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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,658
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

Well, this is a first for me.  I have always grown cucumbers with no problem.  This year I put down some really great soil for vegetables and my cucumber plants are so full, big and strong like never before.  Well, that being said, every day when I check someone has eaten through the length of the cuke, like the way one would eat corn on the cob.  I noticed a different bird I had never seen before, kind of brown with a freckled belly, maybe this bird is doing this?  I have a lot of squirrels, and never had this happen with any of my vegetable plants.  If my tomato plants start getting eaten also, I will have a fit!  It is not slugs, I know that, today I found one that was taken off the vine, eaten down the middle and left on my porch step!  Anyone have this happen to them? ( I have just ordered some netting and hope this helps.)

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,460
Registered: ‎05-12-2012

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

[ Edited ]

we've been fighting with someone eating our plants for the past two years...no matter what we did.....gave up this year....headed to our local farmers' markets!

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,934
Registered: ‎05-09-2014

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

[ Edited ]

Try putting hot caps over the cukes. You can make them out of plastic milk jugs (loads of instructions via Google or YouTube) or you can buy wax paper hot caps online as this brand name pictured or similar products. Keeps in moisture, keeps out birds and bugs. Any determined critter will chew through netting. Hotcaps are a common accessory providing a barrier. 

 

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,917
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

@lovesallanimals@Rabbits,dear,voles,squirrels..lots of animals love cucumber

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,820
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

[ Edited ]

Some squirrels love cucumbers.  And they do eat like you said, corn on the cob method.  Most squirrels will go for other things, but I have read they do like cucumbers.  That is very discouraging.  

I haven't had problems with squirrels or other pests eating cucumbers, but I do with leaf insects.  Also the goldfinches seem to like the tomatillo blossoms, and leaf greens.  I gave up on beets.

 

eta

 

i grow my veggies in grow pots.  I then put the grow pots in these huge gorilla carts and i wheel them around to sun.  I did have trouble with squirrels digging my plants up early morning.  digging to bury their food or looking for good stash spots. I remedied that with these stinky crystals that are harmless to eat, but the smell animals, especially rabbits and squirrels hate.  It is called critter ridder, bought it at ACE.  Also, if you have a bigger area try puttin plastic forks tine up all around the plants. Squirrels do NOT like the sight of this, or the trouble it takes  to manuver around them.  If you put a lot, they dont attempt to go in. Worked for me.  It sort of trains critters to avaoid that area.  Yes, they will find another area, but one thing at a time.

Frequent Contributor
Posts: 148
Registered: ‎08-18-2010

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

Could be raccoons or skunks.  I had that problem with tomatoes.. You could try buying inexpensive cayenne or other hot pepper and spread it around so it gets on the bottoms of their feet.  It does not harm them, but burns the bottoms of their feet and their tongues when they lick it off.  They remember and go elsewhere.  It worked for me both there and around our garbage cans.  Good luck.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 38,158
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers


@lovesallanimals wrote:

Well, this is a first for me.  I have always grown cucumbers with no problem.  This year I put down some really great soil for vegetables and my cucumber plants are so full, big and strong like never before.  Well, that being said, every day when I check someone has eaten through the length of the cuke, like the way one would eat corn on the cob.  I noticed a different bird I had never seen before, kind of brown with a freckled belly, maybe this bird is doing this?  I have a lot of squirrels, and never had this happen with any of my vegetable plants.  If my tomato plants start getting eaten also, I will have a fit!  It is not slugs, I know that, today I found one that was taken off the vine, eaten down the middle and left on my porch step!  Anyone have this happen to them? ( I have just ordered some netting and hope this helps.)


 

 

@lovesallanimals  I use netting as just when my tomatoes were ripe enough to pick, something in the night stole them all.  The netting has to be pegged into the ground or a critter can get underneath.  I bought pegs at Gardener's Supply.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,658
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Help! Someone is Eating My Cucumbers

Thanks everyone!

 

I am going to look into the Hot Cap.  I put down some mice posion (sp?) yesterday.  They were pellets and said it was safe to use outside as well as inside (my shed) and today I actually found my first, uneaten cucumber.  The netting is arriving tomorrow and I will anchor it around the plants and see if that also helps.  I know it would be a lot easier to just go and buy the vegies but I get such enjoyment out watching everything grow, know they are organically grown, and the taste!! nothing compares to homegrown.