A vaporous voracious supernatural? "Voracious describes someone super hungry, like a zombie or a wolf."

Oh, Man, Carol, I would be absolutely LIVID! I have a few of those and I treasure them, waiting every year for the blooms. I will say that the Lubbers will go for any kind of lily and if it is one, put a saddle on it, it's a monster. I do have to say, the way those leaves are sliced off clean and straight sure looks like deer. I've had them come in and do the same thing to sunflowers, green beans, roses and a young loquat tree. The tree never revived, I finally had Hubby to yank it out this year. I have one left that they didn't bother.

Carol, that is very upsetting! the slugs and snails can hide and come out at night, if you come after dark with a flashlight, you can maybe see them if that is the problem. I would spread some diatomaceous earth and see what happens. I know a gardener in my area that had a lot of problems with them, they were defoliating his veggies. He told me he put a copper wire around to see if it helps.

One year, I had lubbers and I think they like all bulbs, so I put nolo bait and never saw them again...

Hope that you solve the problem and find the culprit.

Silvia

That really looks like deer.

Get a game came and strap it one of those branches and find out.

Thank you, everyone for the comments and suggestions. This is the most frustrating thing in my garden this year. The problem has only gotten worse. Glenn, you are right, it does look like deer, but I am pretty convinced this must be lubbers or something else because agapanthus that are located in narrow pathways in the back yard are being attacked. If it were deer, I'm sure I'd see other signs, but no other plants are being bothered.

Interestingly, my crinum have not been touched. Aren't lubbers known to love crinum?

Yesterday, four agapanthus bloom heads disappeared from the side yard in one night. All four: gone!

Crazy thing is, my next-door neighbor has agapanthus in her back yard - like only 25 feet from mine - and all her blooms are intact. That is too crazy. I just don't get it and definitely can't figure it out... at least not yet.

Silvia, I ordered some of that Nolo bait - thank you for telling me about it. I hope it helps. I can't wait to get it.

Pea, I don't have a GoPro or any kind of camera to use for that purpose. Wish I did - that would be fun - like a spy movie...

Thanks again to all of you!

Carol

A game camera isn,t like a go pro but a waterproof still digital camera that is motion activated...hunters use them...they make some cheap ones while not good for beautiful pictures they are good for see what is in your yard at night. I got one from walmart last christmas i think for $30-40.

The teen was eating your plants?.

Pea not eating cutting with a weird pair of scissors his mom keep for crafts. He was mad at me because I wouldn't let him use my boat with out a parent.

Yeah, I vote for "human with scissors". Beautiful blooms plus foliage to accompany. I would put a sign in my yard, "Who cut and stole all my ....(picture of agapanthus blooms) ?". But, that's just me!

Found a few more instances of the exact same thing:

Agapanthus gone missing

Who/what is picking my Agapanthus flowers?

Stupid Lubber Grasshoppers

what is eating my agapnthus flower stalks?

I think it has to be lubbers. :( :( :(

Now I have to get proficient at finding and catching them. An opportunity for a new skill. :) :) :)

Carol

Finally found my pet lubber (of course, there is only 1 - lol) with a damaged plant: caladium. I've tolerated the 1 or 2 that I seem to get because I've been awe since childhood of the adult version (looks like a playing face card of diamond suit). But, bye-bye baby... you eat my caladium, it's all over for you! Probably it also ate down the leaves on the nearby store-bought lily bulb I've watered and fed for 2 or 3 years but had yet to bloom (too warm, I assume).

Carol you have a real mystery and I don't think it is lubbers. Lubbers don't hide. they just hang out like idiots. You would see them without having to hunt them. So do you have neighbors that you don't get along with?? hmm?

One thing not mentioned was squirrels or maybe even rats (same thing?). Are you dry there? Maybe they are acting differently in the drought. Going after high water content plants. Just a thought.

Someone wrote once of scattering some harmless white powder in the vulnerable area and posting a little sign saying it had been treated with poison. Maybe crush some mothballs in cornmeal?

But the lubbers and squirrels can't read.

Pea, LOL

Yes, it is deer. I just didn't think it could be true. Then I saw some of my neighbors' photos. And then - I saw them in my very own yard. Lots of you said that, and you were right. This one is standing in my front yard in the very same spot as in my last photo, above!

Carol in Jacksonville

I feel your pain.

I am glad you found the culprit!

About a couple months or so ago I bought 6 rose plants. Within a months time they were all budding and I was waiting to see all the beautiful flowers. One morning I woke up to find all the roses stripped bare of buds, flowers and leaves. All that was left were a few chewed up canes. None of my other plants were touched including a very nice Agapanthus right next to the roses.

