I think I found your marigold tops in my yard. My guess is a bunny left them here.

-StLGirl

either cutworms or slugs. I can plant marigolds all day long. By morning, they're gnawed down. I've found that slugs will eat them instead of the harder to chew perennials, so I am willing to sacrifice. Slug bait and other methods can be used to control them. For cutworms, you need to put collars around the base of the plant. Toilet paper rolls cut about 1" tall will work. You can also put a toothpick beside the stem of each seedling if they are large enough.

Cutworms will make a perfect precision cut through the stem of lots of things. They love tomatoes. They don't seem to eat the tops, but they will kill them.

I can't say that I've seen any cutworms, but they could be there. What I see most are pillbugs, but I think they eat dead stuff. Slugs are a definite possibility...

.... I wouldn't put it past a pillbug or two - to eat the good stuff - I have tons of them and I often think they are just as bad as the other bad guys mentioned

carrie

Peter, get yourself outside after dark with a flashlight tonight and take a look...you'll find the night feeders then and know what you need to control. Don't guess, look - you may have to make more than one trip, begin shortly after dusk.

But you said the tops of seedlings are gone? When I had slugs, they started eating the lowest leaves, then worked up if they had time.

I have tons of pillbugs, but I've never found them to eat my plants. I have lots of organic matter in my beds and the pillbugs seem to stick to that. Today I spread some homemade compost which was crawling with worms and pillbugs. I knew most on the forum wouldn't use it, but I do it all the time without problem.

Doesn't sound like deer either. Did you check for deer tracks though? Or do you have voles? I was overrun by them one year and they nearly wiped out my flowers.

Karen

Karen, I have tons of pillbugs in my composting beds. As long as I get my seedlings in the ground before they wake up in spring, I'm fine. Most of my plants are too large for them to tackle now.

birds!! I keep losing more seedlings each day. I sit and watch the birds swoop down nip at the seedling and then fly away. Some seedlings they like more than others like my dusty miller (I had to move them into the GH so they can recover). Some seedlings they pull completely out of the ground. Argh!! Birds!! at least let the little seedlings grow a little and give them a chance to survive... then peck at the leaves.

earwigs