What's eating my pumpkins and what can I do about it?

[LLandry11]

I found a couple of half-eaten pumpkins in the garden this morning, and one that looks like something just started gnawing at it. I went out to take some pictures just a few hours later and then found some cukes that had fallen victim as well. This is our first garden and the first sign of any critters dining on any of our crop.

Any ideas as to which critter I am dealing with? And is there any organic way to deal with them?

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[rainbowgardener]

Wow, something big... I.e. not insects, slugs, snails... Do you have deer visiting your garden? That would be my first guess for that kind of damage. Otherwise I suppose any of the usual culprits (raccoons, squirrels, groundhogs) could do that, but they'd have to spend a little time at it. Do you have bears in New Brunswick?

[LLandry11]

LOL! We don't have any bears, but it could be deer, raccoons, groundhogs, or squirrels, as they are all found in my area. I haven't actually seen any of these animals in my vicinity however.
We have over 5 acres of land and our garden is actually about 200 feet from the house, on top of a hill, bordering the woods. If it is deer, I will be able to see them from the house, but I will not be able to see if it's a smaller animal.
I think the damage is a bit much for it to be a squirrel, but obviously I don't know. My first thought was rabbits. And whatever it is is working fast.
I guess I'm just surprised that whatever it is is only getting to the garden now.
I just hope I don't lose everything.

[Francis Barnswallow]

Wow, that's terrible.

[stella1751]

That is both horrible and fascinating. Thanks for the great photos! I'm anxious now to learn what is doing this

[LLandry11]

Well, some good news this morning! I didn't find any more eaten vegetables (other than the half-eaten tomatoes my niece spit out, LOL!)
So I'll keep my fingers crossed that maybe this was an isolated incident!

[TheWaterbug]

I have major squirrel issues in my pumpkin patch, and IME squirrels could have done any of those except for the first one.

My vote is deer.

[jal_ut]

Chickens or turkeys will do that sort of damage too. If it were deer, it would have just eaten the whole thing, especially on the small cuke. That looks like a fowl or small rodent.

Skunk, raccoon, rabbit, squirrel, gopher, rat, mouse, marmot, chipmunk, opossum, who knows? Deer are large enough to leave tracks we can see and ID.

[TheWaterbug]

Chickens or turkeys will do that sort of damage too.

Or peacocks, of which I have many.

[LLandry11]

Well, I can eliminate those 3 (chicken, turkeys and peacocks) as there are none of them around here.
Still no additional damage since Saturday.
Have no idea why they just decided to come munch on Saturday, but I'm glad if they're gone!

[RyNJ]

Never assume that whatever it is has moved on, especially because now they know where to get something that tastes a whole lot better than grass! If you do have a fence up, secure it, or if you don't have a fence up, put one up. Many possible culprits work at night, so your chances of catching them in the act are slim.

People around me always have groundhog problems, and I've seen them around my yard, so before I put in my garden I dug down to the shale all around and put in chicken wire and haven't had any mammal damage whatsoever.