OT--What is eating my impatiens?

[liveforthemagic]

OK. I live in St. Louis, MO. Something is eating my New Guinea impatiens...they are eating full blooms and buds just ready to bloom--leaving the stem just sticking up out of the ground. This bed is maybe 12 feet from my front door!

If its deer, why aren't they eating the day lilies or the hosta in the back yard? Not that I want them to eat those, but if I was a deer I think I'd avoid walking on a sidewalk to get to a front yard which is pretty well lit by a corner street light.

So, what do you think it is? And how can I make them stop? For cheap?

 

[mtblujeans]

How frustrating!

If no one here knows, try over at the Flower and Garden Forum...they are very knowledgeable over there!

 

[DevilDuckie]

Bunnies?

 

[Earstou]

Yep, could be rabbits!

 

[tinkntraining]

Yeppers -- it's the bunnies -- we watched him eat the "impatien buffet" outside Coral Reef in May -- amazing how much a little guy can eat!

 

[Alesia]

Rabbits are the most likely culprit.

BTW, lavender seems to repel them.

 

[oldbay]

Last year we thought it was the bunnies until we saw birds eating ours! We never found a solution, just planted different flowers this year.

 

[kristilew]

If you want to get rid of the bunnies...(couldn't tell after that cute photo!)
buy the cheap mousetraps - they're usually 2 for 99Cents. Don't bait them, just set them and tuck in close under the plants, with the push plate out. When bunny comes close to eat, he'll spring them and the snap will scare him away without really hurting him. You can reset the traps over and over. (just watch your fingers)

BTW, this also works great for keeping the neighbors' cats from sleeping on my front porch rockers. It's my new all-purpose pest repellant.

 

[soccerchick]

You can buy a spray-on product at Lowes or Home Depot that repels deer and rabbits. It's made from putrified eggs, hot pepper, and other gross stuff. Deer Off is one brand I've used. A small bottle will last the summer. tHe deer eat my hostas, black eyed susans, and daylilies and this stops them. DO NOT use it on veggies/herbs - it will ruin them. Because of the pepper flakes, it's not the easiest spray to use and you have to keep shaking it to keep it coming out well.

I tried the old cheaper "solutions" like leaving hair from the hairbrush and soap shavings around the plants, but those didn't stop them. Now I spray every few weeks.

 

[daughtersrus]

I post a question about bunnies a week or two ago. I've tried the expensive spray/granules and they only worked for about a month. Even after reapplying, the bunnies were still feasting. A suggestion was made to grate a bar of Irish Spring soap finely and sprinkle it around the flowers. So far, this seems to be working. The only problem is that it's been raining a lot, so I have to reapply it often. The bunnies don't seem to like the smell and it doesn't hurt the plants.

As for the mouse traps, I haven't tried it in my garden but my dad did use them to train his puppies to stay off the furniture. He would set them and then lay a blanket over the top. If the puppy jumped on the couch, they would spring and scare the puppy but not hurt him.

 

[liveforthemagic]

Thanks everyone! It makes sense that its bunnies rather than deer...we have tons of them in this neighborhood.

So this morning I'm off to buy some Irish Soap and some anti-bunny spray and I just cut my son's hair last night. My plan is to alternate the 3, and hopefully send those bunnies packing!

 

[Chicago526]

Wow, I've grown impatients for years and never had them eaten, and we've got bunnies out the ying yang around here. Maybe our bunnies have plenty of other tastey things to eat so they leave the flowers alone?

 

[fofinia]

I hope it is not groundhogs. I've been struggling with groundhogs/hedgehogs for a few years. They always start out slow and eat a few things. Then a week or so into the summer season they systematically destroy the whole garden one section at a time. I've finally had to start trapping and transporting them away. I have bunnies right now and they are doing minimal damage so I'm trying not to freak too much. At least they don't climb the wall in my backyard and get up into my raised beds like the groundhog. And the bunnies aren't really that afraid of us. ONe was sitting in our side yard about 6 feet from our car when the whole family went out and got in it recently. It didn't even move.

Good luck!

 

[happycampers]

I'm also having the bunny problem. It's making me so mad. If I could catch 'im, I'd skin 'im. I heard rabbits is good eatin'.

DS brought home a seed project from school. We planted our seeds and grew them inside for a month. After planting the plants outside, we got about five green bean pods that were soon eaten by a bunny before he ate the main stem down to about three inches. Haven't touched the pumpkin plant so far.

Doggone thing is also eating the blooms off of my marigolds which I planted to deter insects. He's even eaten off the neighbor's lavendar.

Over the past couple years, rabbits have eaten the bottom of my burning bush, part of my hydrangea and my blueberry plants until they were tiny stumps. I've gotten the blueberries to regrow behind chicken wire which is very attractive.

I'm feeling like Elmer Fudd. Watch out wascally wabbits.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

This is gonna sound gross...but it really works...and adds...ummm...extra nitrogen...to your soil! At our old house we had horrible problems with bunnies chomping on all my flowers. I called our "garden guy" hotline and was told to ask my hubby to periodically ummm...."relieve himself"....in a coffee can and spread that around my flowers.

I opted for this method when nothing else (cayenne pepper, bitter apple spray, human hair, bunnie-gone, etc.) failed.

Now at the new house, we aren't having a bunny problem...likely because there are a bunch of cats that roam the streets.

I know, sounds weird, but it worked!