What's eating my petals?

emiff6

Something has stripped all the white petals off my chrysanthemum flowers (the ones with daisy type heads), and just left the yellow centres and leaves untouched. Is it slugs?

If anyone has any ideas I'd be really grateful.

globetraveller

squirrels? That is definitely the case with one of my climbers. Little so ds seem to love the taste of them

Yorkie1

Possibly earwigs?

peter_the_piper

Sometimes sparrows like to peck petals.

liam8282

My 18mo daughter likes to eat the petals of flowers in my garden.

She only chooses particular plants though, and funnily enough the flowers she chooses to eat have red or white petals.

emiff6

Thanks for all your answers. I can rule out small daughters, and I haven't seen a squirrel since I put reed screening along the fence (too wobbly to climb I think), but sparrows are definitely in the running, esp as the flowers are near the birdbath which is well patronised. Didn't think of earwigs - I'll put a few earwig traps near and see what I get.

Valli

earwigs are !!!!!!s for petal eating and like that type of flower. But they usually leave holes in the petals, not pull the lot off.

what's an earwig trap?

I HATE earwigs...

foxgloves

Perhaps it's a really big very hungry earwig! The only earwig traps I know are the upside down little flower pots on top of garden canes, filled with straw and when you knock the posts out on the ground, if earwigs come scuttling out, you know that's what's been scoffing your petals. Don't have much problem with them here. The worst culprits for flower eating in our garden are sparrows.

emiff6

I put a 3inch flowerpot, with a bit of dried grass scrunched up inside, upside down on the end of a 4 ft cane and put it among the plants. The earwigs crawl inside to hide during the day. You have to pull the grass out and shake it over a bucket, then dispatch any earwigs you've caught. Haven't had earwig problems for ages, but I think you're right , Valli.

Oops, beaten to it by Foxgloves!