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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,333
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Somebody ate all of my crocus bulbs that were popping up and would have flowered this week!

I'm guessing it was deer, since they also came last year and ate the 2 cherry trees.

 

I was so looking forward to the crocuses. My neighbor did warn me last year that she couldn't plant any bulbs - tulips & daffys. I just didn't think crocuses would be so enticing to anyone.

 

Or maybe it was bunnies...?

 

Super Contributor
Posts: 359
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I think squirrel is a more likely culprit.  So frustrating, I'm sorry you're going to miss their beauty.  

~~Keep calm and hug your pets~~
Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,038
Registered: ‎03-15-2014

Yes it could have been squirrels or deer, but my bet is on squirrels.  I also have crocus but I don't count on them - they're likely to be eaten.  Any that survive are a bonus.  I guess I could break out the deer repellent spray - which repels other critters too - but it feels too early for that.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,788
Registered: ‎08-18-2016

I agree with @Catlady Nicole .

Look around the yard for your missing bulbs. Last year squirrels stole my immature kohlrabi, and I found them all at the base of the nearest tree.

Squirrel got 'em that far, then lost interest.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,061
Registered: ‎12-24-2010

Squirrels dug up all my tulip bulbs years ago.  They dig - bite & don't like - and leave on the ground.

Deer wouldn't bother a bulb in a million years - they don't even know where bulbs are.  Now cedar tree branches = they love love

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,638
Registered: ‎05-22-2010

I noticed a lovely collection of crocuses in my yard yesterday.  I didn't plant them so I'm guessing it was the squirrels saying thank you for all the peanuts I gave them this winter. Smiley Happy

Honored Contributor
Posts: 37,423
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

We don't have bunnies and squirrels.  We have varmints that eat up everything, dig holes, burrow out patches of grass and try to eat the house down. 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,996
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I've never had any of my bulbs eaten by squirrels, but moles and groundhogs are another matter.

 

Moles ate most of the bulbs I planted one season and it took me a while to figure out why nothing came up.

 

Then last year my beautiful tulips came up and I was looking forward to enjoying them.  Came out the next morning and all I had left were headless stems, and very short stems at that.  Happened again, just as the tulips were recovering.

 

And then I discovered the culprits - two groundhogs who had taken up residence under my front steps and were considering the two flower borders on either side as their very own personal diner.

 

The groundhogs have since been humanely relocated (Hav-A-Hart trap and taken to a nature reserve).  I couldn't harm them; they were adorable in their own way and I have lots of photos.  But they were not going to continue to live under my steps.  They can cause a lot of structural damage.

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,125
Registered: ‎03-09-2010
Yup, probably squirrels. Buy some of those spikey cat deterents to cover the soil over the bulbs. Or just lay chicken wire on top of the soil over the bulbs. Squirrels can't dig thru the wire, but the crocos will grow up and thru the openings in the wire. Works in big pots too.
* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Super Contributor
Posts: 403
Registered: ‎02-20-2011
Ever year my hyacinths peak their heads & b4 I know it..they r gone.I'm assuming rabbits.SO last year I bought a spray 2 keep rabbits squirrels etc and it worked!..I sprayed them almost everyday..ha I got smart & I enjoyed MT hyacinths!..I'm doing it again this spring..