I am guessing it was deer because I can't think of what other animal would do that. Here I thought that with all the thorns, my roses would be the safest from any chewing animal.

Hi startwins,

The photo of the deer was taken with my friend's cell phone. We pulled up into my driveway around 9 pm - kind of at an angle - and the car's headlights were straight on that deer! The deer froze - like a deer in headlights - and there was ample opportunity to take photos. After about 2-3 minutes, the deer bounded over the hedge and was gone.

I haven't been able to remedy the problem. It seems about once a week, the deer cruise through my yard and eat agapanthus, all the leaves on the hibiscus, and all of the new, tender growth at the top of the camellias and tea olives. That's about all they eat, but it's enough. On the plus side, they never seem to trample anything and never kick over a potted plant. Other than the missing plant parts, there is no sign they were ever here! So that's something for which to be grateful. :)

I have read of some various remedies, but they all seem to be more work than I have time. Here's one that I would do, if I could find the time and had the supplies:

Effective Homemade Deer Repellent

Carol

I may have found a good solution for this problem. A motion activated water sprinkler.

I woke up this morning and found my agapanthus area or lily of the Nile completely torn to shreds. Has anybody ever seen anything like this I've been here over 10 years and have never seen this

How come I can't get my pictures to load

Carol,
Since your front garden bed is in a somewhat straight row, you may find this technique to work for you as I have. I laid railroad ties In a straight line as a border at the back of my garden. I then laid a parallel line of railroad ties at the front edge of my garden. I then Stapled flexible netting available at your hardware store to the back ties, about 36 inches in width. To determine what length to cut each 3 foot strip of netting, I gently pulled it across that section of garden to the outer railroad tie and cut it there. You must allow enough room for it to gently sit over your plantings at their full growth height and a few more inches to overlap to place under the outer railroad tie. Do this along your stretch of garden. Each morning, you roll the netting back up to the tie in the back of the garden. In the evening you roll it over your plants and tuck under the outer railroad tie to secure it. Yes, you must repeat this each evening, but in my case, we had many deer who even came right up to our door. Yet for some reason, they would just put their nose up to the netting but never did anything else to try to get under it to the plants. I did this for many years in Kentucky with great success and did not have to replace the netting each year. I had tried everything from bone marrow to human hair cuttings to soap shavings to chemicals. The only thing that finally worked was the netting. Also good because water, air, and some sun can get through especially if you go away for the weekend. Good luck!

I then stapled flexible netting found at a hardware store

@magranedi Thanks for the idea. It sounds like worked so well for you!

Since I originally posted, sadly (but in benefit of the agapanthus), the surrounding areas around my neighborhood have been developed and there is less and less woods/forest. There is still one small woodsy area across a busy highway and the deer still sometimes cross it at night (!) and come into our neighborhood to have delicious snacks, but their visits are far rarer now and even when they do, my house is far enough into the neighborhood that I'm not the first one "hit". I lost two flowers so far this year... cleanly bit off and gone... and clearly work of the deer... but have about 40 blooms still intact. So I know the deer were here but am lucky they didn't clean me out!

I love your idea and it sounds like you outsmarted them. Good deal!

Hi Carol. Yes, it’s been a couple years since your original post. But I commented also for the benefit of anyone else with similar problem in the future after trying nearly everything in the book. But I’m glad you are better able now to enjoy your beautiful property! Take good care!

Oh. And I never heard of lubbers before (I’m in NH). Looked them up and found this shot of what damage from lubbers would look like. Yeck. LOL!

Hi. I am in California and also have a disappearing agapanthus problem. We don’t have lubbers here. I have a 12 foot fence and a dog that barks if she smells a deer nearby so I do not think it’s the deer. No other plants are disappearing. Any ideas? And No holes in the ground which would indicate a gopher of some sort. Just all the leaves devoured from the top down. Thanks! C

We have the same problem exactly. Deer were my first thought. They have eaten more of my okra in past years than I have, and I have found hoof prints in the garden. Searching the Internet and principally UofFla info, I found deer don’t like agapanthus. “And these annuals, perennials, and bulbs may give you some respite from the deer drama: Aloe, angels trumpet, black-eyed Susan, bush daisy, century plant, cone flower, crown of thorns, ginger lily, lily of the Nile (agapanthus), . . .).” https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/design/gardening-with-wildlife/deer.html

"Deer, rabbits and other herbivores rarely choose to eat agapanthus. With few pests, predators or diseases, the two main threats to this plant are environmental: cold weather and soggy" soil.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-agapanthus-garden-104342.html

What about katydids? They're basically nocturnal grasshoppers.