely encountered squirrels eating tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, pears, beans, and many seeds planted in the ground. Other than meat and bread, they'll probably go after almost anything else. Yes, quite a bit like rats!

OK, squirrels it is. There are loads around here, and they routinely dig up my potted plants and make holes in my yard. I may have seen tomato damage from one once, but never saw them take any other veggies. Now that they're into my eggplants, I've got to hide my parmesan cheese!

Bingo. Mystery no longer.

Two weeks ago I covered the eggplants with plastic netting, bundled loosely around the edges. Big rain three days ago, and I didn't bother to go out there until today. I go out there and find a dead squirrel, tangled up in the net, with a half chewed 4-inch eggplant next to it. Sherlock Holmes I'm not, but this was pretty easy.

Now, this is still a little perplexing. A squirrel couldn't chew it's way out of a net? A few days tangled up and it's dead? Well, it did get into the 80s.

To the extent that this squirrel was a misbehavin' eggplant addicted one, I can't say I'm sorry to see it gone.

HA! Great story!