Mystery of the missing seedlings

[Cutecumber]

Here's the scenario:

A pot of carrot seedlings, four weeks old, growing well,
on a garden bench, two foot off the ground.

On Sunday morning, half the seedlings are missing.
No significant digging, as with squirrels in previous years.

Put chicken wire over the pot.
Monday morning, more seedlings gone.

Put 3/4 inch black netting over whole bench.
This morning: more seedlings gone, some leaf remnants left in the pot.

Can it really be birds (and which ones do it?) even with the netting in place, or do mice like to nibble carrots? I think that some bits of shallot leaves might also have been nipped off.

Never had this before, it's very odd.

What's my pest? Thoughts most welcome!

(and I've now move the pot and will be covering it in fleece!!)

[Birdie Wife]

Is the soil from the garden or is it sterilised compost? Is it only the pot that's affected, or is the problem all over the garden? Do you have lots of daddy-long-legs in the autumn? If so, it could be leatherjackets in the soil (grubby grey-brown grubs about an inch long), and I really feel sorry for you if it is because there's really very little you can do apart from turn all the soil out and sift it for grubs, or wait until the autumn and apply nematodes to the soil to kill the newly-emerging larvae (about two weeks after the main daddy-long-legs adults hatch). I had this problem last year and it was heartbreaking, they ate some quite big seedlings and snipped through the stems of my courgette plants. Have a good root around in the soil!

[Cutecumber]

Thanks,

I'm sure it's not leatherjackets, fortunately, as it's fresh compost in a pot.

What's interesting is that it's very regular - whatever it is has been grazing in patches, making their way across the pot! Less than half left, now!

Oh, and there are no trails of any kind so it is not like slug or snail damage (with which I am horribly familiar!!)

[Alison]

Are you sure it's not a family member having a laugh at your expense by messing with your mind? Cruel if it is but stranger things have happened and that would explain the regular effect.

[Cutecumber]

Sad to say that I have considered that.

Having watched a documentary about sleep disorders the other night, I also had to ask myself some probing questions

[Cutecumber]

really?

Am I looking for something leatherjacket-size or ... dramatic pause ... something else???

Other carrot seedlings in another pot with the same compost are ok, so far, btw.

[Cutecumber]

not completely - the bench seat has two slats, so it's possible that a small spiderman may have crawled underneath and sneaked up ...




I shall have a dig around later and see if I can find anything.

[PAULW]

Mice little swines have had a few of my seedlings as well as dug seeds out of the compost, put lids over your seeds/seedlings and put some poison down

[pigletwillie]

I go with mice. We had a family bbq last weekend and several module trays of freshly sown seed were put behind the workshop so that the garden loungers were free to sit on.

Well the beetroot one has got three out of 40 modules growing with the rest either dug up or eaten off at compost level.

[Waffler]

Set up CCTV to catch the culprits in the act!

[Flummery]

Then NAME AND SHAME!

Flum

[LaurenGrows]

"GARDENERS MOST WANTED LIST"
Lauren

Set up CCTV to catch the culprits in the act!