I've found a lot of peas have been eaten in my plot. Mainly in a darker area beside the cabbages at the base of the peas. I found a pile of about 100 chewed up peapod skins under the cabbages.
Do you reckon this is mice or the dreaded rats!!
Had this happen to my broad beans last year and was due to rats. We have always had a small mice popn with no problems but after last years floods we had a rat problem and this was the only time I had seen this sort of damage. They took a whole crop overnight. Thankfully the rats have been moved to a better place - well only if there is a rat heaven I suppose.
and what method did you use to ahem!.... move them on?
;)
Mice are definitely possible culprits. Voles may be also, though with me, they tend to attack and chew through french bean stems.
Luckily I didn't have to do a thing to transport them to a higher realm, as there are only two lotties in the village the rats were spending most of their time in peoples back gardens eating bird scraps etc - so they were poisoned by said disconcerted residents. In fact I think the amount of poison laid probably could have killed the UKs entire rat population so the local ones didn't stand a chance.
Got the biggest shock in the spring though. I uncovered my compost heap to find the hind quarters of a rat sticking out - was huge :o . Fearing the worst (an active nest with little blighters making a beeline for my trouser legs - my OH has warned me about this - he had a nasty experience ::) ), I prodded said rat. It turned out to be long dead - slightly mummified and no evidence of rats at all in the compost - no nests nothing. It obviously came in to die. Not seen anything of rodent friends since.
I have seen lots of hedgehogs and no mysterious cat or dog deaths in the village etc so looks like all used the poison sensibly and targeted the pests.