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| When I went outside this morning, I noticed that overnight some critter had excavated an area about 10 inches around the base of my Blaze rose - it was all around it, and removed 100% of the soil to a depth of about 6 inches evenly in the entire area. The excavated soil (and a couple of 2-3 inch in diameter rocks which were evidently dug up) was piled on the pavement outside of the bed. No other digging around any of the other plants in that bed, and no sign of actual damage to the canes or anything else. It did not at all resemble the digging the squirrels do to bury the peanuts I give them and the crows - they make individual small holes. We do have raccoons and skunks, who of course have the equipment to do this, but I cannot figure out the motive - there were no bulbs buried there, and there are 3 ground level bird baths filled with fresh water within 15 feet of the Blaze rose. Of course, there was damage to the surface roots, which were dug up. I put the soil back, and drenched it with water. Nothing remotely like this has happened in my garden before - I am just curious - has anyone ever had this sort of thing happen? Jackie |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by floridarosez9 10 (My Page) on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 16:25
| I would put my money on raccoons, particularly if you just did some work around that bed. I can have pots sit for months and they don't bother them, but let me replant or weed in one, and unless I heavily pepper it, they are sure to dig it up that night. They dig in the beds after I put down anything like fish emulsion, so I don't use it anymore. Same thing with my seed starter flats. They dig them up as soon as I replant them, and they have usually been sitting for a year unmolested by the little buggers. Their little pea brains must assume we are hiding the best stuff from them when we dig. I use a lot of pepper. |
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- Posted by mendocino_rose z8 N CA. (My Page) on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 17:55
| Could it be Voles? My neighbors have had terrible problems with them digging into plants and trees. They eat the roots and bark. When we have had this problem(we've never had it seriously) we use a product called Mole Max. It's pelleted Neem. it seems to repel them. |
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- Posted by jacqueline3 9CA (My Page) on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 18:23
| We don't have voles, or moles, or (knock on wood!) gophers, thank heavens. Raccoons do make sense, although the night this happened they did not turn their favorite bird bath into a mud pool, which they usually do about every other night. I did, however, smell the scent of skunk that night - I know they can dig, but still don't understand the attraction. They and/or the raccoons dig in the lawn a lot, but usually just make little holes, not giant excavations. Luckily there was no visible eating of anything - no damage at all, except to the surface roots which were dug up. It may just stay a mystery forever - so far the rose has not exhibited any wilting or other signs of unhappiness. Jackie |
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| I'm surprised to hear you don't have gophers. they're epidemic in the region. But that don't sound like gopher damage anyhow. We also have raccoons -- but they don't cause any damage here. Maybe, because of the dogs? Jeri |
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| I would put my money on skunks. They can be prodigious diggers. In Massachusetts, they would dig up/roll up huge sections of lawn overnight. Every morning, practically, in summer, I would need to go out and unroll and tamp the sod down. Their quarry seemed to be invertebrates in the sod (?). Here, they dig big holes under gates and fences to get into the yard, but so far have not dug in any flower bed. |
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| Piled on the pavement OUTSIDE the bed? I'm thinking rose rustlers here. Any animal digging wouldn't pile the dirt up outside the bed. It would be spread around the ground just outside of the hole. And it probably wouldn't be a ring completely around the bush either. I've heard plenty of stories of people who have had roses dug out and disappearing. |
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- Posted by jacqueline3 9CA (My Page) on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 10:53
| Seil, I understand why your theory might make sense, but that is not the case here. That bed is extremely narrow, about 20 inches, and behind that rose there is a little concrete curb, so really the only place for the pile of dirt was outside of the bed (of course part of it was on the brick border). The only angle the animal had to dig was directly opposite the curb, and that is exactly where the dirt was. If I had to bet it would be a skunk. I have (twice) had roses disappear from way out near the street (small ones, just planted in large pots), but this one goes up 10 feet and then spreads all over a small roof. It was not cut or damaged in any way. Also, it is right next to our back stairs, behind the house and invisible from the street. Jackie |
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- Posted by kittymoonbeam 10 (My Page) on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 18:39
| I would put a fine layer of sand around and mist it slightly at dusk. The critter will leave his prints for you. |
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