do woodchucks eat potato plants

Woodchucks are known to eat over 200 different types of plants. Some of their favorites include clover, alfalfa

, dandelions, and vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, and potatoes. They also enjoy fruits like apples and berries.

Full Answer

Are Woodchucks opportunistic feeders?

However, they are also opportunistic feeders and will eat meat if available. When food is scarce, woodchucks will eat bark and other plant parts that are high in nutrients in the winter. What do woodchucks eat?

What do woodchuck lizards eat?

Woodchucks are known to eat over 200 different types of plants. Some of their favorites include clover, alfalfa, dandelions, and vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, and potatoes. They also enjoy fruits like apples and berries.

What do Woodchucks eat in winter?

When food is scarce, woodchucks will eat bark and other plant parts that are high in nutrients in the winter. What do woodchucks eat? A variety of things! Woodchucks are known to eat over 200 different types of plants.

How to get rid of Woodchucks in your garden?

You may also choose to grow plants that woodchucks seldom eat. These plants include columbine (Aquilegia), daylily (Hemerocallis), blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and marigold (Tagetes). Another solution, of course, is to get a dog that likes to chase woodchucks.

What animal is eating my potato plants?

Voles, mice and raccoons are a few hungry critters that may feed on your potato plants. These animals, however, typically feed on the roots and vegetables in the soil and normally don't bother the tops of the plant.

Do groundhogs eat potato vines?

For example, I found this list of plants eaten by groundhogs in the Pennsylvania garden of the blogger Cosmos and Cleome. Echinacea, sweet potato vine and morning glory are all there!

What vegetable plants will groundhogs not eat?

HERB GARDEN Catmint (Nepeta catarina) Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium) Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) Geranium, Citronella (Pelargonium citro- sum) Lavender (Lavandula sp.)

What vegetables do woodchucks eat?

Vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, onions, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers. Flowers including dandelions, daisies, geraniums, hydrangeas, marigolds, and sunflowers. Insects including beetles, grasshoppers, June bugs. Small mammals such as chipmunks, moles, squirrels, mice, rats.

What is eating my potato vine?

The main vertebrate threats to sweet potato vines, which grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, according to North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension, are voles, gophers and ground squirrels.

What eats the tops of potato plants?

Colorado Potato Beetle. The common black and yellow-striped "potato bug", a very familiar insect, is the most serious pest of potatoes. Both the adult, or beetle, and the black-spotted, red larva feed on potato leaves. Their damage can greatly reduce yield and even kill plants.

What do groundhogs hate the most?

Groundhogs hate the smell of garlic and pepper. To deter them from ever returning to your garden, crush some garlic and pepper and throw it into their burrows. Do this day after day until they flee. You can also make a garlic and pepper spray to spray your vegetables.

Will woodchucks eat tomato plants?

Woodchucks (also called groundhogs) are vegetarians, feeding on grasses, weeds, clover, and also on ornamental plants and garden crops like cabbage, lettuce, beans, carrots…and tomatoes. If you have fruit trees, your fruit is not safe either.

How do you keep woodchucks away?

The best woodchuck deterrent is a fence. Excluding woodchucks from the garden will also keep out deer, rabbits, raccoons, and stray pets. Since groundhogs climb and also burrow, you'll need to build a secure enclosure using six-foot-wide woven-wire fencing.

How do I keep woodchucks from eating my plants?

Or try stuffing ammonia-soaked rags into the entryways of their holes. (The main entryway will have a pile of soil beside it; there should be another entrance about 50 feet away.) The smell should cause them to move on. Another possible odor repellent is fox urine (available at most garden centers).

What is a natural way to get rid of woodchucks?

1:152:21How to Get Rid of Woodchucks Naturally - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipPlace scarecrows are other dummies around the area to make the woodchuck feel less safe place a liveMorePlace scarecrows are other dummies around the area to make the woodchuck feel less safe place a live animal trap near the main entrance.

What are woodchucks afraid of?

Ammonia, red pepper flakes, talcum powder, and garlic also make suitable woodchuck repellents and are often found in the home. According to experts, antifreeze as a groundhog poison is not effective, so homeowners may want to try one of the other (more humane) repellents instead.

What do groundhogs hate the most?

Groundhogs hate the smell of garlic and pepper. To deter them from ever returning to your garden, crush some garlic and pepper and throw it into their burrows. Do this day after day until they flee. You can also make a garlic and pepper spray to spray your vegetables.

What plants keep groundhogs away?

