The Case of the Mysterious Muncher

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Gcroz

2yr HCC Awarded Stud
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Over the course of the last week, I have had three buds mysteriously disappear from my paphs. I present to you the facts, as I know them, and ask for ideas on who/what could be the culprit.

The facts:

1. Paph. Memoria Larry Heuer with two "spikes", one spike intact. The second spike, with double bud, came up missing the buds one morning. Spike looked like it had been snipped.

2. 2 days later, after Larry Heuer incident, a Paph. malipoense shows up missing it's bud. Spike looks like it has been snipped.

3. Yesterday, a Paph. venustum shows up missing it's bud. Spike looks like it has been snipped. This plant, however, is directly in front of a venustum with 2 spikes, both intact.

4. No traces of the missing buds can be found on the bench or the floor.

5. Within the past week, we have not disturbed the table since the parvi's are resting and the others were not scheduled for water.


My current suspect is an errant grasshopper that I have not been able to locate.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I post pictures to help solve the case?
 
I don't think that it are snales because they don't remove complete buds.

Maybe a hungry mouse?
 
I don't think that it are snales because they don't remove complete buds.

Maybe a hungry mouse?

No snails or slugs have been spotted in the vicinity, nor has their been any other damages attributable to them found.

However, a mouse maybe. But why would it be so selective? Wouldn't it eat as many buds as it could find?
 
No snails or slugs have been spotted in the vicinity, nor has their been any other damages attributable to them found.

However, a mouse maybe. But why would it be so selective? Wouldn't it eat as many buds as it could find?

Not sure, just to be sure set a few mousetraps.

Some chees on it covered with some extra peanutbutter should do the trick. ( If it's a mouse of course. )
 
Mice are not so smart, or maybe so hungry to eat them all at once. They can wait for the rest of the vegetables. :evil:

Set a couple of mousetraps with cheese or peanut butter. Now they should have a complete meal... and pay for it. ;)
 
a mouse sounds reasonable to me but also maybe a caterpillar?
do you visit the greenhouse at night? if so and it's a caterpillar, it may be a night feeder
 
I get that now and then in my greenhouse. It'a always a field mouse. I have the little deer mice in there all year 'round; but, the field mice only come inside in the fall. Each fall, this year included, I always buy about 30 mouse traps and set them out. If I wait, eventually I'll begin to notice whole buds or stems of buds going missing; because as the field mice come inside, they begin building their nests. The deer mice don't do this. They take a nibble here and there, if at all. They are not a problem. However, a single field mouse can cause hundreds of dollars worth of damage in just a single night. They cut the buds, stems and flowers off and haul them away to use as nesting material. These guys also love the grass-like leaves of the more miniature Phrags and they will completely defoliate a plant in just one night.

Luckily, they are not around here in large numbers. When I see the damage, I set out the mouse traps and after I catch just one field mouse, the damage stops. These mice are fairly large, as mice go and they have a short tail. They look a bit like a miniature gopher.
 
I have the same problem every once in awhile.Both times it has happened,I put out a trap when I notice one of the little bastards are chewing on something,and get it witin 48hrs.
 
I get that now and then in my greenhouse. It'a always a field mouse. I have the little deer mice in there all year 'round; but, the field mice only come inside in the fall. Each fall, this year included, I always buy about 30 mouse traps and set them out. If I wait, eventually I'll begin to notice whole buds or stems of buds going missing; because as the field mice come inside, they begin building their nests. The deer mice don't do this. They take a nibble here and there, if at all. They are not a problem. However, a single field mouse can cause hundreds of dollars worth of damage in just a single night. They cut the buds, stems and flowers off and haul them away to use as nesting material. These guys also love the grass-like leaves of the more miniature Phrags and they will completely defoliate a plant in just one night.

Luckily, they are not around here in large numbers. When I see the damage, I set out the mouse traps and after I catch just one field mouse, the damage stops. These mice are fairly large, as mice go and they have a short tail. They look a bit like a miniature gopher.

Where I live now the problem is always from deer mice. That is the commonest species here. We live near forest. They really loved buds when they were living in my growing room.

I do like John M.... I buy several traps every year (and I often reuse the old ones....). And I bought a lot of rodenticide... And we bought new screens last year at high cost.

But the biggest problem is now in the kitchen and in the living room not in the growing room.

John, when you talk about fiel mouse, are you talking about the meadow vole? Or a long tail jumping meadow mouce? I am familiar with english names of rodents.
 
glen decker was telling us today that mice come into his production greenhouses and either eat sideways into certain buds going after the pollen, or remove whole buds or spikes. like others have said, any of the small critters could be responsible
 
Ive lost over 50 budded paphs do to mice in the last three weeks, 17 mice caught so far. The worst part is from Norito and ate 2 of the first Rex vandeldens that spiked after 5 years of growing. Oh the joy of growing!
Rob
 
Sorry for the typo, the Norito plants were Francisco baptista first bloom
 
Sounds like mice. I also have deer mice- white footed mice, right here in NYC. 90% of the mice I've trapped in my house were white footed mice...so much for my cats. (Just as well...one of them eats them if she catches one...I do not like coming downstairs to find mouse heads in my dining room.) While they're really cute, the nasty buggers can carry hantavirus.
 
Mice or other rodents. I had a couple instances of this early in my new/old greenhouse. I put out lots of bait stations, cubes of bait, and three sonic deterrent gizmos. The problem stopped! The bait is no longer out, just the sonic gizmos are still plugged in. If I have the problem again, more bait will go out on the benches.
 
John, when you talk about fiel mouse, are you talking about the meadow vole? Or a long tail jumping meadow mouce? I am familiar with english names of rodents.
I just googled "Field Mouse and found that what I'm calling a "Field Mouse" is what you call a "Meadow Vole". Very destructive critters in the greenhouse.
 
Also, if available, set out a few of the sticky traps for mice. Or low hung sticky fly traps. Might help if there are beetles about (can they do a number on plants, just like someone snipped off - and those monsters can be selective). Whether the sticky trap catches a mouse/mice or not, they tend to catch other 'critters' that lurk in the dark. Would give you an idea what is out with the orchids when your not.
 
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