HELP! What did this to my CORN and how do I stop it?

[SLC]

I got a late start to the garden this year but was thrilled to see that my first batch of corn (4x4 16 plants) was growing successfully. Just over 2 feet high. I just checked on the garden and found this!

What could do this to me? Insects? An animal? How do I stop it?

Also, my second batch of corn, about 8 inches high - 2 plants ripped right out and then left on the ground! Cut worms? Or an animal?

This is the first year I decided NOT to plant marigolds around the garden. At first I heard it helps with pests and although I never had this problem, now I hear it doesn't help, so I figured I'd give myself a little more room this year and not plant them. Not sure if that is a coincidence or not?

Has anyone experienced this and/or knows how to stop it? I need help FAST!

[applestar]

Sorry — I know how disappointing and frustrating seeing damage like that can be.

Was it only the corn that were attacked? Those are beans in the same pic right?

If this happened overnight I would suspect cutworms, but at the same time, I feel like that corn is already too big and tough. It also looks like the stem on the ground was nibbled on too — shredded, more like.

But I’m puzzled because my next suspect — rabbit — really likes bean plants, and it seems to me they would be affected too.

I mean it’s possible the culprit is a tiny baby bunny that is just starting to randomly sample — they bite off a plant then spit out. I once lost moon vine (I would have thought not edible) to such a random act of casual nibbling

I have to put up low (2 ft high) chicken wire and rabbit wire fencing around all my garden beds that contain plant they would aggressively devour. If baby bunnies are present, the opening in the fence needs to be minimum 1 inch.

[digitS']

We have raccoons that show up to eat corn late in the season.

After years of this happening - semi rural area and not far from a river - it seems obvious to me that they are after the more mature ears of corn. Since the neighbor leaves many ears that aren't needed or to his liking, they are visitors there more than our garden where we A) grow less corn and B) take all ears out at an early stage of ripeness.

They may well show up during the early months of the growing season but once the water drops after most of the mountain snow has melted, I imagine that they have good reason to stay along the river. Anyway, they certainly shred the husks. I wonder what they would do with young plants.

Steve