STEP 7: Plant natural groundhog deterrents. Groundhogs dislike the smell of herbs such as mint, sage, basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, and oregano. Planting these around the border of the yard or in places you'd like to protect (such as a vegetable garden) may keep groundhogs from wandering in.

What is a groundhogs favorite food?

Favorite foods include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lettuce, broccoli, plantain, and soybeans. Groundhogs will often devour your seedlings before they even have time to grow. Rabbits and deer eat some of the same plants, so make sure to check for burrows before concluding that you have groundhogs.

What will groundhogs eat?

Primarily herbivores, groundhogs eat a variety of plants, including from people's gardens. But they also may eat things we consider pests, such as grubs, other insects, and snails. They are even reported to eat other small animals such as baby birds.

Who Is Eating Your Potatoes From Your Garden?

These two little creatures love to dig in garden soil for potato tubers. Rats, mice, and raccoons are some of the hungry creatures that may eat your potato crop.

How Do I Keep Groundhogs Away And Protect Potatoes?

Generally for your garden, groundhogs are very destructive. So remember that some of the overgrown safe plants have even been grown outside the fence without biting, including garlic, onions, beets, and various herbs.

What do groundhogs eat?

According to some deep research, we know firsthand that groundhogs eat raw carrots, lettuce, sweet potatoes, banana peels, and apple cores.

What animals eat potatoes?

Gardeners who grow potatoes in the ground or in raised beds may find themselves facing damage from mice and rats over time. These two little creatures love to dig in garden soil for potato tubers. Rats, mice, and raccoons are some of the hungry creatures that may eat your potato crop.

Is it healthy to eat potatoes?

Potatoes are very good for the human body potatoes to have some shocking health and nutrition benefits. potatoes themselves fat and cholesterol-free as well as low sodium. Potatoes are very delicious and healthy for the human mouth and body you can make a delicious and healthy dish at home po tatoes is the most consumed vegetable in some country.

Can animals eat onions?

There are a number of animals present around your garden, it must be any animal when eating onions From your Garden.

Do Groundhogs eat sweet potatoes?

According to some deep research, we know firsthand that groundhogs eat raw carrots, lettuce, sweet potatoes, banana peels, and apple cores.

Potato Plants & What Eats Them?

I've broken new ground this spring for a larger potato patch (four 25 foot rows 56 inches apart) and have enclosed it with 5 & 6 foot high fence.

Comments (2)

Probably the dreaded Colorado Potato Beetle. Do a google image search. There are 3 stages you have to worry about:

What is a woodchuck?

These pests, also known as "woodchucks" ( Marmota monax ), are large rodents (30 inches long, 15 pounds) that must eat great quantities of food to sustain such an impressive frame. This appetite makes them one of our most feared garden pests, capable of devastating a garden overnight. Do note, however, that all such pest-resistant lists deal in ...

What is the best plant for monarch butterflies?

Butterfly weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ) is another plant that's useful as well as attractive. It's a key ingredient in butterfly gardens. A type of milkweed plant, this perennial flower can serve as a host to the caterpillars of monarch butterflies.

Is lily of the valley poisonous?

Lily-of-the- Valley. The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova. Lily-of-the-valley has fragrant, white blooms and is so cold-hardy that even gardeners in USDA zone 2 can grow it as a perennial. But is also invasive and poisonous. Its toxic nature is why not only groundhogs but also deer and rabbit pests leave it alone.

Is Foxglove poisonous to kids?

Its one drawback is that it's too poisonous to grow if kids will be around it. Flowers come in a number of colors, including yellow .

Do groundhogs like lavender?

Pests often won't bother plant parts that have strong smells. Many herbs have vegetation and/or leaves that smell wonderful to humans but that pests find repellent. Lavender ( Lavandula) is such an herb. Harvest those fragrant stems and lavender-colored flowers that the groundhogs conveniently avoided all summer and use them in potpourris for your home in winter.

What plants do woodchucks eat?

These plants include columbine (Aquilegia), daylily (Hemerocallis), blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and marigold (Tagetes). Another solution, of course, is to get a dog that likes to chase woodchucks.

What is the best way to deter woodchucks?

A gardeners best bet for deterring woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, is to make them find a better place to live than your yard. Many states prohibit trapping woodchucks and releasing them into the wild, so consider the following options.

Do groundhogs eat marigolds?

don't think they won't eat marigolds. We planted beds of them this year as a last resort, and they are being systematically devoured by rabbits, inquisitive young deer and yes, groundhogs.

What does a potato patch look like?

Potato patch looks like a bunch of little land mines went off in it. Some potatoes were on top of the ground, but not many. Mulch and cardboard dug to shreds. Plants nearby are eaten to the ground, even the horseradish which is supposed to keep the g-hogs away!

