What Is Destroying My Sweetcorn?

[Peanut]

Hi Follks,

I am seriously starting to get cross with wildlife now.
Something has decapitated, or rather gnawed through my sweetcorn stems.


I am assuming its a rat, mice or vole.
Has this happened to any of you? Do you have any suggestions as to how I might deter them?

[Jungle Jane]

I’ve never had that happen sorry to see such damage,if rats,check the boundaries for rat runs where you see they travel & any holes? Could be a little mouse I don’t know. Could they be looking for moisture as it hasn’t eaten it? Maybe leave more water bowls out there,mine attract cats I think 😏

[Nicos]

Could it be a squirrel?
No idea really, but that would be preferable to rats and mice !

Can you see tiny teeth marks?

[Peanut]

Jungle Jane Thanks Jane, I have lots of water dishes all over the garden, though it could still be that I guess. As you mention, it hasn't eaten it, I wouldn't mind so much if it had! Cheeky and wasteful little b*gger!
I know I have rats, mice and voles in or around the garden, I saw a mouse or vole in my strawberry bed munching on one fruit, had a few nibbles and went on to the next! It must have been a determined little thing as its an old link-a-bord bed, which is plastic and 48 inches high and covered with netting to stop the blackbirds who ate most of them last year.
After stopping the birds, I thought I had saved the strawberries for me this year, but no, cheeky furry thing tunneled its way up from the ground!
I am still getting a really good harvest from them though.

[Peanut]

Could it be a squirrel?
No idea really, but that would be preferable to rats and mice !

Can you see tiny teeth marks?

I have squirrels to so it could be. If you zoom in on the pics there are scraping type marks, from something's teeth. Wish I still had my wildlife cam.

[Andraste]

Posting to empathise with whatever vindictive little ******* has done that to your sweetcorn!

I'm having a running battle with a pigeon at home at the moment who's taken all the tops off my garlic chives, stolen a tayberry cutting, poked holes in the leaves of a CFB & tried to steal some DFBs too! He's a fat little nuisance & I'm thinking of trying pigeon pie!

[Peanut]

Thanks Andraste I also have an ongoing battle with pigeons, I recently purchased some spikes to go on top of my arches to deter them from sitting there and pooing, which is all they seem to do when they perch. My plan is to make my garden as unattractive to pesky, perching, pooing pigeons as possible.

Pigeon pie is yummy!

[Plot70]

I had the same problem with hardwood saplings. It stopped after a plant I grow for making rat bait vanished.

[mothhawk]

You could use big plastic bottles with the tops and bottoms cut off as sleeves over the corn. If there's too much top growth to slide a bottle down the plant, make a vertical cut down the bottle so you can open it to slip around the stem.

[Mark_Riga]

Likely to be rats. I had a row of climbing french beans one year, just starting to produce and something bit through them all near the ground. I still grow them and it hasn't happened again so hopefully future years will be OK.

[Peanut]

In case anyone else's sweetcorn gets bitten off like mine did, don't pull them up, mine have all regrown and are doing really well. No further rat attacks, yet...

[Nicos]

Good to know! Thanks.

We are growing sweetcorn for the first time in about 10 years so I’ve sort of forgotten what to expect.

[DGV]

Rates for sure but glad you didn’t dig up and they have come again. This hot weather is doing wonders for my sweetcorn as have two batches growing and both shooting up

[Peanut]

Thanks
Yours look great DGV mine are a little behind yours and I've just popped in a few more smalll plants with some still to germinate, I have had a rubbish time germinating sweetcorn and lettuces this year!