Deer leave ragged ends on branches they browse. Good video showing this close up http://tinyurl.com/qc4hqqf (go to full screen for detail). Bunnies can only reach as high as they can stand on their hind legs, and are apt to leave a mess of torn leaves, stems & flowers strewn about. But they can jump to higher areas (porches, chairs) & nibble plants from above. Never noticed squirrels munching plants, but they get plenty of tidbits from bird feeder scatter. Our house sits in a clearing surrounded by woodlands, so somebody seems awake at any hour of the day or night scouting for supper. Aromatic plants like lavender & beebalm guard the borders near roses & floppy plants that obscure sure footing cover any bare ground around perennials, many of which are deer resistant, but nothing is deer proof. Have to fence the garden phlox when it buds, since deer have climbed the steps & gobbled down the blooms from the porch. Apparently, that's irresistible. They haven't bothered the hydrangeas, apart from sampling a leaf or two over the years, but in my son's garden miles away they browse his to stubs & bypass the Peace rose surrounded by lavender. Sedum Autumn Joy is a big draw for the fleshy leaves, so I leave the old stems poking out till getting around to caging them before the foliage outgrows their deterrence. Typically it's a curious young buck that comes exploring the flowers on his lonesome around here. Several small deer families graze on the back lawn & rest on the edge of the woods, but they seldom bother the plantings unless it's a hard season. Haven't noticed any damage from other woodland neighbors, though the turtles will clean up fresh fallen rose petals & help themselves to a few viola blooms. In the years I find heliotrope to grow in the porch boxes, a hedgehog couple can often be glimpsed sitting quietly next to them, apparently enjoying the fragrance as much as we do, without disturbing a petal.

Right. It's actually fairly easy to diagnose what's eating your roses. Rodents chew at a 45 degree angle, making their gnawing appear as if you've deliberately pruned the cane. Those include rabbits, squirrels, rats and mice. Deer, horses, cows and other larger animals which eat plants rip the growth off instead of precisely "cutting" it with their teeth because of the way the teeth meet. So, if the damage is a precise, 45 degree angle cut, you have some sort of rodent. If it's higher up in the plant where you'd think a rabbit couldn't reach, suspect squirrels, rats or mice. If it's ripped off and there is potential for deer, that's likely the culprit. Don't expect the prickles to prevent horses, cows, deer, etc., from eating roses. For the most part, they don't care. Prickles are probably less of a "defense" mechanism, than one which assists them in "climbing" into trees to get to the light. Gophers actually eat the roots of the plant. Ground squirrels can, also. Moles and voles mostly damage the plants by loosening the soil around their roots, interrupting their ability to anchor themselves and take up water. Kim

Thank you both for replying. I wish I knew exactly when- I last see the plants in the evening around 8pm,& first see them in the morning around 7 am, which is when I notice the new damage. I thought that since I never see the rabbit around the plants, and also with the large amoun that it was the groundhog but it would have to be very early am then, correct, as they are not nocturnal? There are no deer around here, but we do see oppossums and I'm sure there are raccoons. I have been looking at every house on my route to work to see if they have damaged plants, and I never notice any. I just see many houses with perfect lilies that are what mine should look like. That's when I think, it has to be rabbits, because we've seen a few in the front yard from time to time, and of course there's the one that "lives" close and vacations just about all day in our yard. I have only seen him happily eating grasses and weeds in the yard, and my kids and husband feed it bread as well. (I know- bad idea, but that ship has sailed-it runs over to us; I can walk/stand right next to it and it doesn't spook because it's been here since last year as a baby) Since it's here so much, you'd think one of us might catch it somewhere in or around my plants- but it never happens. Not even when we watch from inside the house. Then again there are plenty of other rabbits around. I just feel like my garden is a major target. This had never happened before, and the amount being ruined overnight- 2 to 3 flowers at least, and munch marks on several Hostas- really made me think it had to be something big, or worse yet, a combo of critters. I sprayed Havaheart 3 days ago though, and I've not seen any new damage as of yet. We'll see what tomorrow has in store when I get up. Thanks again

When hungry, rabbits will gnaw the bark of young tender trees. They love fruit trees such as apples. you reported the gnaw ring was 3 ft above the ground - think snow depth. If it is the work of a rabbit, the gnaw ring will be about 10 inches above the snow crust at the time of the gnaw. One winter, I lost 5 new fruit trees to rabbits. Rabbits prefer the thin bark of young trees to that of a mature trees with thick, dead bark scales. The damage usually occurs after snow has covered the bunny's food sources. I have experience with red squirrels, too. One harsh winter, red squirrels killed my lilacs. They stripped the bark off the limbs starting on the upper part of the twig and worked downward. I have never seen gray squirrels eat bark. They will nip the tips off evergreen trees. They like spruce and arbor-vitae. Porcupines will girdle evergreen trees especially pine. Beaver can bite deep enouth to eventually fall a tree. They prefer young tender decidious trees for food (up to 6 inch diameter), although they will take pine as well. However, given enough time, they can fall a mature tree. I live in a small town (population 10,000) with big cities nearby. I've been here 33 years without beavers, but 3 years ago, a pair moved into a small creek that drains the town and established a dam and beaver house behind a rental property. I discovered them when I noticed that group of small trees by a drainage ditch had been fallen. Froma distance, I though that vandals had been at work with hatchets, but on closer inspection, I saw it was the work of a beaver and that was confirmed when I discovered the beaver dam and two beaver huts. This was surprise. We do have beaver in remote areas. It is rare to see them take up housekeeping in an urban setting.