Do Norway rats get into potatoes?

We had problems with wood/Norway rats getting into our potatoes when we lived in Seattle. Ate or spoiled every single tuber! I trapped them and the problem went away.

Do hogs eat plants?

Yes! Hogs were designed to find much of their diet underground. If the feral ones only ate vegetation, they'd be tolerated more. Instead, they destroy all vegetation by turning over all soil and eating the roots of everything. They are living plows.

Do rabbits eat potatoes?

Rabbits eat potatoes? That's a new one to me! We've always had lots of rabbits around but never did have them eat any potatoes. I guess there's always something new to encounter in the garden. I sure hope our rabbits don't figure out that the potatoes are good to eat.

Can wild animals dig up potatoes?

I've never seen any wild animal dig up and eat potatoes or potato plants. However there is only one that I can think of that would and that is hogs. Michigan is now having problems with wild hogs and you are in Ohio, so maybe it's becoming a problem in Ohio also. That's the only animal that I can think of that would do what you described.

What worms eat potato plants?

Leaf-Eating Worm s. Several leaf-eating worms -- which are typically the larval stage of moths and butterflies -- will feed on potato plants, leaving the top portion looking as if something has bitten it. Cutworms and armyworms, for example, are two such leaf-eating caterpillars measuring about 2 inches long that can infest your garden.

What animals eat potatoes?

Voles, mice and raccoons are a few hungry critters that may feed on your potato plants. These animals, however, typically feed on the roots and vegetables in the soil and normally don’t bother the tops of the plant. Deer, however, don’t dig into the soil looking for food and instead munch on the portions of certain types of potato plants, such as sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas). Installing deer-resistant fencing around the plants will keep deer from consuming the potatoes. Another option is to create your own homemade deer repellent that will keep deer from consuming the plants. The concoction consists of one dozen broken eggs and 4four beef bouillon cubes mixed in a bucket filled with water. Place a lid on the bucket and let the ingredients sit undisturbed until it starts to sink. Next, add 2 tablespoons of dish soap for each 1 gallon of liquid in the bucket and mix for several seconds. The stinky solution is then sprayed around the plant -- not directly on it -- to create a barrier that keeps deer at bay.

Why do you put copper bands around potato plants?

Placing a copper band around the base of the potato plants prevents the snails and slugs from climbing up the plant to feed on leaves. Iron phosphate-containing slug and snail baits that are sprinkled on the ground around the plant kill the problematic creatures without posing harm to children or pets.

What is a potato plant?

Garden. |. Pest Control. By Marylee Gowans. Potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) are annual root vegetables that thrive in areas of your garden where they can receive at least six hours of sunlight a day. When something begins biting off the top of the potato plants, it can reduce crop yield, result in loss of vigor and make ...

How to keep snails off of potato plants?

These annoying pests chew and clip the leaves of plants. Prevent snails and slugs by reducing moisture, removing debris -- such as boards, empty cans and weeds -- from near the garden, and keep the ground free of fallen leaves and other decaying plant matter. Placing a copper band around the base of the potato plants prevents the snails and slugs from climbing up the plant to feed on leaves. Iron phosphate-containing slug and snail baits that are sprinkled on the ground around the plant kill the problematic creatures without posing harm to children or pets.

How to keep deer from eating potatoes?

Installing deer-resistant fencing around the plants will keep deer from consuming the potatoes. Another option is to create your own homemade deer repellent that will keep deer from consuming the plants. The concoction consists of one dozen broken eggs and 4four beef bouillon cubes mixed in a bucket filled with water.

Can flea beetles defoliate potatoes?

In extreme infestations, flea beetles can defoliate plants and even spread diseases, which could threaten the life of the potato plant.

Do Rabbits Eat Potato Plants?

I have a new garden area dedicated to potatoes. The fence around it should keep deer out, but it's not yet rabbit, hare, or woodchuck proof.

Comments (2)

Yes, rabbits will eat potato leaves, especially young rabbits. They learn what to eat by nibbling everything. I lost a good crop of potatoes until I got a dog and let him loose in the garden. I was also shocked when all of my apricot foxgloves were eaten, stripped right down to the stems. More so if there is a large population and they are hungry.

Why do groundhogs wander into the garden?

When they are done predicting the weather, groundhogs wander into the garden in search of sustenance.

What are some plants that attract rabbits?

Though each creature tends to be put off by different plants, including snapdragons, wax begonias, annual poppies, garden pinks , and floss flowers in the garden's design will help to deter most animal pests.