HonoluluGirl
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Something ate my bell pepper

Something is eating my bell peppers. I turned the biggest bell pepper over to discover that the entire bottom half was gone! :shock: It looks like little bite marks (maybe rats or do bird pecks). We have no rabbits in Hawaii. What do I do to protect my garden? I'm growing soy beans also, but they're sill small and haven't produced any beans yet. Thanks!

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soil
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did you get any other peppers?

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applestar
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In addition to animals, it could also be Tobacco or Tomato Hornworm if you have them in Hawaii.

HonoluluGirl
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There's another smaller pepper that I wrapped with a mesh which is actually the mesh fabric bag I use to wash my pantyhose. ha ha. I didn't have anything else to use.

The second bell pepper plant (I have 2 plants) just finished flowering and will be producing peppers soon.

I don't know anything about bugs/worms/etc, but the bite marks look like rat-sized teeth marks or bird-sized beak marks. This is my first time gardening.

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soil
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This is my first time gardening.
expect casualties, but learn from them.

HonoluluGirl
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[img]https://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r634/TemporaryPerson/th_bellpepper.jpg[/img]

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Kisal
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You mentioned that you "turned the pepper over" and found the damage, so I'd guess a rat. I know they're a problem in Hawaii, having no natural predators there.

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Francis Barnswallow
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hmmm, noticed my pepper (been growing it forever) today and it's turning that beautiful red color. After reading through this topic, I now have the urge to pick the pepper. :|

HonoluluGirl
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I found this rat zapper product online (https://www.ratzapper.com/). Has anybody tried this?

I've also been searching for how to stop rats from going into the garden. I'm thinking of building a wire cage around some of my plants, but I can't do that for my entire garden. I don't want to use rat poison because my neighbor's cat might eat a poisoned rat. I can't really sprinkle cayanne pepper because it rains too frequently here. Am I just stuck with the rats?

dustyrivergardens
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Around here the coyotes and some dogs will eat peppers and watermelons...

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Kisal
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It might. I think it would have to be emptied frequently during the night. The presence of dead rats might keep others away, or even teach the others to avoid the trap.

This is Daisy, my very effective rat zapper. She caught one before it could run 5 feet away, to escape under the fence. (She's cuddly, too. :) )

[img]https://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/Kisal_photos/IMG_0129.jpg[/img]

Tonio
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That's a cuddly looking rat zapper !! :D

T

GardenGnome
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Cute dog (good doggy)
Hmm I had a rat in my shed and crushed its head with a trap. But there was a hole in the side of it. I guess another rat took some of his friend to go. I set the trap again with pb but no luck. Are they that smart ? I don't like kill but there chewing and peeing on all my stuff.

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Kisal
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From what I've read, a rat is about as smart as the average dog. I read one article about a research project that found that rats "giggle" when they're tickled. Apparently, it's a high-pitched sound above the hearing range of most people. It was an interesting article.

I used to know people who bred rats to sell to pet stores. They were really into breeding for certain colors and color patterns. They even had shows, kinda like dog shows. I learned to like domestic rats. They aren't as prone to bite as mice and hamsters and other small rodents. That doesn't mean that I care to have rats ... or any other animal, for that matter ... move in and take over my home. :lol:

HonoluluGirl
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Hi all,

I built a cage around my bell pepper plants. Now, I'm worried about my soybean plants coming up next to them....

[img]https://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r634/TemporaryPerson/photo2.jpg[/img][/img]

HonoluluGirl
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Hi again. Here's an update. After putting up the cage around the bell pepper plants, no more peppers were eaten. My hubby reminded me that bees need to pollinate the flowers, duh!!! So I cut a bee-door into the cage and open it in the daytime and close it at night. Any way, we have lots of bell peppers growing now. Some are jus starting to get red on top.

Now, I don't think it was rats eating the bell peppers but birds. This is because we set a rat trap in the garden that didn't catch any rats. Also the rat bait hasn't been eaten. I think it was the birds... Do you know if birds eat bell peppers? I know they eat chili peppers.

brooklyn boy
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HonoluluGirl wrote:Hi again. Here's an update. After putting up the cage around the bell pepper plants, no more peppers were eaten. My hubby reminded me that bees need to pollinate the flowers, duh!!! So I cut a bee-door into the cage and open it in the daytime and close it at night. Any way, we have lots of bell peppers growing now. Some are jus starting to get red on top.

Now, I don't think it was rats eating the bell peppers but birds. This is because we set a rat trap in the garden that didn't catch any rats. Also the rat bait hasn't been eaten. I think it was the birds... Do you know if birds eat bell peppers? I know they eat chili peppers.
aren't peppers self pollinating ?

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rainbowgardener
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Yes, the peppers would have set fruit without the bees, but

"While pepper plants are self-pollinated, the use of bumblebees inside the greenhouse help to ensure the set of high-quality fruits, especially during the cool season when pollen viability is lower. "
https://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/mba/jun05/pepper.htm

HonoluluGirl
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Wow, I didn't know bell pepper flowers self pollinate! :o What do you mean by that? One flower pollinates itself, or somehow the pollen from one flower travels to another?



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